In the news today…
Minerals:
- Mining.com reports Benchmark Mineral Intelligence reports cobalt hydroxide prices surged by more than 22% to more than $26,000 per tonne in August from July, while cobalt sulphate prices jumped 18.5% to average over $8,000 a tonne on the back of supply disruption and strong demand from the consumer electronics sector.
- Nature Communications carries a research report that states renewable energy production is necessary to halt climate change and reverse associated biodiversity losses, but generating the required technologies and infrastructure will drive an increase in the production of many metals, creating new mining threats for biodiversity.
Coal:
- Argus reports US power producers are considering running more coal-fired plants seasonally as utilization rates have fallen to historic lows, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.
- Argus reports coal exports out of Hampton Roads, Virginia, rose in July from June’s nearly four-year low but still lagged year-earlier levels.
- Argus reports the Ohio Senate is grappling with a number if of issues early in its debate on whether to repeal subsidies for nuclear and coal plants after they were linked to a $60mn bribery scheme.
Carbon Capture:
- County 17 reports the possibility of carbon capture storage in the Powder River Basin advances with a geophysical survey to test the viability of building a commercial-scale complex underground.