Nayan Seth’s Post

The IOM3 (Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining) supports professionals in materials, minerals, mining and associated technical disciplines to be champions of the transition to a low-carbon, resilient & resource efficient society. Their 2023 paper, The Talent Gap: Critical Skills for Critical Materials, investigates and confirms that a lack of access to skilled workers is a significant and growing risk facing the sector and UK economy.  Read the paper here: https://lnkd.in/eUZBYYZE   IOM3’s paper builds on work done by the CMA (UK)’s 2022 paper ‘A Talent Pipeline for Critical Minerals’, as well as the ambitions set out in the UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy to ‘review the UK’s skills, education and training along the critical minerals value chain and define a critical minerals skills blueprint, recognising the full breadth of skills we need'.    From exploration geologists uncovering the UK's critical minerals potential and chemical engineers who discover innovate ways to recycle magnets, to social scientists who map our global supply chains and ESG consultants who track life cycle assessments-- the opportunities to pursue study and work in UK are diverse, rewarding and exciting.    The CMA (UK) is pleased to work in collaboration with IOM3 to deliver our careers event and call to action at the Natural History Museum on the 3rd of July. Both our organisatons have been at the forefront of the national discourse on the skills gaps in critical minerals, dedicated to nurturing the UK talent pipeline and highlighting the urgency of the skills gaps to both Government and the wider public.  ✍🏼 Sign up for free today! -> https://lnkd.in/eKdgvMcu

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released its June 2024 quarterly statistics on mineral #exploration expenditure, including a 1.6 per cent increase on FY2023 for annual spending nationwide. #mineralexploration #criticalminerals #miningnews #ABS #miningmagazine

I have worked with mining sector over my 35 years career including companies like BHP or Vale (Formerly INCO) or Glencore (Formerly Falconbridge) or Lundin Mining Corporation or others. There has been many challenges over the years that have impacted the mining sector like regulations, agreements with indigenous groups, managing of tailing ponds and water, metal supply chain management, skills gap, rise of China. The long U.S. lead times stand in contrast to the country's sizeable resource base. The U.S. copper endowment (more than 275 million metric tons in reserves and resources) is comparable to those of Canada and Australia combined and sufficient to satisfy domestic demand for the foreseeable future. The United States' endowment of lithium (more than 43 million tons in reserves and resources) is more than twice that of Australia, which currently accounts for half of the world's lithium production. The report also shows that the United States receives strikingly less in mining exploration budgets relative to its advanced economy peers. Such investment has been 57% higher in Australia and 81% higher in Canada over the past 15 years. While Canada's average lead time (27 years) was found to be only slightly better than the United States, greater certainty that a Canadian project will ultimately reach production may partly explain why it attracts significantly higher investment. https://lnkd.in/gTSh-_Zm Blog – Commodities – June 2024 - https://lnkd.in/gvxWjN7W #criticalmetals #copper #nickel #lithium #cobalt #ESG #environmental #social #governance #EV #netzero S&P Global

The US aims to build a supply chain around critical minerals vital to the energy transition, reducing China's influence. In this sense, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are poised to play a key role in the country’s effort to de-risk mineral supply chains. In a new analysis titled "De-risking Critical Mineral Supply Chains: The Role of Latin America"(https://lnkd.in/dbPwE6zF), the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) explores some of these aspects. Below are some key insights: :: Despite mining a substantial share of the world's strategic minerals, most downstream operations are undertaken outside the LAC region. Brazil hosts around 20% of global rare earth element reserves but accounts for only 0.2% of production. :: Historically, China has played an outsized role as an export destination for LAC’s mining sector, but today it is seeking to replace this strategy by developing vertically integrated, in-region supply chains. For example, BYD has recently announced plans to fully integrate its EV production in Brazil. :: Developing a new critical mineral supply chain requires mobilizing greater private sector investments. To guarantee legal and financial stability, a comprehensive mineral supply chain resilience strategy involving government agencies, academia, public stakeholders, and investors is required. ::To succeed in its ‘de-risking' strategy, the US must demonstrate to LAC countries that it offers economic opportunities and lead by example. Achieving this requires promoting economic and regulatory cooperation, scaling investments, and developing domestic exploration and processing capabilities. Additional reading recommendation: [1] RMI report ‘X-Change: Race to the Top’: X-Change: The Race to the Top (https://lnkd.in/eVvsSJge) #criticalminerals #energytransition #geopolitics

Exploring for Critical Minerals is a Risky Business. The 2023 global mineral exploration budget stood at US$12-13B, with the majority directed to ‘safe’ jurisdictions. Although a slight decline from the previous year, it only represented 60% of the 2012 peak (>US$20B). This decline correlates, in part, with a reduction in the number of companies involved, down 40% from the peak of over 2,500 companies also in 2012 to about 1,500 companies. The most recent trough in global exploration budgets was in 2016, with US$6-7B spent on exploring non-ferrous minerals, involving approximately 900 companies with operating budgets. Read more here: https://hubs.la/Q02bXyPW0 #TheAssay #MiningInvestment #CriticalMinerals #MiningExploration

Taranis was again mentioned in a Northern Miner article in a sobering overview of the B.C. Exploration sector. "Exploration spending in British Columbia is down by more than 45% since 2022, the biggest drop of any jurisdiction in Canada, PearTree Financial managing director Kendra Johnston said at the Energy Transition Metals Summit in Washington, D.C. in April". The Government's take on the same issue? During Premier Eby’s announcement at the Association of Mineral Explorers annual conference [January 2024], he shared exploration expenditures and mine production numbers for 2023, "reaffirming another strong year for B.C.’s mining and mineral exploration sector. Last year [2023], mineral-exploration expenditure in the province was $643.5 million, 94.1% higher than in 2018". 😧 Quit the political spin - This is proof, Premier Eby's government lives in the past (in fact 2018)....It's time to face the fact that the NDP Government has devastated the exploration/mining business in British Columbia. https://lnkd.in/dzrUgPna

We are pleased to announce we have entered an option agreement to purchase up to 80% of two additional exploration licenses at the Lake Johnston pegmatite field in Western Australia’s southern Goldfield’s region. Asra has a 6 month exclusive option period to evaluate the two license areas and if proceeding, will own 51% and commence a JV with the vendor with the rights to increase to 80% ownership. Asra's Managing Director Rob Longley said "recent lithium bearing pegmatite discoveries, and investment by Rio Tinto into the Lake Johnston area, validates the districts enormous critical mineral potential, and its vastly under-explored status." Read the full announcement below 👇 https://lnkd.in/gnajKJRa #exploration #mining #lithium #westernaustralia #goldfields

Last week at the invitation of the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Development, I reviewed and provided feedback on the National critical minerals strategy 2023 – 2030. The growing demand for critical energy transition minerals will attract significant global mining investment in the next couple of decades. By value, this market could top $400 billion. Zambia with large reserves of critical energy transition minerals has a window of opportunity to tap into these investment flows to transform its economy, create new green jobs, secure sustainable local development and create safeguards to minimize negative environmental and social impacts. Harnessing the potential of critical energy transition minerals in such a biodiverse, resource-rich and dynamic country will require putting the necessary social and environmental safeguards in place, creating inclusive spaces for multistakeholder engagement (including of indigenous communities) and promoting strategic cooperation to add value, diversify, and attract high-quality investment for infrastructure, technology transfer, innovation while creating durable productive, trade and regulatory capacities. The strategy is key in harnessing mineral resources for sustainable development. Unlike copper and cobalt mining which is largely formalized and large-scale, mining of other minerals including manganese and lithium has seemingly been relegated to the artisanal and small-scale mining sub sector. For a while, successive governments have indicated plans to formalize the sector, with the current government in the process of developing a model for formalization. However, the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sub sector remains highly informal, which presents its own challenges and exacerbates the governance risks amidst the energy transition. For the most part manganese and lithium exploration and extraction, which are fairly new frontiers for Zambia’s mining sector, present unique challenges of their own.

The 2nd annual Australian Critical Minerals Conference is designed to bring together stakeholders involved in the critical minerals industry from the length of the value chain, including those working in investment, exploration, mining, supply chain, government, recycling, and manufacturing, along with end users. With 30+ industry leaders to hear from, here are just a few of the many sessions you can't afford to miss: ● The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia on the outlook for global supply and demand of critical minerals ● Lindian Resources Limited on green mining and Australia's global opportunity ● The Critical Minerals Office on the role of global geopolitics in shaping Australia’s critical minerals industry ● National Reconstruction Fund Corporation on managing the priority of critical mineral funding ● Rio Tinto on the future of critical mineral deposits and the development of new extractions and processing technology ● Critical Minerals Group Ltd on critical minerals' role in battery technology and clean energy ● Tesla on taking advantage of Australia’s battery opportunity ● Trade and Investment Queensland on exploring risk for investors and junior explorers ● Arafura Rare Earths Limited on maximising critical minerals opportunities ● Export Finance Australia on attracting the scale of global investments needed for the rapid growth of mineral extraction in Australia ● Anglo American on leveraging AI and Machine Learning for enhanced data analysis View the agenda, speaker list or download the brochure for further information here https://hubs.la/Q02kCWX40 SAVE up to $800 if you register now! https://hubs.la/Q02kCZlm0

Fraser institut mining exploration favorability: "The top jurisdiction in the world for investment based on the investment attractiveness index, which takes into account the impact of both policy factors and mineral endowment, is Utah, followed by Nevada (2nd), Saskatchewan (3rd), Western Australia (4th), Quebec (5th), Manitoba (6th), Arizona (7th), Northern Territory (8th), Newfoundland & Labrador (9th) and Ontario (10th)." BC is ranked 25 th. #invest#utah#nevada#mining#investment https://lnkd.in/dwXywHkU