Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

German carmakers Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz struck battery materials cooperation agreements with mineral-rich Canada on Tuesday, intensifying efforts to secure access to lithium, nickel and cobalt.

The move comes as automakers roll out their electric-vehicle expansion strategies globally in a bid to challenge sector leader Tesla. These strategies depend on sufficient supplies of vital battery materials.

No financial details were disclosed for the memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreements, which were signed in Canada during a visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and a delegation of German corporate representatives.

“The supply of battery raw materials and the production of precursor and cathode materials with a low carbon footprint will allow for a fast and sustainable ramp-up of battery capacity – a key lever for our growth strategy in North America,” outgoing Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said.

Volkswagen aims to build, with partners, six large battery cell factories in Europe by 2030 with a capacity of around 240 gigawatt-hours, as well as a dedicated factory in North America for which it is currently examining potential sites.

VW is targeting initial capacity of 20 gigawatt-hours at the North American plant, said Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen AG board member and head of the automaker’s Power Co battery unit.

At a media briefing Tuesday, Schmall said the company aims to announce the North American plant location and potential mining and refining partners by the end of the year.

“Everything in our planned rollout of electric vehicles depends on the supply of batteries,” Schmall said.

Pablo Di Si, incoming president and CEO of VW Group of America, said the automaker’s US plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, aims to build 90 000 electric vehicles next year, adding that the new ID4 is expected to qualify this year for the full $7 500 US tax credit under the new Inflation Reduction Act.

Mercedes-Benz, meantime, is preparing to go fully electric by the end of the decade wherever market conditions allow, and has recently struck a deal with China’s CATL to ensure battery cell supply in Europe. Read full story

As part of the MoU, Mercedes-Benz will explore a strategic partnership with Rock Tech Lithium under which the Canadian firm would supply the German carmaker and its battery partners with up to 10 000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide a year from 2026.

Volkswagen has said it could become a shareholder in local mining firms to make sure it is first in line when it comes to supply.

Mining Weekly

DRDGold is using satellite imagery to monitor its tailings dumps, in addition to quarterly drone surveillance.

An international tailings performance management system implemented ensures the integrity of data for day-to-day management and oversight.

“There’s a direct line from this into the board, so there’s no sugar-coating of information,” DRDGold CEO Niël Pretorius disclosed on Wednesday when the company reported a solid set of results and paid dividends for 15 years in a row.

In a presentation covered by South African publication, Mining Weekly, Pretorius described the surveillance technology being deployed as something about which he is particularly excited.

“I do believe that technology plays such an important role in managing an industry that is this complex and at this scale,” he added.

He was referring to the use of interferometric synthetic aperture radar imagery known as InSAR.

“This is satellite imagery that picks up the slightest movement in just the shape, height, and width of tailings facilities, so that if there is any movement of a sidewall, then this gets picked up and it’s brought to your attention. And then there’s the quarterly drone surveillance as well,” Pretorius said.

The disclosure points to the phenomenal sophistication being applied to those tailings dumps so evident around Johannesburg and on the East Rand and West Rand, which is placing the company in pole position to offer a complete tailings management solution to the world.

Tailings management has become a global demand in the wake of the horrific tailings disaster in Brazil and DRDGold considers that it can offer as an additional service, beyond the bounds of its own business, a complete tailings management solution, combined with rehabilitation, which is where its skillset lies.

An external tailings review panel is involved with the management of DRDGold’s tailings facilities, which are characterised by world-leading vegetation that has reduced dust to very low levels.

“This has been work that establishes a benchmark of what good environmental governance is all about, which comes down to the management of tailings,” Pretorius said.

“We run some of the largest in the industry, and although there’s a big move away from upstream deposition, the reality is that there are many of those out there, and they need to be managed in a way that limits their impact on the environment, and that’s where our focus really lies, in becoming the benchmark in the industry on that,” he said.

Sustainable development and rehabilitation expenditure is deeply embedded in the cash-rich company. Group cash and cash equivalents are 16% higher at R2.5-billion, which puts the company in a strong position to continue with its phase of capital expenditure, as well as taking up other growth opportunities. The group remains free of bank debt.

The Founder of Mthandazo Women Miners Association Trust Sithembile Ndlovu has called on the government and the business community to extend a hand in funding women’s gold projects as women in mining seek to grow from small-scale to medium-scale mining.

Rudairo Mapuranga

Speaking at the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development All Stakeholders Workshop on Gold Sector Value Chain in Kariba held recently Ndlovu said, it is of importance for women to be funded as they have shown potential to grow and expand in the gold mining industry.

“Women have the potential to grow and expand in the mining field, they need a supporting hand to complete the mission.

“Women have mostly been working from hand to mouth. Capital platforms need to be accessible for women from loans to machinery. This will give women the opportunity to move to medium scale because they are able to yield production through attaining resources,” she said.

Ndlovu also said that women in mining should be empowered not only through loans and funding but in knowledge to accelerate their growth from small to medium-scale mining.

“Women need to be trained in terms of acquiring geological knowledge for groundwork, knowing the constitution, statutory instruments, laws and regulations in mining. This will create an opportunity for women to grow because most women fear to stand up for themselves and allow intimidation due to a lack of knowing their rights. We are kindly pleading with the government to create a desk for women in mining in order for women to receive exposure, trainings and a comfortable space to inquire about what they need to know in the mining sector. From my personal experience I travelled to Nairobi and shared ground with women from other countries who were only given the opportunity to be buyers and came to the realization that Zimbabwe is one of the few countries that allows women to own their own claims therefore we need further support to shift from small to medium scale miners together as women,” Ndlovu said.

Speaking at the same event Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development chairperson Hon Edmond Mkaratigwa said it was of importance for the government to empower women through funding and knowledge.

“It would be amiss for me not to say something about women in mining. I am sure you will agree with me that there are very few brave women who are involved in mining and this is largely because, by nature, the mining industry is a very tough terrain.

“As a Committee, we had an opportunity to visit Mthandazo Women Miners in Gwanda, and we all got to understand the challenges that women miners are facing.

“It would be prudent for either the Reserve Bank or Fidelity Printers to set aside a specific fund earmarked for women miners only. If we allow women to compete for loans alongside their male counterparts, they will not be able to benefit equally,” Mkaratigwa said.