Industry Update - Australia joins global commitment to ESG for critical minerals

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13 December 2022

Australia has joined an international grouping to commit to sustainability and the highest environmental, social and governance standards for the mining and processing of critical minerals, which are essential components for low-emissions technologies.

Australia has signed on to the Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance, which is an initiative led by Canada to promote sustainable, environmentally and socially responsible mining practices for the critical minerals sector. Other signatories will include Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the United States.

Australia has abundant reserves of critical minerals, including rare earths, which are essential inputs to clean technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicle batteries.

Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King said mining and processing of critical minerals are crucial to help the world lower emissions, and it was important those minerals are developed to high ESG standards.

“Australia is strongly committed to sustainability and the highest environmental and social governance standards, and we believe the development of new low-emissions technologies provides a great opportunity to promote those ESG standards across the world,” Minister King said.

“Australia congratulates Canada for taking the initiative, and we are proud to become a foundation member of the Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance.”

Members of the group commit to voluntarily working to develop and use critical minerals that:

  • Employ a nature forward approach by collaborating with industry on practices that prevent biodiversity loss, protect species at risk and support nature protection, including driving towards net-positive benefits to the natural environment;

  • Support local and Indigenous communities by promoting safe working conditions and responsible labour standards, diverse and inclusive workforces, supporting Indigenous and local community benefits, and respecting the rights of local and Indigenous peoples;

  • Help fight climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and working towards achieving net-zero emissions by no later than 2050 by promoting net-zero mining practices;

  • Restore ecosystems by adopting requirements for reclamation and remediation to close and return mine sites to their natural state, and holding responsible parties accountable for environmental harm; and

  • Build a circular economy by accelerating the reuse and recycling of critical minerals, which may reduce the number of new mines to supply the minerals needed.

The Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance was launched on the sidelines of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montréal on 12 December 2022.

Media Coverage: Daily Company News - Chatham Looks Forward To An Eventful 2023

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Chatham Rock Phosphate Limited (TSXV: “NZP” and NZX: “Chatham”, “CRP”, or the “Company”) is, having advanced on multiple fronts, planning an eventful 2023.

The start of Korella phosphate production and the development of the Australian domestic market are the prime objectives for the Company in 2023.

Meanwhile the administrative process for the granting of a Mining Concession on Makatea is expected to continue throughout 2023.

Mining at Korella North

We’re aiming to start on-site operations at the Korella North Mine in Q4 2023. In tandem, marketing into the Australian domestic market will commence with first sales of our high-quality direct application soft rock phosphate to sugar cane and banana growers in Queensland.

Korella Fertilizer’s Cloncurry Distribution Hub will supply road trains with bagged product for growers on the Queensland Coast and bulk loads using side-tipping road trains.

Read the rest of the article on dailycompanynews.com

Industry Queensland interviews CRP executive director Colin Randall

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Chatham Rock Phosphate has brought Golding Contractors onboard as it works to bring its Korella North rock phosphate mine online.

The contract will see Golding provide mining services to facilitate the granting of a mining lease at Korella North and statutory services in the exploration of Korella South.

Chatham, through its Australian company Korella Fertilisers, is advancing the Korella North, Korella Central and Korella South phosphate projects adjacent to the major Phosphate Hill mining operation in North-West Queensland.

"Our basic principle is to appoint major contractors who can help us bring our projects to fruition," Korella Fertilisers executive director Colin Randall said. "(This means) a mining contractor who can not only help with providing statutory persons in our exploration but can also help us prepare the mining plans. They have all the support facilities and supporting staff that would be extremely difficult to recruit ourselves under the current circumstances."

Mr Randall said Golding was among most experienced phosphate mining contractors in Australia, having operated the Phosphate Hill mine - where they recently renewed a contract for the next five years. He said the company would be making an announcement on a transport/logistics contractor for the Korella projects in the near future and a crushing contractor further down the track. In addition to the mine sites, Korella Fertilisers aims to establish a distribution hub and a monocalcium phosphate (MCP) manufacturing plant in Cloncurry to service its rural customer base.

The company is also working on plans for a 2Mtpa bulk phosphate rail loading facility at Korella North and a bulk loading facility at Port of Townsville. This supports its longer-term aims for a bulk phosphate distribution and export operation. Korella North phosphate would initially be transported to Cloncurry for distribution to domestic customers. The soft rock phosphate (about 13-14 per cent phosphorus) can be directly applied to improve acidic soils, with a market in sugar cane and banana cultivation, for example. "Not only is it high in phosphorus, it's low in cadmium and also has good available silica. So those are the other parameters that will make it attractive," Mr Randall said.

The initial mining contract is expected to cover production of 100,000 tonnes of phosphate rock in the first year and 250,000tpa in subsequent years. Mr Randall said a backlog in the applications system meant Chatham wasn't expecting to receive its exploration approval for Korella North until mid-2023. But he expected this would be quickly converted to a mining lease and first production should meet the fertiliser buying period of April/May 2024.

Media Coverage: ABC News - Resources company has cattle industry in its sights, with plan for outback mine and MCP plant

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Russell Cooke has been running a stock feed manufacturing business in Australia's remote Kimberley region since 2014 and says he's never been busier.  

"The wet season really failed in parts [of northern Australia], so we've been getting a lot of early orders and extra customers for supplements to help keep weight on cattle for as long as possible," he said.

Mr Cooke makes cattle supplements and feeds using a range of ingredients, which sometimes can be sourced from his home state of Western Australia, such as maize from the Ord Irrigation Scheme, canola meal from Perth, and salt from Port Hedland.

But when it comes to the key ingredient of phosphorus, Mr Cooke needs to look overseas.

Read the rest of the article on abc.net.au

Media Coverage: Proactive Investors - Chatham Rock Phosphate aims to become a global phosphate exporter

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Chatham Rock Phosphate’s Colin Randall speaks with Proactive’s Elisha Newell about the company’s objectives in the phosphate market, including its global export ambitions. Randall speaks about the company’s rare earths and phosphate projects in Australia, New Zealand and French Polynesia and how it is looking to maximise the value of its phosphate resource for New Zealand, while turning Australia into a major phosphate export hub that can assist with food security. The company is currently listed in New Zealand but is considering listing on the AIM and ASX. Finally, Chatham’s CEO outlines the company’s four- and five-year work and export plans.

Read the rest of the article on proactiveinvestors.com

Industry Article: ABC News - All eyes on north-west Queensland's Georgina Basin to ease global fertiliser shortages

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An international shortage of fertiliser is crippling crop farmers around the world.

As one of the biggest exporters of phosphate fertiliser, Russia has caused major disruptions to the global supply chain with its invasion of the Ukraine.

The impact is being felt globally. In Brazil, the coffee industry is facing a mounting crisis as shortages of its Russian-sourced fertiliser stifle harvests.

Overall, coffee production is expected to fall by more than 15 per cent this year.

As countries become desperate to establish less volatile trade relations, Australian miners say "the time is now" for the country to begin exporting its rich phosphate resources.

They say the north-west Queensland region of the Georgina Basin is a phosphate honey pot waiting to be tapped.

Read the rest of the article on abc.net.au

Industry Article: ABC News - With billions of tonnes of phosphate for fertiliser, can Australia 'seize the moment'?

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The Georgina Basin stretches 330,000 square kilometres across the Northern Territory and Queensland and contains some of the world's largest deposits of rock phosphate — a key ingredient for making fertiliser.

There are several resources companies in the region aiming to start up mines, and with global fertiliser prices soaring, the timing seems right.

"Throughout the Georgina Basin there's billions of tonnes of quality phosphate ... so we have an opportunity, but we have to seize the moment," said Colin Randall, executive director of Chatham Rock Phosphate.

Read the rest of the article on abc.net.au

Media Coverage: Daily Company News - Chatham reports encouraging dicalcium phosphate test results

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CRP is pleased to provide a further update on the Dicalcium Phosphate (DCP) manufacturing project we announced on 14 January 2022.

On that date we announced the start of a prefeasibility study to produce DCP from the Korella and Korella South phosphate projects in Queensland.

DCP and derivative Monocalcium Phosphate (MCP) are essential additives to improve bone growth and structure in all farmed animals. DCP and MCP are added to the feed ration and are an important ingredient in supplemental feeding.

We advised we would send samples of Korella phosphate to phosphate technology specialists Prayon SA for testing to establish the parameters for production of DCP through their “GetMoreP” technology.

We sent a 3kg sample of a low-grade phosphate 20% P2O5 (rather than the normal 30% P2O5 Direct Shipping Ore) to test the ability to value-add to low grade phosphate resources at the Korella Mine and Korella South.

Read the rest of the article on dailycompanynews.com

Industry Article: Feeco.com - Strain on rock phosphate resources tightens as fertilizer demand rises

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Phosphorus continues to be a hot topic in the fertilizer industry, as rising demand for food and decreasing arable land, among other factors, drives demand for the critical crop nutrient. Experts are worried we’ll exhaust our supplies of rock phosphate, the primary material feeding phosphate fertilizer production, sooner than later.

Add to this that excess phosphorus keeps ending up in waterways, causing harmful algal blooms, and the industry is under increasing pressure to better manage the nutrient and bring balance back to the nutrient cycle. 

Phosphorus sustains life on earth; without it, we simply cannot survive. 

Read the rest of the article on feeco.com