Mining Engineering’s Weekly Rundown: Episode 72

First, the U.S. Department of Energy has selected 17 National Laboratory projects for $29.5 million in funding aimed at advancing domestic mining technology. The funding comes through DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation and its Mine of the Future initiative, following President Donald Trump’s executive order on energy development. The projects will focus on technologies designed to improve domestic mineral extraction and processing, including recovering critical minerals from mine waste, improving ore processing, developing real-time sensing systems and advancing more precise drilling and mineral extraction. The selected laboratories include Ames, Argonne, Idaho, Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Pacific Northwest, Sandia, Savannah River and SLAC, along with the National Laboratory of the Rockies in Colorado. The $29.5 million follows other DOE investments in domestic mining technology this month, including $73 million announced for four projects to establish testing grounds for new mining technologies.

Next, Codelco’s long-awaited restructuring plan could be delayed until the end of 2026 as Chile’s state-owned copper producer reviews its operations, costs and production outlook. The company had previously expected to present the plan in October. Four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the review could include workforce reductions of between 5 percent and 20 percent, although Codelco said it was too early to speculate on potential job cuts. The company employs nearly 77,000 people, with contractors accounting for about 80 percent of its workforce. Codelco’s new CEO, Jorge Gomez, took over in July and is leading the review as the company deals with years of stagnant production and rising costs. The miner has also lowered expectations for future production, with Chairman Bernardo Fontaine saying output is likely to remain around 1.3 million metric tons in coming years, below previous plans that targeted 1.7 million metric tons by the end of the decade. Codelco’s unions say they have not been formally informed of any headcount reduction plans.

Finally, Northern Star Resources has rejected a $27.1 billion takeover proposal from South Africa’s Gold Fields, blocking a deal that would have created the world’s second-largest gold producer behind Newmont. Gold Fields offered Northern Star shareholders 0.3125 Gold Fields shares plus A$7.25 in cash for each Northern Star share. The proposal valued the shares at A$27 when Gold Fields submitted the offer on September 14, but that implied value later fell to A$25.19 as Gold Fields’ share price declined. Northern Star said the offer represented a 14 percent premium to its share price, below the roughly 30 percent premium typically required for Australian takeovers. Gold Fields said it remains open to discussions with Northern Star and has estimated $4 billion to $5 billion in potential corporate, operational and portfolio synergies from a combination. The deal would have produced about 4.1 million ounces of annual gold production, with roughly 80 percent coming from Australia, North America and Chile.

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