Potential strike threatens Vancouver port again
A labour dispute at the Canadian port of Vancouver could result in another work stoppage, less than a year after a strike disrupted the flow of more than C$10bn ($7.3bn) worth of goods and commodities ranging from canola and potash to coking coal.
Negotiations between the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Ship and Dock Foremen Local 514 union have stalled as the two sides try to renew an agreement that expired on 1 April 2023.
A 21-day "cooling-off period" concluded on 10 May, giving the union the right to strike and the employers association the right to lock out the workers. A vote and 72-hour notice would first need to occur before either action is taken.
The BCMEA filed a formal complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) the same day, which had to step in last year in another dispute.
The BCMEA locked horns with ILWU Canada over a separate collective agreement in 2023 leading to a 13-day strike by the union in July. This disrupted the movement of C$10.7bn of goods in and out of Canada, according to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.
Vancouver's port is the country's largest — about the same size as the next five combined — and describes itself as able to handle the most diversified range of cargo in North America. There are 29 terminals belonging to the Port of Vancouver.
Terminals that service container ships endured the most significant congestion during last year's strike. Loadings for potash, sulphur, lumber, wood pellets and pulp, steel-making coal, canola, copper concentrates, zinc and lead concentrate, diesel and renewable diesel liquids and some agri-foods were also disrupted.
The Trans Mountain-operated Westridge Marine Terminal responsible for crude oil exports on Canada's west coast was unaffected.
A deal was eventually reached on 4 August.
The strike spurred on proposed amendments to legislation in Canada that would limitthe effect of job action on essential services. A bill introduced in Canada's Parliament in November would update the Canada Labour Code and CIRB Regulations accordingly. The bill has been progressing through the House of Commons, now having completed the second of three readings.
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USDA to invest $83mn in fertilizer projects
USDA to invest $83mn in fertilizer projects
Houston, 23 May (Argus) — The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to invest $83mn to build out fertilizer production plants, modernize equipment and adopt new technologies in 12 states. The grants are part of the USDA's Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP) aimed at boosting domestic fertilizer production, increasing competition and lowering costs for farmers. Around $25mn will be granted to a food waste upcycling facility in Jurupa Valley, California, to produce organic fertilizer. Nearly 90 market participants in the area will be supplied by the 11,400 tons of fertilizer produced annually at this facility. Cog Marketers, in partnership with AgroLiquid, is expected to produce 2mn USG of fertilizer a year at its Lake City facility in Florida with a $4mn grant from the USDA. Around 200 fertilizer retailers in the Mid-South region would receive product from this facility. Return will receive $4mn to expand production at its Northwood facility in Iowa. Other grants were awarded to projects in California, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon and Washington. So far, FPEP has supplied 29 states with $251mn for increased domestic fertilizer production, with the last round of awards announced in March and January . About $649mn are left from the $900mn the administration of President Joe Biden committed to domestic fertilizer funding through FPEP in 2022. The FPEF was started in response to rising fertilizer prices caused by a variety of factors including the war in Ukraine. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
RE monazite demand shifts mineral sands supply chain
RE monazite demand shifts mineral sands supply chain
London, 23 May (Argus) — Interest in monazite as a feedstock for rare earth (RE) processing is rising as producers look for sources outside China, bringing mineral sands projects into the RE supply chain. Deposits of RE elements are typically found in rock formations including carbonatites and granites, in calc-silicate sequences and ionic adsorption clay deposits — primarily in China and surrounding countries. But as downstream consumers and governments increasingly look to diversify their supply chains, monazite is becoming attractive as an alternative source. Monazite is a phosphate mineral that contains about 55-60pc RE oxides. It contains 17 RE elements, including cerium, neodymium, lanthanum, thorium and yttrium. Reflecting this, US-based uranium and rare earths producer Energy Fuels is acquiring Australia-based mineral sands developer Base Resources to gain access to the monazite stream from its Toliara project in Africa as an RE feedstock. The Toliara heavy mineral sands project in Madagascar plans to produce monazite as a by-product of its primary titanium and zirconium output. The acquisition marks Energy Fuels' entry into the mineral sands business as it invests in operations in Australia, Brazil and Madagascar to supply RE concentrate. Toliara's monazite stream will provide the feedstock Energy Fuels needs for RE oxide production at its White Mesa uranium and vanadium mill in Utah. The facility will also process the uranium content from the feed and if needed, it can recover thorium. The mill has been processing monazite to produce a mixed RE carbonate, which it has been selling commercially since 2021. "We're putting together two pieces of the puzzle that nobody has put together," Energy Fuels president and chief executive Mark Chalmers said at the recent Metal Events Rare Earths conference in Singapore. "We're putting together the physical metallurgy and the hydrometallurgy." White Mesa has been processing monazite supplied by US titanium dioxide producer Chemours. But its output has been limited as there is not enough monazite in the feed, Chalmers said, whereas Toliara contains more than 1mn t of monazite and has about 1.5mn t of existing tailings capacity. Energy Fuels is in the process of commissioning its Phase 1 neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) separation facility, which is scheduled to start production by the end of the first half of 2024. It plans to produce 35t of NdPr oxalate in 2024. Phase 1 will have the capacity to process 8,000-10,000 t/yr of monazite to produce up to 800-1,000 t/yr of NdPr oxide. The company plans to increase its NdPr capacity to 3,000 t/yr in 2026-27 and add heavy RE processing in 2027-28. It is starting to pilot heavy RE separation and is exploring moving downstream into metal and alloy production. The first stage of Base's Toliara project, scheduled for September 2027, aims to produce an average of 17,400 t/yr of monazite. The second stage would ramp up to 26,100 t/yr. Energy Fuels also owns the Bahia project in Brazil, which could supply 4,000-5,000 t/yr of monazite to White Mesa Mill to produce 400-500 t/yr of NdPr oxide and 20-25 t/yr of dysprosium and terbium oxides. Energy Fuels has the potential to produce 4,000-6,000 t/yr of NdPr oxide, 150-225 t/yr of dysprosium oxide and 50-75 t/yr of terbium oxide, which would supply enough magnetic RE oxides to supply 3mn-6mn electric vehicles (EVs) per year. RE oxides are in demand from US, European and Asian EV, wind energy and other clean energy manufacturers, as well as emerging commercial metal-making, alloying and magnet-making facilities that are under development in the US. The US defence industry could include offtake of other non-magnetic oxides contained in monazite. Developments at other mineral sands producers outside China also indicate that demand for concentrate for its monazite content rather than zircon or titanium is on the rise. Indonesia-focused zircon producer PYX Resources said last week that it has made its first shipment of monazite-rich zircon concentrate to a customer in Hainan, China, exporting 750t. PYX expects to report further exports in the future. Mineral sands producer Iluka is also moving into the RE market using its monazite by-product. The company has stockpiled monazite since the 1990s at its Narngulu Mineral Separation Plant in Eneabba, Western Australia. Iluka is now developing RE production at Eneabba, commissioning a concentrator plant to process the stockpiled material. It will separate the monazite and additional zircon to produce a 90pc concentrate to feed its RE refinery. The company aims to produce neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium oxides from 2026. It holds other mineral sands deposits that could feed the RE refinery, and it will be able to handle third-party deposits if it requires additional feedstock. Companies had stopped processing monazite owing to the high cost of disposing radioactive thorium. But thorium is now becoming attractive for advanced nuclear reactor design and medical isotopes, which could drive offtake. By Nicole Willing Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Record-high EU antimony prices in 'uncharted territory'
Record-high EU antimony prices in 'uncharted territory'
London, 23 May (Argus) — European antimony prices hit fresh record highs this week after a prolonged period of supply constraints, and the latest hikes are drawing concern from even the most experienced traders as they navigate an increasingly opaque and speculative spot market. Prices for regulus grade II and trioxide in Europe were assessed at $18,500-19,500/t today, up by 14pc from a week ago and 55pc higher than this time last year, when prices were $12,000-12,400/t. Higher price indications are emerging daily, with some offers heard as high as $20,000/t in Rotterdam this week. The upswing has gathered pace significantly since 9 April, underpinned by depleting domestic resources in China and limited concentrate coming into Europe from various parts of the world. The continuing war in Myanmar (Burma) — a major source of antimony ore, most of which is exported to China — is exacerbating the supply tightness. Meanwhile, Oman-based strategic and precious metals firm SPMP suspended production at its Oman Antimony Roaster plant at the start of 2024 and is still not offering material, chief executive Joel Montgomery told Argus this week. The reasons for the suspension have not been disclosed. The status of Russian producer Polyus remains unclear, but the firm is not delivering as much raw material as in the past, Argus understands. And Tajikstan is currently producing more antimony ingot and selling less ore, according to market participants. "The market is becoming more opaque, with less information on the largest players," consultancy firm Hallgarten's principal and mining strategist, Christopher Ecclestone, told Argus . He added that supply of ore — or concentrate — is inelastic, as artisanal producers are currently operating at maximum capacity. On the demand side, China is directing significant volumes of antimony trioxide and antimony selenide toward its manufacturers of solar photovoltaic glass. With a container to Europe now costing around half a million dollars, traders have largely stepped back from the spot market, waiting for the current volatility to ease, and minimal stocks are available in Rotterdam for spot bookings. A significant volume of antimony arrived in Rotterdam recently and has already been locked into long-term contracts, but this has not stunted the rally, a market source told Argus . "Antimony is becoming a crazy dangerous market," a trader told Argus . It is hurting the industry, causing irreparable damage," he added, noting that consumers are getting hit by the higher prices and reduced availability. Antimony is largely used as a flame retardant in electrical and electronic equipment and textiles, alloys (lead-acid batteries), wires and cables, ceramics, and glass. With prices at record highs, market participants are looking for ways to ease the supply crunch or their consumption rates, but there are no easy options available. On the supply side, recycling streams are already heavily utilised after a major push in 2011, when prices hit their previous record high of around $17,100/t. Around a quarter of global antimony supply is currently produced through the recycling of antimony-bearing metal alloys. On the consumption side, demand from the flame-retardant sector fell by around 20pc in 2023 because of the weak macroeconomic environment, according to one buyer. It is difficult to develop alternative materials that can act as a substitute. Zinc borates and zinc stannates can sometimes substitute antimony trioxide, but only in specific formulations. Antimony substitutes can run into performance issues in various applications, especially in flame retardants because of the weakening of the polymer, sources said. "Antimony could be replaced in solar uses, but that is still a small portion of the market, even though it is growing," Ecclestone said. For now, speculation remains rife as to how high prices are likely to go before hitting a ceiling. "When the increase is supply driven, there is a moment when it falls [...] It cannot stick for too much longer," a trader said. Some sources expect the price rally to run out of steam in July-August because of the summer demand lull. Producers of flame-retardant products typically pause operations in June-July, and there could be a two-week period of maintenance, Argus understands. "The bubble is going to burst once it reaches $20,000/t," another trader estimated. By Cristina Belda Antimony trioxide Europe vs China $/t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Indonesia’s nickel mining quotas fall short of demand
Indonesia’s nickel mining quotas fall short of demand
Singapore, 23 May (Argus) — Indonesia's ministry of energy and mineral resources has approved 204 nickel mining work plans for exploration and production, according to market participants, with a combined quota of 220.7mn t. The approved quotas, also known as RKAB work plans, allocated to the production segment is unknown. But participants said that the quotas may not be enough to meet expected demand this year because more than 90pc of the production RKABs are expected to have been approved. Nickel ore demand is forecast to reach 220mn t in 2024 based on projected nickel output, according to data compiled by Argus. Indonesia's nickel ore output was 175.6mn t in 2023. A large portion of the approvals was granted to the Morowali region, participants said, while the approval rates for RKABs in other regions, such as Sulawesi and Weda Bay, were significantly lower. This could potentially lead to a regional shortage of nickel ore. Nickel consumption is trending higher with an influx of overseas investment into Indonesia. Indian steel producer Jindal Stainless is planning a 1.2mn t/yr stainless steel melt shop , while Chinese battery metals and materials manufacturer Green Eco-Manufacture is building a 30,000 t/yr battery cathode precursor plant . But nickel intermediate supplies have been tight, dampened by tighter spot availability and lower term-contracted availability from Indonesia-based plants with a bearish nickel-cobalt-manganese battery precursor market. Civil unrest in New Caledonia has sparked concerns of a further tightening of supplies, pushing London Metal Exchange nickel prices on 20 May to their highest level in nine months at $21,625/t. Several businesses in the French-controlled territory's nickel value chain were disrupted during the riots, affecting production and transportation. Nickel prices will likely remain volatile in the coming months, depending on the approval rates of new RKABs, availability from swing suppliers such as New Caledonia and the growth rate of Chinese stainless steel and electric vehicle demand. By Sheih Li Wong Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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