Wednesday 4 August 2021 https://www.thenationalnews.com/bus...ning-can-help-to-address-the-minerals-crunch/ How deep-sea mining can help to address the minerals crunch Experts are exploring the possibility of mining seabeds despite environmental concerns in a push to meet rising demand for essential minerals amid green energy transition A subsea mining machine being built for Nautilus Minerals in England. Deep-sea mining is increasingly emerging as a viable option to meet demand for rare earth metals required to meet net-zero goals. Reuters Running from Hawaii to Baja California, five kilometres beneath the Pacific Ocean, lies one of the richest mineral treasures on the planet. An area larger than India, it is pitch black and temperatures dip below 4°C and 500 atmospheres of pressure. But the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, or the CCZ, is also home to thousands of species of coral, starfish, anemones and others unknown to science – making the decision on whether to mine the deep sea a challenging one amid the green energy revolution. The supply of raw materials essential for the energy transition is increasingly critical. To operate, the likes of wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicle motors, hydrogen electrolysers, batteries and electrification need copper, lithium, rare earth elements, precious metals and others. Consumption by clean energy systems by 2040 will grow by six to 21 times for cobalt, six to 19 times for nickel, and three to eight times for manganese, according to the International Energy Agency. Obtaining these has become a tricky topic. Some, particularly copper, are already required in large quantities and concerns have arisen that supply could fail to keep up later this decade as the world’s leading mines are exhausted and lack of investment takes its toll. Other minerals have been little-used historically. Cobalt is mostly produced as a by-product of copper and nickel mining, making it hard to increase production independently. Output of some metals is concentrated in China, Russia and the US, countries that might use control of resources for strategic ends. By contrast, two thirds of the global cobalt supply comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is associated with poor labour conditions, corruption and political instability. As prices for these metals rise, governments demand higher taxes, as in Chile, the world’s leading copper miner. Mining on land creates environmental problems: disturbance to communities; damage to ecosystems from land use, tailings heaps and contaminated water run-off; acid rain from sulphur in the minerals; and high greenhouse gas emissions from supplying power to the mines and ore smelters. Combine these problems and it is not surprising that attention has returned to mining the deep sea. The CCZ alone is estimated to contain more cobalt, manganese and nickel than all known terrestrial deposits. These oceanic minerals are not owned by any state but licences to explore them are administered by the International Seabed Authority, or ISA, an agency of the UN. The ocean floor contains three main types of mineral deposits: the polymetallic nodules scattered across the floor of areas such as the CCZ; metallic crusts on underwater mountains that contain manganese, cobalt and platinum among others; and sulphides accumulated at “black smokers”, or vents of superheated volcanic waters where zinc, copper, silver and gold can be found. So far, these resources are not being mined but a number of ambitious companies have the funding and technology to try. Tractors and suction devices could hoover up the sediment and bring it to a ship that would separate the ore and dump the rest back into mid-level waters. In May, a trial of a robotic harvester in the CCZ by a subsidiary of Belgium’s Deme group successfully collected nodules. The ISA has awarded the company an exploration area twice the size of Belgium. The next trial comes in 2024, with hopes for commercial production by 2028. But should we exploit this pristine area? Along with the Antarctic, it is virtually the last untouched environment on Earth. Sediments accumulate in the deep waters at a rate as slow as a millimetre a millennium. Thirty years after a simple test of disturbing the seabed off Peru in 1989, there has been no recovery. Meanwhile, creatures such as the ghost octopus, which was discovered only in 2016 off Hawaii, attaches themselves to a hard ocean-bottom object for several years to hatch their eggs – a hard object that could be a metal nodule. Many more such undiscovered creatures and unknown ecosystems, no doubt, lie hidden below the ocean in the CCZ area. Seabed mining could destroy these habitats before we even understand them. So, what are the alternatives? Greenpeace advocates recycling and the “circular economy”, with the aspiration of zero waste. Batteries and their metals can be recycled and a major effort is justified to design green energy systems better to allow their re-use. But even a circle needs a starting point. The renewable and electric economy needs to be built and the first generation of equipment come to obsolescence before substantial recycling can begin. Alternative materials can be used. Lower-cobalt batteries have already become more popular, although they require more manganese. Electric car maker Tesla is now touting lithium-iron-phosphate batteries as the likely option for two thirds of its needs, made from cheaper and more readily available ingredients. Copper can be replaced to an extent with aluminium or plastics, although plastics come from fossil fuels. These substitutes are often heavier, less energy-efficient and not always suited for the most demanding applications in renewable energy and electric vehicles. Given a deadline of only 29 years to many countries’ net-zero carbon goals, and with the crunch in copper, in particular, expected by mid-decade, there is limited time for lengthy research. Despite real concerns, the deep-sea mining industry is emerging with far more environmental care and awareness than its onshore cousin, or the early days of the petroleum business. It is the only extractive business governed by an international system. It may turn out that deep-sea mining is not profitable, that the environmental effects are unacceptable or that mineral needs may be better met through onshore mining, recycling and alternatives. However, the need for a rapid green energy revolution to slow climate change means tough choices. If carefully studied, tightly regulated and watched by independent observers, the industry of ocean floor minerals can stake a claim. Robin Mills is chief executive of Qamar Energy and author of The Myth of the Oil Crisis
Aluminum cans slowly replace plastics to tackle marine pollution 2021/8/9 ©Kyodo News https://nordot.app/797281755965784064?c=445918389795193953 A number of Japanese beverage vendors have recently moved to abandon the use of plastic bottles, replacing them with aluminum cans in a bid to combat marine plastic pollution, wreaking havoc with the ecosystem. All 12 teas and soft drinks sold by Ryohin Keikaku Co., operator of retail brand Muji, have been provided in aluminum cans since April after data showed the rate of "horizontal recycling," which allows for the reuse of materials in a comparable function, was substantially higher for such cans compared to plastic bottles. The rate of horizontal recycling for aluminum cans stands at 71.0 percent compared to 24.3 percent for plastic bottles, according to the Japan Aluminium Association and the Council for PET Bottle Recycling. In the case of plastic bottles, as the material weakens over multiple bouts of recycling, they often end up being reshaped into plastic trays for food. Meanwhile, aluminum cans can better prevent their contents from deteriorating as their opacity keeps light from damaging them. Ryohin Keikaku introduced those cans also to cut down on wasted drinks. By switching to aluminum cans, expiry dates for soft drinks were extended 90 days to 270 days, according to the retailer. The packages were newly designed to include illustrations and different colors to indicate the contents of the drinks, which are visible in transparent plastic bottles. Other companies have also swapped bottles for cans, with Dydo Group Holdings Inc. replacing containers for a total of six items, including coffees and sports drinks, earlier this year. Dydo, which operates vending machines, made the change to promote a recycling-oriented society following requests from companies that host the machines. The move toward efficient recycling has also been gaining traction abroad. Mineral water was supplied in aluminum cans at the Group of Seven summit in June in Britain, while consumer goods giant Unilever Plc said in April, it would begin selling shampoo in aluminum bottles in the United States. "Aluminum is gaining momentum," said Yoshihiko Kimura, head of the Japan Aluminium Association. From July, the group began spreading information about aluminum cans via its social networking site and plans to hold an art contest using such cans later this year to raise awareness.
Producing aluminum pollutes a lot too, unfortunately. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...holl-win-the-global-water-fight-idUSKBN1WW0J5 It's probably better (for the environment at least) to get your fluids from reusable containers.
https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/fifo-for-couples-cash-splash-on-camps-but-more-mothballs-for-lithium-20210811-p58hun FIFO for couples, cash splash on camps but more mothballs for lithium Chris Ellison’s Minerals Resources is set to make its mining camps couple-friendly and build Olympic-size swimming pools to hang on to workers in WA. Brad Thompson Reporter Aug 11, 2021 Chris Ellison’s Minerals Resources is set to introduce fly in, fly out for couples and build Olympic-size swimming pools at mining camps as it looks to hang on to increasingly precious workers in the West Australian resources sector. The cash splash on luxury mining camps comes with Mineral Resources and US partner Albemarle in no rush to take the Wodgina lithium mine out of mothballs. Mr Ellison said Mineral Resources was pulling out all stops to retain and recruit workers in WA amid COVID-19 restrictions cutting off access to international and intrastate workers that have limited the company’s ability to get iron ore from mines to port. The Wodgina lithium mine looks set to stay in mothballs as Albemarle and Minerals Resources focus on building downstream capacity. The billionaire mining boss estimates the industry in WA will need 30,000 to 40,000 more workers in the next few years amid lobbying for a special visa to access overseas labour. “We want them [our workers] to be with us for a long time, their entire working career, and we’re doing a lot of things to try and make the work environment for our people probably in the top 20 per cent in the country,” he said. Mr Ellison is escalating a mining camp arms race in WA that already includes Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill offering wagyu steaks to its workers and BHP’s unveiling a camp with a three-storey café, CrossFit gym, a kitchen just for cooking masterclasses and a virtual golf course. “We’re going to have bigger rooms, we’re going to encourage couples to be able to work and live together on site,” Mr Ellison said. “We’re going to have Olympic-sized swimming pools, we’re putting in wellness centres, restaurants, taverns, cafés.” Mr Ellison maintained Mineral Resources could quickly assemble enough workers to restart the Wodgina lithium mine – touted as potentially the biggest and best in Australia behind Greenbushes in WA’s South-West – but was in no rush. Wodgina was put into in care and maintenance on the same day in November 2019 that Albemarle finalised a deal to hand Mineral Resources $US1.3 billion for a 60 per cent stake. Mr Ellison confirmed on Wednesday that Wodgina was likely to stay in mothballs until Albemarle acquired a lithium hydroxide plant in China, with Mineral Resources also keen to boost its downstream exposure. Neither Albemarle nor Mineral Resource see value in selling unrefined lithium spodumene despite a price rally that sent the share price of Pilbara Minerals, which mines close to Wodgina, to a record high on Wednesday. Mineral Resources does expect to capture higher spodumene prices in the next few months through its partnership with China’s Jiangxi Ganfeng in the Mt Marion mine in WA, but Mr Ellison said the market was still highly sensitive to increases in supply. “We’re not in a rush to open up Wodgina and then just go sell rock into the market because it would be very short-term,” he said. “We’re not really comfortable that the market can support that type of supply coming into it at the moment.” However, Mr Ellison confirmed Mineral Resources was on the hunt for more lithium deposits in WA to add to Wodgina and Mt Marion. Mineral Resources is not forecasting any earnings in 2021-22 from the delayed lithium hydroxide plant Albemarle is building at Kemerton in WA. Albemarle intends to feed Kemerton, plagued by delays and cost blow outs, from the Greenbushes mine it owns through a joint venture with China’s Tianqi. Mineral Resources secured a right to 40 per cent of the output of trains 1 and 2 at Kemerton as part of the Wodgina transaction with Albemarle to market the lithium hydroxide.
BHP bets its future on two ‘mega-trends’ Peter Ker Resources reporter Aug 17, 2021 https://www.afr.com/companies/minin...ts-billiton-in-the-guillotine-20210817-p58jh4 BHP says it will be better placed to invest in a lower carbon world after announcing its dual-listing structure will be unified in Australia and its capital-heavy petroleum division hived off to Woodside Petroleum. BHP chief Mike Henry said a desire to play a bigger role in the global “mega-trends” around decarbonisation and food security were behind the decision to merge its petroleum division with Woodside, unify its dual-listed structure and spend $US5.7 billion ($7.8 billion) on a new potash mine in Canada. BHP Group chief executive Mike Henry. Exiting the petroleum business will rapidly accelerate the decarbonisation of BHP’s portfolio. The momentous changes to BHP’s commodity mix and corporate structure came as the miner reported a $US17.07 billion full-year underlying profit and rewarded shareholders with record total dividends of $US15.2 billion for the year to June 30. Shareholders will receive a $US2 per share final dividend, worth just over $US10 billion, on September 21, thanks largely to record iron ore prices. BHP has been two companies operating with the appearance of a single entity since the 2001 merger of Australia’s BHP and London-listed Billiton. Unification of that structure has long been anticipated and will be executed through a mechanism where the Australian-listed half of BHP acquires the London-listed half. BHP said its shares would still trade in London and South Africa in future, but the company might lose its place in London’s FTSE100 index. The process will cost up to $US500 million and require approval from shareholders and regulators. Capital allocation triggers decarbonisation Mr Henry said the simplification offered by unification would make it easier to operate amid the challenges of the pandemic and would also make potential acquisitions easier to execute. “Now is the time to unify even if the petroleum merger were not on the cards,” he said. Exiting the petroleum business will rapidly accelerate the decarbonisation of BHP’s portfolio, given it has also spent the past year trying to sell its thermal coal mines and its lower-quality coking coal mines. But Mr Henry said the petroleum exit was “not at all” driven by investor pressure over carbon emissions, adding that BHP did not believe divestments should be counted toward a company’s emissions reduction targets. The decision was instead driven by the fact organic growth options within the petroleum division were poised to dominate BHP’s “capital allocation” over the next five years. Mr Henry said BHP had decided to separate the petroleum division from its minerals division – a combination that BHP had until this week argued offered it a competitive advantage – before settling on Woodside as the best partner. “In the way we think about capital allocation within BHP, there were going to be some ongoing challenges with the amount of capital that we would look at investing in petroleum ... with the capital that we want to be able to allocate to future-facing commodities, which we see as being long-term, multi-decade plays that are positively leveraged to the mega-trends,” he said. “This is no grand statement about oil and gas, it is all about driving greater value for shareholders.” Ausbil’s Luke Smith said exiting petroleum and coal would clearly boost BHP’s sustainability credentials and the move was therefore welcome. Exiting petroleum robs BHP of the bulk of its organic growth options and chairman Ken MacKenzie hinted the company’s new structure would catalyse an acquisitive future. “Our plans announced today will better enable BHP to pursue opportunities in new and existing markets and create value and returns over generations,” he said. On the acquisition trail BHP said the $US5.7 billion first stage of the Jansen potash mine would have a rate of return between 12 per cent and 14 per cent – below the 15 per cent to 20 per cent threshold BHP has traditionally required before investing large sums into a project. However, BHP has indicated it would not rigidly enforce the 15 per cent threshold if lower-returning projects gave it the platform for future growth that would offer much higher returns. That will hopefully be the case at Jansen, where the infrastructure built for stage one will potentially mean expansion into a second stage will offer much higher returns on investment. First production at Jansen will come in 2027, meaning the company will have invested 14 years and more than $US8 billion into the project before first revenues start to flow. Mr Henry said BHP would market its own potash once Jansen was built, meaning it will be a disrupter of the “Canpotex” cartel that exports most of the potash produced in Canada by incumbents such as Nutrien and Mosaic. Significant reversal Tuesday’s big underlying profit shrank to become a $US11.3 billion final net profit after $US5.8 billion worth of impairments, most notably on its Mt Arthur thermal coal mine in NSW and, perversely, a portion of the $US3 billion spent sinking shafts at Jansen over the past eight years. Exiting petroleum shapes as a significant reversal of the narrative BHP chief Mike Henry and chairman Ken MacKenzie have preached to shareholders over the past two years. Owning petroleum and minerals assets under one roof has been described by BHP as a “competitive advantage” that enables counter-cyclical investment and technology sharing not available to companies that produce just one commodity. As recently as February Mr Henry said he was prepared to acquire further oil assets if good opportunities arose, on top of his plans to spend billions on the growth options that already existed within the division. Tribeca Investment Partners Global Natural Resources portfolio manager Ben Cleary called for the sale of BHP’s US shale assets in 2017 and said he now favoured a full exit from petroleum. Exit makes strategic sense “It does make sense to get rid of it as it’s not really a diversifier in its shrunken state and removes the fossil-fuel stigma that is clearly a big deal for large institutions,” he said. “The future is battery metals and infrastructure, so put the money into proper mergers and acquisitions in those sectors.” CLSA analyst Robert Stein previously worked on portfolio strategy for BHP and said while there was strategic sense in exiting petroleum, the fullest value realisation would likely come from a trade sale of BHP’s best oil assets in the Gulf of Mexico, rather than the merger with Woodside. Analysts had expected BHP to declare total dividends for the year of $US2.89 per share on the back of a $US17.45 billion underlying profit, according to consensus figures published by VUMA. BHP’s previous dividend record was set in fiscal 2019, when shareholder returns were bolstered by the sale of US shale assets for $US10 billion, enabling BHP to pay total dividends of $US2.35 per share in that year. The company’s record profit was achieved in fiscal 2011, when it reported a $US21.6 billion underlying profit. The West Australian iron ore division provided close to 80 per cent of BHP’s earnings before interest and tax over the past year, with the business flying high on record prices for the steel-making ingredient in May. The “benchmark” price for ore with 62 per cent iron was fetching $US162.50 per tonne on August 16 according to S&P Global Platts, and most pundits expect the price will soften over the next three years as Chinese demand cools and Brazilian iron ore supply rises. BHP’s copper division was the second-biggest contributor to earnings after prices for the red metal surged to decade highs above $US4.70 per pound in May. Copper prices have eased since then but at Tuesday’s price of $US4.24 per pound remain double the levels seen in March 2020. China’s ban on Australian coal made fiscal 2021 a tough year for BHP’s Queensland coking coal empire, but the consolation for BHP is that the division should generate massive profits in fiscal 2022. Prices for the sort of top-quality hard coking coal produced at BHP’s Peak Downs mine have almost doubled since May, to be fetching $US222.25 per tonne on August 16. A shortage of all types of coal in China seems to be driving the price rally around the world, with Australian miners such as BHP benefiting even though their coking coal is now being sold to new customers in Europe, the Middle East and India. Peter Ker covers resource companies, based in Melbourne.
Forrest declares nickel war on BHP Brad Thompson Reporter Updated Aug 20, 2021 https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/forrest-declares-nickel-war-with-bhp-20210820-p58ki5 Andrew Forrest has declared his intention to battle BHP for nickel assets and is casting a big shadow over what could emerge as a bidding war for Western Areas that has implications for BHP’s ambitions in battery metals. Forrest-owned Wyloo Metals said it opposed BHP’s takeover bid for Noront Resources in Canada and is willing become involved in a bidding war for the promising nickel producer. And a day after IGO Limited confirmed it was in takeover talks with Western Areas, it was revealed Forrest-owned Wyloo Metals has accumulated a 5.28 per cent stake in Western Areas. Andrew Forrest is set to have a say on nickel consolidation in WA. Rebecca Mansell The stake, together with others in West Australian-based nickel players, means the iron ore billionaire will at least have a big say in any predicted consolidation in the sector.......
Phytomining could become the next big thing in sustainable mining of metals By Imelda Cotton August 24, 2021 https://smallcaps.com.au/phytomining-next-big-thing-sustainable-mining-metals/ Phytomining, the process in which certain plant species can absorb metals from previously mined land, could be a way to extract value out of mine waste. A world where Mother Nature extracts in-demand metals from the ground in cost-effective and sustainable ways is being touted as a major value adder to conventional mining methods. In the last decade, researchers worldwide have discovered a number of “super plants” capable of absorbing metals from land previously used for mining operations, through a process called phytomining. Of the planet’s 320,000 recognised plant species, around 700 have been dubbed “hyperaccumulators” for their ability to thrive in metal-rich soils without suffering phytotoxic (or poisonous) effects. These species feed on mining waste normally stored in tailings facilities and often contain remnants of valuable metals such as cobalt, nickel, zinc and gold. They draw in and accumulate high concentrations of these metals and other elements from the ground in their biomass as they grow. Some species of hyperaccumulators can retain up to 1% cobalt or 4% nickel in their shoots, which translates to more than 25% metal when the shoots are harvested and incinerated to ash (known as “bio-ore”). Farming hyperaccumulators Researchers are now on a quest to discover whether widespread farming of hyperaccumulators could provide an alternative to conventional and environmentally destructive mining methods while helping to rehabilitate former mine sites. If proven, the concept has potential to remedy the mining industry’s biggest problem of polluted waterways from abandoned mines. Studies have shown hyperaccumulators planted on a closed mine site are capable of salvaging the remaining metals deep beneath the ground’s surface over time, generating additional revenue. The idea could be enough incentive to persuade mining companies to invest in rehabilitation or mine waste cleanup. Phytomining research At the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute, Associate Professor Peter Erskine and his research team have been involved in the development of phytomining technology at the institute’s Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation. The team has discovered that a field of one type of hyperaccumulators planted across a nickel-rich site like a mine tailings dam could potentially yield up to 300kg of nickel per hectare every year, meaning the critical metal used in rechargeable batteries and stainless steel manufacturing could be harvested rather than mined. Professor Erskine said the process – when implemented at a large scale – could become a sustainable option for the mining of rare metals and the transition from carbon-fuelled mining. “We already know Queensland is home to native plants that have this ability to absorb metal [and] we are currently growing plants using metal-rich soil and tailings from around [the state],” he said. “Our work has the potential to unlock a sustainable stream of critical metals, including from mine wastes and tailings, that still hold residual metals of interest.” Government approval Advancing the potential for plants to pull metals out of the ground received approval from the Queensland government earlier this month, when it announced it would invest $1 million into a joint phytomining study with the Sustainable Minerals Institute. Funded under the state’s $23 million New Economy Minerals Initiative, the “world-first” study will assess the ability of native plants such as selenium weed and a variety of macadamia trees to become hyperaccumulators. If successful, it could supply sustainably-sourced rare earth metals with low environmental impact and potentially change how some mines operate in the future. Professor Erskine believes this will be “looked upon favourably around the world” and enhance Queensland’s position in the critical metals market. “Phytomining could be used to access unconventional resources that are not viable using existing mineral processing techniques,” he said. “This includes mine wastes such as tailings which still hold residual metals of interest; in effect, phytomining could turn waste into new resources.” The joint study will run for four and a half years and include testing of rare earth element-rich material from the Phosphate Hill mine and closed Mary Kathleen mine near Cloncurry, and the Peak Range in central Queensland. A series of experiments will follow to establish optimal conditions, the range of application and limitations for the identified plant species and different rare earth-rich material types. Professor Erskine said he is confident the phytomining of nickel could quickly proceed to full-scale production and phytomining of cobalt, thallium and selenium is on the horizon. Malaysian “metals farm” That forecast is supported by Professor Erskine’s colleague and plant specialist Antony van der Ent, whose thesis work in 2015 spurred the establishment of a proof-of-concept “metals farm” in Malaysia’s Kinabalu Park. The farm comprises four acres of 20-foot-tall, leafy-green shrub, tended to by local villagers with the aim of demonstrating that hyperaccumulator trees can be used to mine metals. Every few months, the villagers shave off about a foot of growth from the plants and burn the crop to produce the ashy bio-ore. “We can now demonstrate that metal farms can produce between 150kg to 250kg of nickel per hectare [170 to 280 pounds per acre] annually,” Mr van der Ent said. “At the midpoint of that range, a farmer would net a cool US$3,800 [A$5,280] per acre of nickel at today’s prices which is on par with some of the best-performing agricultural crops on fertile soils, while the operating costs are similar.” Mr van der Ent said he was planning to scale-up the Malaysia trial to nearly 50 acres, which would call for the application of an industrial-scale hydrometallurgical plant to separate the target metal from its ore via a water-based medium. “They won’t have to manually burn the crop as they are doing now, meaning the process will be carbon negative, as opposed to carbon neutral,” he said. Supporters of phytomining see the greatest potential in Indonesia and the Philippines, which are two of the world’s biggest nickel ore producers.
Opinion Forrest and BHP go to war over a company no one has ever heard of Elizabeth Knight Business columnist August 31, 2021 https://www.smh.com.au/business/com...no-one-has-ever-heard-of-20210831-p58nko.html BHP versus Andrew Forrest was once a David and Goliath fight confined to the Pilbara. Today the battle between the two titans of iron ore, has moved to the far reaches of Northern Canada and the quarry they both seek is a nickel company no one has ever heard of. So small and financially embattled is Noront Resources, that nine months ago it was worth just around $70 million dollars - little more than the petty cash held in the head offices of BHP and Forrest’s Fortescue. Thanks to the bidding war between Forrest and BHP, Noront is now capitalised at $380 million and counting. Forrest lifted his offer this week to C70 cents per share - trumping BHP’s C55 cents. Andrew Forrest has turned up the heat on BHP in the fight for Noront Resources.Credit:Bloomberg Despite his corporate and financial success the battle still feels personal for Forrest who is prepared to devote time and emotion to a bare knuckle brawl with the Big Australian. In many ways it feels a bit like the good old days when as Australia’s blue blood corporate establishment miner BHP revelled in taking pot shots at the then corporate upstart, Andrew Forrest. Fifteen years on, Forrest’s success has made him the richest man in the country and BHP is more circumspect about its Twiggy jibes. But a certain level of disdain for Forrest is still embedded in the fabric of BHP’s culture - and also that of Rio Tinto. The fight for Noront opens up a new battleground for BHP and Forrest as both look to burnish their credentials as companies investing in future-facing commodities, the demand for which is rising as the world looks to decarbonise. Noront owns a highly lucrative but prospective area called the Ring of Fire in Northern Ontario which is brimming with high-quality nickel, chromite and copper. The net present value of these reserves are conservatively estimated to be multiple billions and made all the more attractive thanks to being located in sovereign risk-free Canada. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the area is remote and currently devoid of the infrastructure needed to begin development. Indeed, Noront has a chequered history of ownership - having seen off several major investors, including US heavyweight Cliff Resources, that have been financially burned after the stranded assets proved too expensive to develop as commodity prices moved around. The same issue left Noront with no choice but to find a corporate big brother with sufficiently deep pockets. It now seems to have found two and to date the board appears to have found a way to play them off against each other. Forrest has acquired a stake of 37.5 per cent (held through shares and convertible debt). Earlier this year he offered to provide the company with a loan which it declined, choosing instead to raise cash through a placement of 5 per cent of its stock to BHP. Noront announced the placement but curiously didn’t reveal who had taken the stock. Forrest hit back with a non-binding proposal to acquire the shares at C31.5 cents a piece. BHP responded with its own cash offer of C55 cents and with a minimum acceptance condition of 50 per cent. This was immediately embraced by the Noront board and recommended to shareholders. Forrest’s higher C70 cents offer, made through his investment company Wyloo, has been structured via, what we know in Australia, as a scheme of arrangement. Thus, it will require shareholder approval of two-thirds of non-Wyloo shareholders. Electric vehicle car batteries can contain as much as 40 kilograms of nickel.Credit:Bloomberg If successful Wyloo plans to allow minority shareholders who wish to retain their shares the opportunity to do so. At the time of writing, Noront’s board had not publicly responded to Forrest’s upwardly revised proposal. But Forrest’s pitch to shareholders is simple - he is the underdog with the heart and drive to do what bureaucratic companies will take longer to achieve, and he is willing to take others along for the journey. He reminds them of his track record of developing projects in the face of ‘insurmountable odds’. In the early days of Fortescue, the miner was denied access to BHP’s infrastructure and had to build its own railway and port facilities. “After years of little progress it’s understandable that shareholders have lost hope in Noront. I’ve personally been in the same position before. Seventeen years ago people told me Fortescue’s deposits would never be mined because there was no infrastructure to access our projects. We proved those critics totally wrong, and we want to do the same thing in the Ring of Fire’, Forrest said on Monday.