As part of Nordic Iron AB's (NIO) goal to build a modern mine with the lowest possible environmental impact, the consulting company Paterson & Cooke has been hired to evaluate alternatives for better management of the waste (tailings) from the enrichment operations.
Keliber has received a positive decision from Business Finland regarding the Autumn IPCEI funding, a grant approved by the European Commission. Keliber will receive EUR 550,000 for a project that promotes the sustainable development of the battery value chain, circular economy and responsible production.
Vale informs that it has gradually started the operation of the tailings filtration plant located at the Vargem Grande Complex, the first of four filtration plants to be operated in Vale's sites in Minas Gerais, totaling US$ 2.3 billion in investments between 2020 and 2024.
Nordic Mining has started a monitoring program for migrating smolt (juvenile salmon) in adjacent rivers of the Førde Fjord. The program will cover two migration seasons, 2021 and 2022, and secure valuable information of smolt migration prior to production at Engebø. Advanced monitoring equipment has been installed at two representative locations in rivers surrounding the fjord.
Climate change is one of the world’s toughest problems. On one side is how the drivers of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions – whether they’re policy changes, technological advancements, or shifting access to capital – will affect our economic performance. The second is that, if these drivers aren’t successful in delivering the required level of emission reductions, we’re going to have increasingly erratic weather, which can also negatively affect the economy.
More than 60 percent of CEOs surveyed for a new report on Queensland’s resources sector are considering hydrogen-related business opportunities, with 10 percent already committed to hydrogen projects.
Queensland Resources Council (QRC) Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane said more than 30 percent of member CEOs who responded to a recent sentiment survey believe hydrogen will provide an opportunity to reduce emissions in their own business, and a further 30 percent think hydrogen could help grow their business.
Mr Macfarlane said the results published in the QRC’s latest State of the Sector report show resources companies are actively looking at new technologies such as hydrogen as a way to reduce emissions to address the challenge of climate change.
“While there is a way to go before green hydrogen can be considered a commercially viable energy source in Queensland, the research, development and commercialisation work underway is very promising,” he said. “The State Government’s decision to establish a Ministry for Hydrogen Industry Development and a Ministerial Energy Council also shows it’s serious about encouraging industry to invest in renewable technologies like hydrogen, so I think we’re all moving in the right direction. The QRC looks forward to sharing the strong interest of our members in hydrogen, as part of the energy mix, in our discussions with the Council. The good news for Queensland is that the unique ingredients that make our state a global minerals and energy powerhouse are ideally suited to support a thriving hydrogen export industry. Queensland has around 300 days of sunshine a year, we’re close to large export markets in Asia, and we have a proud history of co-existing with other regional industries. Queensland’s resource industry already has the essential skills base and strong safety culture that can drive the state’s hydrogen sector forward on a large scale.”
Mr Macfarlane said research into how to safely and economically add hydrogen into the global energy mix is well underway, with mining companies already heavily involved in trialling hydrogen for industrial use.
Current projects involving QRC member companies include:
Mr Macfarlane said the latest State of the Sector report highlighted the continuing resilience and adaptability of Queensland’s resources industry in the face of the global pandemic.
“In spite of all the challenges we’ve faced, mining and gas jobs in Queensland increased by 15 percent over the 12 months to February 2021 according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics’ figures, which means jobs supported by our state’s resources sector would now be well over 420,000,” he said. “24 percent of our CEOs are also planning to increase employment at their Queensland operations over the next 12 months, with half expecting to increase their workforce by more than 25 percent. This is a huge vote of confidence in our sector which benefits every Queenslander through a stronger state economy and more jobs.”
The QRC is Queensland’s peak representative body for coal, metal and gas explorers, producers and suppliers across the resources sector. It contributes one in every five dollars to the Queensland economy, sustains one in six Queensland jobs, supports more than 15,000 businesses and contributes to more than 1,200 community organisations across the state - all from 0.1 percent of Queensland’s land mass.
Source: QRC
Balfour Beatty announced that it has been awarded a £52 million contract on behalf of HS2, to deliver environmental works across the route from West Midlands to Crewe. The contract has been awarded through the SCAPE Framework, to which the company was appointed as sole contractor in 2018.
Fornebubanen has chosen Implenia for tunnel and ground construction from Lysaker to Fornebu | estimated contract value of CHF 131 million
Fugro has been awarded multiple contracts by Eni Angola to carry out geotechnical and environmental surveys off the coast of Angola between now and May, and two Fugro vessels from their world’s largest fleet of specialist geotechnical and geophysical vessels are currently active in the region.
Sika has developed a new, ground-breaking recycling process for old concrete. The old concrete is broken down into the individual parts gravel, sand and limestone in a simple and efficient process, which also binds about 60 kg of CO2 per ton of crushed concrete demolition waste. This innovation - with the brand name «reCO2ver» - will make a significant contribution to reduce the ecological footprint of the construction industry.
Nornickel, headed by Vladimir Potanin, has announced plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in place of its obsolete nickel factory in the Arctic. This fits in the group's focus on its ambitious environmental goals and serves as an example that the mining giant is all-in in a bid to step up its green game.
In the middle of a desert landscape in Oman, BAUER Nimr LLC, a local subsidiary of Bauer Resources GmbH, has now been operating the world’s largest commercial reed bed treatment plant for ten years. With an area of 13.5 km², it is roughly the size of 1,600 football fields. It can even be seen on satellite images. The plant is a multi-award winning flagship project for the biological cleaning of polluted water from oil production at the Nimr oil field in the south of the country, with the first phase of the project completed by Bauer Nimr in 2011.
The Norwegian Environment Agency has granted the revised discharge permit for the Engebø project. The revised permit is in line with the application submitted in June 2020 for the substitution of chemicals, following process test work proving that the consumption of chemicals could be reduced by 99% compared with the chemicals in the permit of 2015.
Keliber has prepared the Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) report for the expansion of its lithium mining operations in Central Ostrobothnia and submitted it on schedule to the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of South Ostrobothnia ("ELY Center") for official review on November 24, 2020 as part of the assessment.
Embankments have to be reinforced, subsoils stabilised, or sinkholes bridged. Due to extreme weather events, the need for soil reinforcement steadily increases. High strength geogrids can make such work much easier. Secugrid HS geogrids from Naue enable time savings of more than 40 per cent for complex earthworks.
With weak and compressible soils, earthworks are often a long process. The fill has to be installed in stages, and the soft soil may need to be relieved by a deep foundation. These measures usually take a lot of time and increase costs.
Inclusion recognizes Hochtief’s focus on sustainability
Anglo American announces the award of a ten-year charter contract for four LNG fuelled capesize+ vessels, introducing LNG into its chartered fleet for the first time. The new build LNG vessels offer significant environmental benefits, including a c.35% cut in CO2 emissions compared to standard marine fuel, while also using new technology to eliminate the release of unburnt methane, or so-called “methane slip”.
Mining experts from TU Bergakademie Freiberg will be offering trilingual online seminars on responsible raw material mining and recultivation over the next two months. Interpreting is available in Russian, Ukrainian and German.
Over the past 30 years, what is now the Bauer Umwelt business division of Bauer Resources GmbH has developed from a twoperson operation into a leading company for environmental technology with 177 employees. This successful trajectory began by tackling a challenge in specialist foundation engineering: how to handle contaminated areas on construction sites.