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1) Freeport-McMoRan has temporarily halted its mining and processing operations at its Grasberg mine after flooding caused damage to parts of its roads and its concentrate mill. “Some of the concentrate processing plant had mudflow and several sections of the mine road were damaged,” added Tony Wenas, the Freeport's president-director or Grasberg. “As a result, mining and processing activities were temporarily suspended for the recovery process.” He gave no estimate of when operations would resume.
Source: UPDATE 4-Freeport-McMoRan cuts forecast after floods damage Indonesia's Grasberg mine (yahoo.com)
2) The US government is looking at trade pacts with Japan, the UK, and European Union (EU) to secure critical minerals and counter the Chinese influence on the market. The trade deals could also make countries that trade with the US eligible for benefits from the Inflation Reduction Act which would increase incentives to key US allies. China runs a monopoly on the rare earth minerals as it controls the market and is in many key projects of critical minerals such as cobalt, copper and lithium. The US is pushing to secure these critical minerals as it looks to transition into a green energy future. It established a Minerals Security Partnership that includes the EU, UK, Japan, Australia and South Korea. The group help a meeting last week to discuss the mining, processing and recycling of these minerals with several representatives of African nations. Many key players in the Partnership are also looking to diversify its import partners away from China as it can become a negotiating tool when it comes to foreign policy.
3) Ivanhoe Mines is looking to bring in a minority partner to help develop Congolese copper assets. The company is in discussions with potential partners, including sovereign as countries are looking for stable supply, according to Robert Friedland, CEO of Ivanhoe. “We’re in all kinds of strategic discussions and you know, most of the most interesting investors tend to be sovereign investors,” Friedland said in Bloomberg’s Cape Town office on Wednesday. “We only want to do things that help it to grow.” The company is looking for investors into its Kamoa-Kakula mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2021, Bloomberg reported that BHP was in early-stage discussions with Ivanhoe to buy into a huge exploration territory that neighbors the mine. Congo is Africa's largest copper producer, with annual output of 2.4 million tons and is the biggest supplier of cobalt as well.