Page 169 - CW E-Magazine (17-10-2023)

News from Abroad

PARTNERSHIP

Fortune Minerals and Rio Tinto join hands to expand

critical minerals production in US

Canadian mining company, For- Rio Tinto has been mining and pro-
tune Minerals, and Rio Tinto are colla- cessing copper and other minerals in-
borating to develop technology that cluding gold, silver, molybdenum and
will improve recovery of the critical tellurium from the rich ore body of the
minerals – cobalt and bismuth. Under a Bingham Canyon Mine at its Kennecott
Memorandum of Understanding signed operations.
between the companies, testing will be
done at Rio Tinto Kennecott’s integra- Fortune is developing its vertically
ted copper mining and smelting opera- Cobalt is used to manufacture lithi- integrated NICO Cobalt-Gold-Bis-
tions in Utah and at Fortune’s planned um-ion rechargeable batteries and store muth-Copper Project in Canada. This
Alberta refinery in the US. energy in electric vehicles, portable critical minerals asset is comprised of a
electronics, and stationary storage cells. planned mine, mill and concentrator in
The partnership aims to maximise Bismuth is used in automotive coat- the Northwest Territories and a related
the value of critical mineral supply ings, paints, and low temperature alloys hydrometallurgical refinery in Alberta
chain investments and increase For- and castings. Consumption is growing where concentrates from the mine
tune’s planned cobalt and bismuth re- primarily as a non-toxic and environ- would be processed.
fining operations to process co-product mentally safe replacement for lead for
streams of the minerals recovered from products used in potable drinking water Fortune and Rio Tinto are work-
the Kennecott smelter. sources and electronics, glass, and am- ing together to assess different process
munition. A significant new use for bis- methods and technology options to
In 2020, the Canadian and US muth is in environmentally safe, high recover the bismuth and cobalt con-
Governments signed a ‘Joint Action Plan’ density plugs to properly decommis- tained in Kennecott’s smelter waste
on critical mineral collaboration to en- sion oil & gas wells, preventing green- streams. This includes assessing the
able more North American production house gas leakage, blowouts, and aqui- effectiveness of blending Rio Tinto’s
of the critical minerals needed in new fer contamination. Manganese-bismuth intermediate products with NICO pro-
technologies. Cobalt and bismuth are magnets have also been identified for ject concentrates and conducting batch
both included in this list and are used potential replacement of rare earth ele- recovery tests using Fortune’s refinery
for sustainable energy resources. ments in electric vehicle powertrains. flow sheets.
CAPACITY EXPANSION

BASF raises cosmetic ingredients capacity
at German site

Germany’s BASF has invested in the Emollients bind and maintain skin the capacity is now being expanded
production of emollient specialties at moisture and improve the sensory in a targeted manner to meet growing
its Düsseldorf (Germany) site targeted properties of a care product. The need market demand with an investment
for skin and sun protection products. for special emollients for formulations in the mid double-digit million range.
A new reactor and upgrade of the distil- that for instance enable silicone-free Ms. Mary Kurian, President of BASF’s
lation units enable an expansion of pro- skin care and octocrylene-free sun Care Chemicals division, said, “BASF
duction capacity to meet the increasing protection continues to increase in sees the growth potential in specialities
demand for these speciality products. Europe. Düsseldorf is home to BASF’s for the personal care industry in
The new facilities are scheduled to go third-largest site in Europe and Europe and, as the market leader, we
into operation in the third quarter of specialises in ingredients for the cos- are consistently investing to support
2025. metics & personal care industries. Here, this growth with our customers.”

Chemical Weekly October 17, 2023 169

Contents Index to Advertisers Index to Products Advertised