BHP closes in on EV market with first nickel sulphate

BHP has produced the first nickel sulphate crystals from its Kwinana nickel sulphate plant south of Perth in Western Australia.

Nickel sulphate is a key material in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), with more than 85 per cent of BHP’s current production sold to the future-battery supply chain.

The production follows an announcement in July that BHP will supply Tesla with nickel from its Nickel West assets in a collaboration which will aim to make the battery supply chain more sustainable.

According to BHP, the nickel sulphate plant is an Australian-first and will produce 100,000 tonnes of nickel sulphate per year when fully operational.

Nickel from BHP’s mines is processed at the Kalgoorlie nickel smelter, before it is transported to the Kwinana nickel refinery and refined into nickel metal in the form of powder or briquette.

The powder is then processed through the new sulphate plant to make nickel sulphate and will be exported to global battery markets from Fremantle port.

BHP Nickel West asset president Jessica Farrell said the plant is expected to produce enough premium nickel sulphate to make 700,000 EV batteries each year.

“The plant will create 80 new direct jobs and support 400 new indirect jobs, in addition to the 200 construction jobs that were created during the construction phase,” Farrell said,

“High quality and sustainable nickel is essential for our customers, and we expect demand for nickel in batteries will increase by 500 per cent in the next decade.

“Our investment to upgrade the refinery to produce high purity nickel sulphate, along with nickel powder and briquettes, will enhance Nickel West’s position as a supplier of choice for the growing global electric battery market.”

Over half of the plant was fabricated in Western Australia using local skills and suppliers including the steel work, fibreglass leach vessels and stainless steel tanks.

The plant consists of leaching tanks, purification technology, a crystalliser and dryer, and an automated packaging system.

BHP’s Nickel West employs over 2500 people and its operations include a fully integrated mine-to-metal business.

This includes open cut and underground mining operations in Western Australia; concentrators at Mt Keith, Leinster and Kambalda; a smelter at Kalgoorlie that produces nickel-in-matte; and the Kwinana refinery.

Debt Ceiling

当机会来敲门——美国债务危机一触即发！

2021-10-01 15:24:23 (AET) by AETOS 218

美国债务危机是否会成为2021年最后一只黑天鹅？交易者应该如何把握契机进行短线操作？美国股市在美联储缩表和恐慌指数骤增的同时，是否可能出现大幅回调，机会又该如何利用？

去年的这个时候，两位古稀之年的老同志为了争夺美国总统宝座而掐得天昏地暗，虽然时年75岁的特朗普最终败给年长自己3岁的拜登，但是特朗普的大量拥护者依然通过暴力占领国会山，为自己心目中的偶像挽回些颜面。

巧合的是，今年的这个时候，两位年龄相当的重量级女性政客再次展开角逐——75岁的财政部长耶伦（前美联储主席）和81岁的众议院议长佩罗西就财政预算问题开始针锋相对。

text 美国财政部长珍妮特·耶伦（Janet Yellen）曾任美联储主席

这场从8月就开始酝酿的危机终于在9月下旬进入了公众和金融市场的视线——美国政府将面临再次停摆（Government Shutdown）。

经济学家出身的耶伦于华盛顿时间9月28日致信以强悍著称的佩罗西，并在信中公开表示：“在我9月8日写给您的信里已经阐明，财政部的现金和特殊周转方式（extraordinary measures）大约将在10月耗尽……基于目前最新信息，我可以更加确认，10月份（耗尽）的预测是准确的。”

text 财长耶伦（Janet Yellen）致佩罗西（Nancy Pelosi）的信件内容，信息来源：美国国会

换句话说，目前正在美国国会争执的两党，如果无法在资金耗尽之前通过预算提案，那么美国联邦政府不仅要面对政府停摆，还将面临更严重的后果——全球债务违约。

除此之外，一向严谨的耶伦还明确表示，美国联邦政府在过去一年里，每日所需平均现金流大约为500亿美元，最高时也达到过3,000亿美元，如果国会无法就提高（或废除）债务上限（Debt Ceiling）达成共识，那么资源耗尽之时，也就是美国政府违约之时。

要知道，美国政府从来没有在国债上出现过违约。

从抽象的理想主义角度来看，这可以理解为“合约精神”。

但是，在只认可硬实力的国际竞争角度来看，美国政府从不违约的原因非常简单——极高的信誉造就了极低的借贷成本，极低的借贷成本又赋予了美国源源不断的资金，这些资金恰好就是美国维护军事和金融霸权的关键一环。

价值超过28万亿美元（折合39.5万亿澳元）的美国国债持有者，不仅仅是个体投资者和金融机构（对冲基金、信托基金等），还包括主权基金（国家持有），比如日本（1.27万亿美元）、中国（1.062万亿美元）、英国（4,530亿美元）以及爱尔兰（3,229亿美元）等。

text 2020年美国债务总额已经高达26.5万亿美元，相当于每个家庭分担20.7万美元

也就说，如果美国政府出现债务违约，那么这根稻草压垮的将不只是一匹骆驼，而是一群骆驼。

对此，国际三大分析机构之一的穆迪（Moody’s Analytics）首席分析师表示，如果债务危机被触发，那么美国经济将面临巨大的创伤——高达600万个工作岗位流失、15万亿美元的家庭财富蒸发、失业率再次蹿回9%（目前为5%）。

与此同时，华尔街同样出现异动，三大股指纷纷出现大幅下滑，其中道琼斯平均工业指数（DJIA/US30）在9月28日盘间大跌逾500点。市场恐慌指数（VIX）也于同期出现跳涨，从9月28日下午的18点跳涨至傍晚时的24.2点，涨幅高达34.4%。

text 道琼斯平均工业指数（US30）单日跌幅超过500点，数据来源：Trading view.com

text CBOE恐慌指数（VIX）意外跳涨34.4%，数据来源：yahoo!finance.com

除此之外，债市和汇市同样出现了明显变化，其中美元指数创下一年新高（94.28），自然，美元兑7大货币同时明显走高。而影响美元走势的不仅是这场潜在的债务危机，还有已经进入倒计时的美联储缩表，两种变量之间的碰撞也让强势复苏的美元带来了变数。

text 美元指数（DXY，深蓝色曲线）与其他主要货币对走势对比，数据来源：Tradingview.com

由此可见，金融市场已经开始提前布局提前计价。

如果这还不够热闹，那么北半球多国正在经历的“能源慌”对原油和天然气等大宗商品价格带来的大幅抬升，也可以成为交易者对冲风险或者中短线操作的良机。

text 天然气（LNG）价格自从2021年初至今已经翻倍，数据来源：Tradingview

所以，美国债务危机是否会成为2021年最后一只黑天鹅？如果黑天鹅真的起飞，那么交易者应该如何把握契机进行短线操作？充满泡沫的美国股市在美联储缩表和恐慌指数骤增的同时，是否可能出现大幅回调，而这样的机会又该如何利用？

10月6日（周三），AETOS特邀分析师带您深度剖析美国债务危机，前瞻预测澳美股市、汇市、债市、贵金属以及强势复苏的能源市场走势，分享短线做空技巧以及技术要领。

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text AETOS特邀分析师，英国富时（FTSE）上市金融公司交易员、澳大利亚证券及投资委员会（ASIC）认证股票经纪人、澳大利亚股票经纪人及理财顾问协会（SAFAA）成员，持有RG146、ADA1、ADA2等金融衍生产品交易资格，身兼金融市场评论员及多家媒体撰稿人。

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Smart mines embracing digital safety solutions

Hitachi — *Example of condition diagnostics with Lumada Enterprise Asset Management.*

Advances in digital technology are set to transform safety in the mining industry and equip remote operating centres with better tools and leading-edge analytics to improve the safety of workers in high risk locations.

Smart mining operators are replacing paper-based systems with new cloud-based technology to improve safety and predictability by overseeing people and equipment on site from back office locations, accessing real-time data for incident prevention and even using facial recognition and geo fencing alarms to safeguard isolated workers.

New safety challenges require a new approach

Although health and safety in mining has improved significantly in recent years, serious injuries are still regularly occurring, and COVID-19 has brought a new range of new health and safety challenges to the forefront.

Distributed and remote workforces remain critical to mining operations and a safe working environment is vital. Improved safety requires higher levels of communication, greater visibility of safe work practices and earlier identification and mitigation of potential hazards to maintain work operations and enforce safety controls during tough times.

High-tech solutions that improve safety while maintaining privacy

Leading asset and work management systems, such as Lumada Field Service Management, are using the latest technology to enable asset-intensive industries to be more insightful, adaptive, predictive and prescriptive, allowing to operate safely, efficiently and effectively.

The risk of incidents can be dramatically reduced by enabling a regional control centre to monitor the location of vehicles and the safety of people, in near real time.

The use of video insights, Internet of Things (IoT), analytics and artificial intelligence technologies is enabling a new world of more granular data and offers continuous operational insights without breaching personal privacy expectations.

Geofences alert when workers enter an unsafe or prohibited area.

Personal protective equipment can be detected.

Employees and contractors on site can also receive, review and execute work enabled by digitalised workflows, which improves data capture and can help identify and prevent future asset failures that may pose safety risks and result in downtime.

Special features such as the ability to create safety geofences that raise alerts when people enter defined locations of risk and assessments verifying that the environment is safe prior to workers commencing, greatly improve situational awareness and reduce onsite incidents.

Should an incident occur, analysis using worker replay can show the prior movement of onsite field workers and identify areas where compliance or safety controls need to be reviewed and improved.

The Lumada Field Service Management solution also integrates and builds on existing technologies, without sacrificing software investments that have already been made. Manual processes, such as the transfer of data to upstream systems, is eliminated, improving accuracy and freeing resources to focus on higher value work.

A holistic approach to asset management is key

Smart mines are embracing high-tech solutions to holistically and cost effectively manage the performance of workforces and assets. Advanced enterprise software is becoming essential for not only achieving best practice safety management by allowing managers to react in real time, but also for minimising asset downtime, maximising efficiency and reducing operating costs.

Lumada Enterprise Asset Management is a solution for mining organisations looking to gain efficiencies in managing their asset portfolio and establishing best practice processes.

For mining companies with aging assets, Lumada Asset Performance Management enables the prevention of critical failures while minimising asset lifecycle costs.

Predictive, condition-based maintenance can ensure employees are working in a safer environment and in the right place at the right time, to cost-effectively address asset performance issues.

Predictive maintenance can extend the remaining useful life of assets and optimise utilisation to increase return on investment.

Hitachi ABB Power Grids is a global technology leader with a combined heritage of almost 250 years, employing around 36,000 people in 90 countries. Headquartered in Switzerland, the business serves utility, industry and infrastructure customers across the value chain, and emerging areas like sustainable mobility, smart cities, energy storage and data centers.

With a proven track record, global footprint and unparalleled installed base, Hitachi ABB Power Grids balances social, environmental and economic values. It is committed to powering good for a sustainable energy future, with pioneering and digital technologies, as the partner of choice for enabling a stronger, smarter and greener grid.

BHP aligns with KoBold for billionaire-backed exploration tech

BHP has partnered with exploration technology company KoBold Metals in the hunt for Western Australian metals and critical minerals to be used in clean energy technology.

The Silicon Valley-based start-up has been backed by major venture capitalists and entrepreneurs including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Michael Bloomberg.

KoBold chief executive officer Kurt House said the alliance would combine KoBold’s technological expertise with BHP’s extensive knowledge of the Australian landscape.

“BHP has the highest standards for operational excellence and unparalleled troves of data from more than 130 years as a mining industry leader,” House said.

“Combined with our Machine Prospector technology, BHP and KoBold will work to identify new sources of the critical raw materials needed for the electric vehicle and renewable energy revolutions.”

KoBold’s Machine Prospector analyses large datasets which are initially compiled using its TerraShed technology. BHP hopes these innovations can uncover ore resources deeper than previously explored.

BHP Metals Exploration vice president Keenan Jennings said the company was open to all kinds of new technologies if they led to Australia’s next big metals discovery.

“Globally, shallow ore deposits have largely been discovered, and remaining resources are likely deeper underground and harder to see from the surface,” Jennings said.

“We need new approaches to find the next generation of essential minerals, and this alliance will combine historical data, artificial intelligence and geoscience expertise to uncover what has previously been hidden.”

The partnership was inspired out of BHP Ventures, which seeks out up-and-coming businesses like KoBold and taps their true potential in the resources sector.

BHP Ventures head Mark Frayman said KoBold ticked all the boxes as a promising partner for BHP.

“We are excited to partner with KoBold. Their powerful platform combined with our in-house capabilities and datasets could unlock an enduring competitive edge as we grow our options in future-facing commodities like copper and nickel to meet increasing global demand,” Frayman said.

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New Century zinc exploits receive Senex gas boost

*The Century zinc mine. Image: New Century Resources*

New Century Resources will receive seven petajoules (PJ) of natural gas over the next three years from Australian energy company Senex to support the mining company’s zinc production.

The natural gas will be supplied to APA Group’s Diamantina Power Station in Mount Isa, generating the power required to operate the Century mine located approximately 250 kilometres north-west of Mount Isa.

Commencing in January, the three-year agreement will see Senex provide its seven PJs of natural gas at a fixed price, in line with current market levels.

As New Century looks to increase its production levels associated with the potential development of existing deposits at the Century Mine, Senex will further supply around one PJ of additional natural gas at New Century’s request by mid-2022.

Senex managing director and chief executive officer Ian Davies said the company was proud to establish ties with such a strong Queensland customer.

“Century mine generates significant state royalties and export earnings, and is a critical project in the Queensland Government’s strategic blueprint for the North West Minerals Province,” he said.

“Senex looks forward to building another strong, long-term and mutually-beneficial relationship that supports jobs, the economy and helps meet Australia’s energy demand as it transitions to a lower-carbon future.

“Senex also acknowledges APA as an important part of the value chain delivering energy to Mount Isa.”

Employing more than 250 people in the production of zinc concentrates, New Century exports to 12 smelters on three continents.

The agreement continues Senex’s evolution as a natural gas provider. Since 2019, the company has signed 10 major natural gas supply agreements, linking up with the likes of Adbri, CleanCo Queensland, CSR Building Products, Opal, Orora and Visy Glass.

New ABB technology holds the key to digital mining

*Dawson coal mine near Moura, Queensland, operated by Anglo American and Mitsui companies. Image: ABB*

ABB has launched its ABB Ability eMine, a new portfolio of electrification technologies set to fully facilitate all-electric mines from pit to port.

The zero-carbon mine solution can electrify mining equipment across hauling, hoisting, grinding and material handling, and has been furnished with digital applications to monitor and optimise energy usage.

From 2022, the Ability eMine will be accompanied by ABB’s new Ability eMine FastCharge technology, an innovation further accelerating charging for electric haul trucks with up to 600 kilowatts of power.

Currently in its pilot phase, the Ability eMine FastCharge is being designed to weather the harshest environments, aiming to provide haul trucks charging accessibility anywhere on site.

While charge time depends on a haul truck’s battery capacity and operational profile, the eMine FastCharge has shown it can achieve a suitable state of charge in 15 minutes.

The Ability eMine also comes alongside its own Ability eMine Trolley System, aimed at reducing diesel consumption by up to 90 per cent.

ABB global head of mining Max Luedtke said the Ability eMine forms part of a larger motivation for the company.

“The global mining industry is undergoing one of the most significant and important transformations of our generation – and that is to become zero-carbon,” he said.

“ABB Ability eMine is an exciting milestone to help convert existing mining operations from fossil fuel energy to all-electric. Mines can become ever more energy efficient with vastly reduced levels of carbon dioxide emissions, while at the same time staying competitive and ensuring high productivity.”

ABB Australia head of mining Nik Gresshoff said Australian mining organisations need to start thinking more strategically about their operational sustainability.

“The pressure on Australian mining companies to become more sustainable has intensified,” Gresshoff said.

“Every company is asking the question: how do we get to net zero emissions? We are committed to lead the sustainable decarbonisation within the Australian mining sector through the energy transition while leveraging the ABB Ability eMine solutions.”

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Australian economic contribution figures for FY2021

必和必拓21财年向澳大利亚经济贡献341亿

2021-09-08 12:36:17 (AET) by Edward Zhang 6762

作为澳大利亚经济引擎的主要推动力，矿业巨头必和必拓（ASX：BHP）在21财年总计贡献了341亿澳元。其中，主要包括向政府支付的124亿澳元税收、特许开采税和其他款项，向供应商支付的111亿澳元，向投资者支付的60亿澳元的股息和利息，以及45亿澳元的员工薪酬。

澳股资讯平台 – 61 Financial 9月8日讯，矿业巨头必和必拓（ASX：BHP）盘前发布公告，提供了该公司在21财年对澳大利亚经济贡献的数据。

必和必拓市值约为1230亿澳元，是澳交所第三大公司。作为澳大利亚经济引擎的主要推动力，该公司在21财年总计贡献了341亿澳元。

其中，包括公司向供应商支付的111亿澳元，向投资者支付的60亿澳元的股息和利息，1亿澳元的社会投资，以及为约4.5万名员工支付的45亿澳元薪酬。

回顾过去10年，必和必拓为澳大利亚政府支付了约803亿澳元。

21财年，必和必拓支付给澳大利亚政府的总金额约为124亿澳元。这笔钱涉及向政府支付的税收、特许开采税和其他款项。

其中，特许开采税包括西澳大利亚州的30亿澳元，昆士兰州的4.02亿澳元，南澳大利亚州的1.02亿澳元，新南威尔士州的8300万澳元，以及支付给联邦和州政府的4.44亿澳元。

受铁矿石价格下跌影响，过去一个月必和必拓的股价下滑了近20%，其中包括9月2日该公司除息时下跌的6%。

公司股价今日早盘低开。截止发稿，股价下跌0.67%至41.76澳元。

text 【更多BHP公告和股价走势请点击BHP个股页面】

消息来源：

公司公告Australian economic contribution figures for FY2021

New MPS technology to further unlock precious metals

Western Australian company Mining and Process Solutions (MPS) is developing new glycine heap leaching technology with the aim to unlock significant value from copper oxides, gold and nickel ores.

With the backing of the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australian (MRIWA), the technology will assist improved environmental performance through the use of glycine, an environmentally friendly reagent.

The technology has produced encouraging results so far, with precious metals extracted with reduced cyanide consumption, offering an alternative to sulphuric acid for base metals.

MPS managing director Ivor Bryan said a number of considerations are underpinning the new technology.

“Understanding the performance, scalability and financial feasibility of glycine heap leaching was key to advancing further trials for commercialisation,” Bryan said.

The viability of the technology has already been established. Five patent families have emerged in relation to the new technology, including major mining jurisdictions around the world. To date over 60 individual countries have granted patents.

MRIWA chief executive officer Nicole Roocke said MPS’ technology represents a larger success story.

“These results demonstrate Western Australia is a global leader in developing sustainable technologies to offer alternatives to sulphuric acid for base metals heap leaching operations, and reduced cyanide consumption for gold ores,” Roocke said.

MPS is now supporting the development of the state’s battery industry by participating in the Future Battery Industry Cooperative Research Centre.

The company will investigate the use of the technology in the extraction and processing of nickel and cobalt, to supply the battery market.

The new glycine heap leaching technology is a solidification of MPS’ reputation.

The company won the West Australian Innovator of the Year Award in 2019, the Australian Technologies competition 2017 (METS category) and recently won the CleanTech category of the global Xtreme Technology Challenge XTC 2021.

The likes of Sandfire Resources, Barrick Gold, Coda Minerals (previously Gindalbie Metals) and Poseidon Nickel are sponsoring MPS’ project.

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WA Govt outlines resources priorities with strategic report

The Western Australian Government has released its mineral and petroleum resources development strategy, prioritising six points including regional areas, exploration and streamlined approvals.

The first strategic priority is to cement the state as a leading global destination for exploration investment.

The report stated this will be achieved through the Government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) which has generated $31 million in benefits to the State for every $1 million invested in the scheme.

Minister for Mines and Petroleum Bill Johnston said the Government must tend to several issues to encourage further investment.

“Central to this strategy is promoting our comparative advantages and investment opportunities, catering for current and future skills gaps, facilitating access to infrastructure, and investing in research and development,” Johnston said.

Research and development are discussed in the report’s fourth strategic priority: an evolving industry.

The report acknowledges the industry’s shift towards different commodities and parts of the supply chain, such as precious metals refinery.

The report uses Alcoa and South32’s alumina operations, IGO/Tianqi Lithium’s Kwinana facility, and BHP’s Nickel West battery metal supply as examples of the state’s ability to facilitate future-focussed mining and minerals operations.

“We expect demand for WA’s minerals to continue to grow, driven by the global transition to a low-carbon future and an increasing demand for electric vehicles,” Johnston said.

A major push to effectively regulate the industry was also a feature of the report, with multiple strategic priorities relying on the state doing so.

“The State Government recognises that an efficient and effective regulatory framework is essential for providing industry with the certainty required to make investment decisions, and is committed to support measures to streamline regulation while not compromising on environmental and social standards,” the report stated.

The most recent of the Government’s efforts in this area came in the form of Streamline WA which was launched in 2018 to enable easier business across the state.

The report also gave examples of major operations given the go-ahead in recent years.

“The ability of Western Australia’s regulatory system to allow for the expeditious approval of new mining operations has been demonstrated in recent years through the development of mines including IGO Limited’s Nova nickel-copper-cobalt project and Beacon Minerals Limited’s Jaurdi gold project,” the report stated.

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan said the opportunities were significant for the State’s resources sector and wider economy.

“The opportunity to continue to grow and diversify our resources sector as a significant contributor to global advancements in the digital age, and the shift to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, are immense, and are expected to continue to provide outstanding economic and social benefits to the community well into the future,” McGowan said.

To read the report and learn more about WA’s resources strategy, click here.

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Mineral Resources offloads $328 million Pilbara Minerals interest

Mineral Resources has sold its 5.4 per cent stake of Pilbara Minerals in an effort to focus on its hard-rock lithium and iron ore assets.

Mineral Resources has been a shareholder in Pilbara Minerals since October 2016 as part of its offtake rights and a royalty held of the Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum project in Western Australia.

Its 8 per cent stake in Pilbara Minerals at the time was valued at $50 million, with the $328 million divestment representing strong value.

(“Mineral Resources) is delighted with the share price value delivered by Pilbara Minerals’ development of Pilgangoora but believes it is time to redirect this investment into the company’s own growth projects, including in the hard-rock lithium and iron ore sectors,” Mineral Resources stated.

The $328 million divestment was completed through an underwritten accelerated block trade to institutional investors.

Pilbara Minerals share price on the ASX is $2.26 at the time of writing.

The transaction will support Mineral Resources’ $650 million capital expenditure program for the 2021-22 financial year.

Mineral Resources expects costs to increase by 5 to 10 per cent at its Yilgarn Hub in Western Australia, with exports of 10.5 million to 11 million tonnes of iron ore.

This includes the Koolyanobbing iron ore mine and Carina mine, which is currently under care and maintenance.

The company also operates the Utah Point hub, which is expected to ship 10.5 million to 11 million tonnes of iron ore.

Mineral Resources hard-rock lithium projects include the Mt Marion and Wodgina spodumene projects, owning 50 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively.

The company is expecting to ship 450,000 to 475,000 tonnes of spodumene from Mt Marion in the 2022-23 financial year, while Wodgina remains on care and maintenance.

Wodgina is one of the largest hard rock lithium deposits globally, and is operated under a joint venture with Albemarle who owns the remaining 60 per cent interest.

Mineral Resources is also constructing the Kemerton lithium hydrogxide project in Western Australia with Albermarle, owning a 40 per cent interest.