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Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses the role that Platinum Group Metal can play against water pollution; traceability in the mining sector and Petra Diamonds progress in this area; and the R400-million junior mining exploration fund.

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One hydrogen haul truck eliminates the deleterious carbon emissions of the equivalent of 700 cars, First Mode global hydrogen sourcing director James Betts highlighted during this week's World Hydrogen Australia webinar, where he spoke of the need for the hydrogen haul trucks to be conceived as bringing about a holistic decarbonisation of many aspects of mine sites rather than being viewed in isolation.
"Just to give you a bit of context, these mine sites have many haul trucks running through them, so there's a huge amount of potential diesel saving.
"A really beautiful thing about hydrogen, and this is why I'm so very passionate about it, is that it comes with a system. There are the haul trucks, the trains, and there's ammonium nitrate, which is used in explosives in mining, the base of that being hydrogen.
"There's a whole ecosystem around that, and so rather than thinking about each of these individual use cases, one of the things we really need to start taking seriously is hydrogen in the system.
"Hydrogen on a standalone use case basis is where we're struggling commercially to make it feasible, but if you can bring that broader picture into play, it's a very, very smart and tidy solution, especially within the context of hubs and initiatives and the hub-and-spoke concept for multiple use cases.
"I think mining is absolutely key for the introduction of hydrogen and hence we'll be focusing our attention on trying to drive a bunch of innovations in that space to make it happen," said Betts, whose First Mode is focused on decarbonising heavy industry, primarily in mining.
With Betts on the panel were Australia's Queensland Department of Energy and Climate Hydrogen Hubs and Initiatives director Dana Hildebrandt, InterContinental Energy midstream director Warner Priest, and German-Australian Chamber of Industry hydrogen head Florence Lindhaus.
The panelists collectively presented a compelling case for the introduction of green hydrogen solutions into mining and mining-linked activities as part of an imperative requirement to combat climate change that is already threatening economies globally.
Readers of Mining Weekly will recall that the prototype zero-emission hydrogen-powered mine haulage truck Betts was citing unveiled by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Mogalakwena platinum group metals (PGMs) mine in South Africa's Limpopo two years ago. This mine is owned by Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Anglo American Platinum, which may soon also be listed on the London Stock Exchange as part of a major value-adding initiative being implemented by Anglo American.
Capable of carrying a 290 t payload, the nuGen Zero Emissions Haulage Solution (ZEHS) hydrogen truck generates more power than its diesel predecessor.
The pioneering creation of the nuGen ZEHS involved a 2700 hp diesel engine being innovatively replaced by eight parallel PGM-catalysed hydrogen fuel cells, totalling 837 kW, and a 1.2 MWh lithium-ion battery.
This world-first was described at the time as a crucial step in the Anglo American group's pathway to carbon-neutral operations by 2040.
The task of First Mode, which has a combined business with Anglo American, is to accelerate the implementation of the nuGen ZEHS.
The new combined business retains the First Mode name as an independent business and prioritises developing the nuGen ZEHS, while building on several years of extensive joint development.
"In 2021, we had the first ultra class haul truck running on hydrogen power, so we're very, very familiar with hydrogen and what that means, not only from use case side, but also the supply side, and that's really important," Betts emphasis at the webinar covered by Mining Weekly.
GREEN HOT BRIQUETTED IRON
Using green hydrogen to turn iron-ore into hot briquetted iron (HBI) was comprehensively spelt out during the World Hydrogen Australia webinar by Priest, who highlighted a

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A second renewable energy project has been announced for heavy mineral sands extraction and refining company Richards Bay Minerals (RBM), which mines in the northern KwaZulu-Natal and produces materials used in a wide range of everyday products, from paints to smartphones.
In 2022, the Rio Tinto group company signed a renewables agreement with Voltalia for the Bolobedu solar photovoltaic plant in Limpopo. which is currently in progress and which is anticipated to meet 17% of RBM's power consumption by generating up to 300 GWh of renewable energy a year.
Now, RMB has signed a renewable power purchase agreement with Khangela Emoyeni Wind Farm to secure 140 MW of wind energy from a new wind farm that straddles the Western and Northern Cape provinces, which is expected to reduce RBM's annual carbon emissions by 20%. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
Combined, the Khangela Emoyeni Wind and Bolobedu Solar projects will supply 42% of RBM's existing energy needs and present opportunities for job creation, skills development, and knowledge transfer within local communities, surrounding the project sites, during both the construction and operational phases.
RBM and Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium (RTIT) African Operations MD Werner Duvenhage expressed determination to find better ways to produce the materials the world needs "and decarbonising our operations is one of them", he told a media conference in which Mining Weekly participated.
The Rio Tinto group has committed to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050 and the Khangela Emoyeni Wind Farm has the potential to reduce RBM's annual carbon emissions by 20% - which equates to 470 000 t of carbon dioxide emissions equivalent - and reduce the Richards Bay company's existing reliance on traditional energy sources by 26%.
Parties to the latest 20-year agreement include African Clean Energy Developments (ACED), The IDEAS Fund (managed by African Infrastructure Investment Managers), investment holding company Reatile Group, and Rand Merchant Bank. Energy Infrastructure Management Service (EIMS) Africa will be responsible for asset management for the project.
Once constructed, the Khangela Emoyeni Wind Farm is expected to produce 460 GWh of renewable energy a year and, through a wheeling agreement with State power utility Eskom, will help power RBM's operations, which are in Richards Bay.
The project, with an export capacity of 140MW, is expected to reach commercial operation within 28 months.
"Not only will Khangela Emoyeni Wind Farm provide RBM with clean energy for their operations, but it will also help alleviate South Africa's power crisis," ACED GM James Cumming commented.
Chief Commercial Officer EIMS Africa Michael Wickins noted that ACED, which has been in operation since 2008, has developed 1.7 GW of renewable energy projects, with a further 4.5 GW of wind and 4.5 GW of solar projects in development, all of it in South Africa. Unlocked has been renewable energy developments with capital expenditure value of more than R45-billion rand.
EIMS Africa, formed in 2017, manages a gigawatt of renewable energy projects, also all in South Africa and all majority owned by Old Mutual's Ideas Fund. This consists, consists of the operation of 16 utility scale projects in both the REIPPP space and the private market space, with a further four in construction that are being co-managed with ACED.

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Platinum group metal (PGM) is once again coming to the fore as a mineral resource that goes the extra mile in protecting a threatened global environment.
The latest indispensable commodity that is poised to be shielded by PGM, which has been safeguarding the air of cities from vehicle exhaust fumes for many decades, is drinking water, which is coming under increasing pollution threat.
Coming to the rescue is now PGM-catalysed hydrogen peroxide, which is providing the world with an opportunity to treat water chemistries that are hard to break down.
The biggest benefit of the ultra-pure hydrogen peroxide that PGM is helping to generate is that it is green, clean and environmentally protective.
The base elements of hydrogen peroxide are water and oxygen, which, when exposed to sunlight, hydrogen peroxide breaks back down into water and oxygen, which is akin to water being the sole by-product of PGM-catalysed green hydrogen-driven fuel cells that power trucks, trains, buses, bakkies, ships, factories, offices, homes and so much more.
Where water is in a constant loop or stored, pathogens build up and it is hydrogen peroxide that is able to remove that threat sustainably.
Johannesburg-based MatiTech has introduced the PGM-catalysed hydrogen peroxide generator - the HPGen - which enables the safe and easy on-site manufacture and roll-out of hydrogen peroxide for use in water treatment.
South African-mined PGM is used in the electrochemical stack of MatiTech's HPGen.
Interestingly, MatiTech has been incubated by global venture capital initiator AP Ventures, which is supported by South African PGM-mining companies as well as South Africa's State-owned Public Investment Corporation (PIC).
MatiTech's forward surge is taking place at a time when global alarm bells are beginning to be rung across the world owing to the increasing level of pollutants doggedly positioning themselves in the world's water sources.
Because the hydrogen peroxide is generated on-site, where there is no need for additives, it is extremely pure, which, in itself, makes it ultra-effective in water treatment applications.
"We then combine this new technology with existing technologies such as ultraviolet disinfection, ozone treatment, reverse osmosis filtration systems, and our ability to treat organic chemistries and organic organisms sets us apart from any other water treatment facilitator," MatiTech MD Mike Bowley emphasised during a Zoom interview with Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
"With the increasing level of pollutants that we are seeing in our water sources, the technology we're currently using cannot continue to be used.
"We have to find an alternative and hydrogen peroxide is that alternative. When we see high levels of organic pollutants in raw water sources, chlorine derivative disinfection byproducts create carcinogenic byproducts, which unfortunately we're seeing happen in South Africa," said Bowley.
"There are examples of this, and the hydrogen peroxide creates the opportunity to remove that chlorine-based technology and use hydrogen peroxide.
"This is the future of water treatment, and not just in South Africa, but globally. We're seeing research done on it by the Environmental Protection Agency in the US. In Australia, they're doing research on using hydrogen peroxide in water treatment, and, as MatiTech, we're driving that force here in South Africa and in Africa."
Regarding HPGen technology being used on a local mine site, Bowley added: "In essence, the PGM has come home, if you will, on this mining site. It was mined on this site, we've included it in a technology, and we're using this technology to provide drinking water to the mine. It's a vastly important technology that could increase the use of PGMS globally."
Mining Weekly: What are the future problems and issues relating to potable water treatment, affecting not only remote sites

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Traceability is becoming an increasingly important part of the natural diamond industry, specifically in terms of being able to verify provenance or origin.
G7 sanctions being applied also make traceability technology more important.
"Traceability has an increasingly important role, and I'm sure we'll see more about traceability across the industry going forward," Petra Diamonds CEO Richard Duffy commented to Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview.
The London-listed Petra, which mines diamonds at Cullinan and Finsch in South Africa and at Williamson in Tanzania, is currently trialling two different diamond tracing technologies.
The first is Tracr, used by De Beers, and the second is Sarine Diamond Journey. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
Provided will be transparency from mine to finger for any individual who purchases a diamond in a jewellery store anywhere in the world.
"If it's been through this process with us at Petra, they would be able to receive a physical or a virtual certificate, which would say that their polished diamond was cut from a rough diamond recovered, for example, at the Cullinan mine in South Africa.
"It would also contain all of the information around the number of employees at the mine, the social and community projects that are undertaken at the mine, and, in due course, it will also include information around carbon footprint - information that reinforces that purchase experience and provides verification of the original provenance of that diamond and the journey it's been on to reach that particular consumer's purchase," Duffy outlined.
Traceability will also allow natural diamonds to be clearly distinguished from laboratory-grown diamonds, because lab-grown diamonds do not participate in traceability technology.
Petra expects to implement this far-reaching traceability during the course of this calendar year, which will enable it to clearly verify that the diamonds:
are from a Petra mine;
are natural and not lab grown; and
are not subject to any sanctions.
"It provides certainty for consumers around the diamond they're purchasing, and provides a whole lot of information about that particular diamond as well," Duffy emphasised.
Questioned by Mining Weekly on the current state of the diamond market, Duffy had this to add: "Looking forward, there's certainly some upside as we move towards the end of the calendar year, and this means that we're positive, both for the industry and also for ourselves at Petra."
"If you see the prevailing structural supply deficit, where there are very few new diamond mines coming on stream, and the ongoing demand from the broader luxury jewellery segment, that's all positive, together with growing middle class and growth in high-net-worth individuals.
"India is a good example of that and the US economy has continued to be resilient through this period of high inflation and interest rates.
"We're positive about the market in the medium to longer term, and we've done a lot of work at Petra to make our business more resilient, to ensure that we're able to generate cash in both good markets and more difficult markets," Duffy added.
Petra's historic Cullinan diamond mine is located 100 km north-west of Johannesburg, its Finsch diamond mine is 160 km north-west of Kimberley, and the Williamson mine is 140 km south-west of Mwanza, in Tanzania.
The application of Tracr means that the diamonds from these mines will be subjected to the Internet of Things, AI and blockchain technology to provide comprehensive supply transparency.
In addition, the application of Sarine Diamond Journey begins with three-dimensional scanning to establish a verifiable image of the physical diamond and a definitive link to its digital report.
This enables the creation of an unbroken chain of authentication at every stage of the diamond's journey - from rough to rough, rough to polished, polished to report.
Securely

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South Africa's diversified mining company African Rainbow Minerals has secured its 15% strategic shareholding in Surge Copper, Toronto Stock Exchange-Venture Exchange company that is advancing an emerging critical metals district in British Columbia, Canada.
Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed ARM, headed by executive chairperson Dr Patrice Motsepe, is now a cornerstone investor in Surge, which owns 100% of the emerging Berg project and the longer-term Ootsa asset, which host porphyry copper, molybdenum, gold, and silver deposits.
As a member of the International Council on Mining and Metals, ARM is a steward of minerals and metals that are critical to decarbonisation and sustainable development.
The private placement has been declared unconditional owing to all conditions precedent having been fulfilled, a Johannesburg Stock Exchange News announcement stated.
With copper demand expected to increase from 28.3-million tonnes in 2020 to 41-million tonnes by 2040 at a compound yearly growth rate of 1.85%, under-investment in new copper mines to meet climate goals is of major concern globally.
ARM's C$3.9-million investment is the largest component of Surge's completed C$5-million funding package.
ARM, having successfully subscribed for 41 373 414 common shares at C$0.095 a share, has the right to maintain its ownership position through future equity financings, as well as the right to appoint a member to a technical advisory committee.
On the technical front, Surge is looking forward to drawing on the project and operational know-how of ARM in advancing the Berg project, the first of the two assets to receive developmental mining focus.
Surge, headed by CEO Leif Nilsson, will be conducting six weeks of metallurgical test work programme at Berg, designed to advance flow sheet design parameters and confirm metallurgical recoveries acceptable for use in the prefeasibility study.
Last year's preliminary economic assessment of Berg pointed to an internal rate of return of 20% based on long-term commodity prices of $4.00/lb copper, $15.00/lb molybdenum, $23.00/oz silver, and $1 800/oz gold.
Berg is in the north-western portion of Surge's 100%-owned 125 499 ha contiguous land package in the Berg-Huckleberry-Ootsa district.
A preliminary economic assessment points to a 30-year mine life with total payable production of 2.6-million tonnes of copper equivalent, including 1.7-million tonnes of copper itself.
The combined measured and Indicated resource is an estimated one-billion tonnes of 0.23% copper, 0.03% molybdenum, 4.6 g/t silver, and 0.02 g/t gold.
Interestingly, the porphyry deposits of the Ootsa exploration project adjoin the opencast Huckleberry copper mine of the Vancouver-based Imperial Metals mining company.
Mining Weekly's Projects-in-Progress reported earlier this year that mine planning at Berg is based on conventional drill, blast, load and haul opencast mining methods suited to the project location and local site requirements.
The process design envisaged is based on processing mineralised material from the Berg deposits through copper and molybdenum flotation to produce saleable copper and molybdenum concentrates.
Proposed mine facilities include:
mining administration offices, a mine fleet, truck shop and mine workshop, as well as wash bays;
common facilities, including an entrance/exit gatehouse, a security/medical office, an overall site administration building, potable water and fire water distribution systems, compressed air facilities and power distribution facilities, as well as diesel reception and communication areas;
a near-pit mineralised material and waste crushing facility with associated electrical infrastructure;
process facilities housed in the process plant, including grinding and classification, flotation, regrinding, concentrate handling, reagent mixing and distribution, as well as an assay laboratory, process plant works