News Feeds | ecology.iww.org (2024)

Mining.Com - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 10:32

The Eagle mine, part of the Dublin Gulch heap leaching property in Yukon. Credit: Victoria Gold

Victoria Gold (TSX: VGCX) produced 29,580 oz. of gold from its Eagle mine during the first quarter of 2024, compared to 37,619 oz. in the first quarter of 2023.

“While quarterly gold production is down year over year, the summer and fall seasons are our strongest operating periods, and we expect to achieve 2024 gold production guidance of 165,000 to 185,000 oz. and cost guidance of $1,450 to $1,650 per oz. of gold sold,” said CEO John McConnell.

For the second year in a row, ore was placed on the leach pad throughout the winter. The 2 million tonnes of ore delivered for leaching was in line with the 2.1 million tonnes of 2023.

However, the average grade was 0.63 g/t gold in 2024, compared to 0.86 g/t in 2023. The lower year-over-year grades were related to mine sequencing in the Eagle orebody, the timing of placing stacked tonnes under leach, and lower-than-planned stacking rates in the last quarter of 2023.

Both the Eagle and Olive gold deposits are being mined as part of Victoria’s Dublin Gulch project, located 375 km north of Whitehorse and 85 km from Mayo, Yukon.

Categories: J2. Fossil Fuel Industry

Allegheny Front - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 10:28

If approved by the court, the agreement will resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile radius of the derailment.

The post Norfolk Southern announces $600 million settlement in East Palestine train derailment class action appeared first on The Allegheny Front.

Categories: G2. Local Greens

Mining.Com - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 10:27

Metso’s TSE Series screens are compact, high performance units for either portable or stationary applications. Credit: Metso

Metso has expanded its standard product offering of screens for the North America, Mexico, and Central America markets with TSE Series triple shaft screen.

The new TSE Series screen is a high-performance horizontal screen used in a wide range of wet or dry applications in coarse or fine screening. They are designed for superior accuracy and efficiency in a very compact installation.

The TSE Series offers a robust design to support the stresses generated by the high-performance mechanism that produces the high G elliptical motion.

The rigidity in the design is provided by frames made from standard sections with K-bracing and with side plates that are huck bolted without any welding. The result is a reliable screen design with less natural frequencies and a much larger operating window.

The high-performance mechanism offers the flexibility to operate the screen in a large range of applications due to the ease of gear and counterweight adjustments. The TSE Series screen’s elliptical motion is combined with high acceleration, thereby bringing more performance in terms of throughput and screening efficiency.

The TSE Series screen is suitable for replacement of most standard triple shaft machines on the market in which minimal changes are required.

Metso TSE Series offers several benefits. The robust, compact design makes it portable due to low height. The screen gives high performance elliptical motion up to 6.5 times gravity. The TSE Series can be used for wet or dry applications and separates even sticky material. Adjustments to the elliptical stroke and stroke angle are easy and maximize production of any material.

Categories: J2. Fossil Fuel Industry

Mining.Com - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 10:26

Chile-focused explorer and developer CleanTech Lithium (LON: CTL) has suspended its chief executive officer, Aldo Boitano, pending an investigation into a loan he entered into with an unnamed lender.

The company said it noted that between September 8, 2023 and February 6, 2024, Boitano transferred his entire holding of 9,400,002 ordinary shares to a custodian account nominated by the lender.

When questioned, Boitano was not able to ascertain the extent to which these shares might have been transferred to a further nominee account in the name of the lender or sold by the lender, CleanTech said.

CleanTech Lithium kicks off exploration at two new Chilean assets

Shares in the company took a big hit in early trading in London, falling to 11p. The stock recovered later in the day, closing 3.46% higher at 11.65p. That leaves the company with a market capitalization of £16.91 million ($21.2m).

“The board of CleanTech Lithium would like to make it clear that Mr Boitano is cooperating with the investigation,” the company said.

To ensure there is no impact to the ongoing work program at the Laguna Verde project,Steve Kesler, currently executive chairman, has assumed the CEO’s responsibilities, it said.

Personal loans secured by executives’ own company shares can be contentious, as they may result in share sales or create a long-term overhang on share prices.

CleanTech, which recently opened a direct lithium extraction pilot plant in northern Chile, told stakeholders that it will provide updates on the situation as the investigation progresses.

Categories: J2. Fossil Fuel Industry

Climate Change News - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 10:05

The head of the United Nations climate body, Simon Stiell, said on Wednesday a “quantum leap” in climate finance is needed for many countries to be able to submit strong new climate action plans next year.

“It’s hard for any government to invest in renewables or climate resilience when the treasury coffers are bare, debt servicing costs have overtaken health spending, new borrowing is impossible and the wolves of poverty are at the door,” he said in a major speech at the Chatham House think-tank in London.

Climate finance has traditionally consisted mainly of wealthy governments and multilateral development banks giving loans and grants to developing countries to help them reduce planet-heating emissions and adapt to climate change.

But Stiell’s speech focused heavily on other sources of finance, which would not burden taxpayers in rich nations but are unlikely to be agreed in time for next year’s round of climate plans under the Paris Agreement.

Stiell said governments must agree at the Cop29 UN climate summit this year “a new target for climate finance that meets developing country needs”. But, he added, “it’s not enough to agree a target. We need a new deal on climate finance between developed and developing countries.”

Billionaires and boats

That would include “new sources of international climate finance, as the G20, International Maritime Organization (IMO) and others are working on”, he noted.

The Brazilian government, as chair of the G20, wants the group’s 20 major economies to agree a minimum tax on billionaires, and has hinted that some of this levy could be spent on climate finance.

Spring Meetings can jump-start financial reform for food and climate

But this has not been agreed – and is likely to prove controversial. E3G analyst Sima Kammourieh said geopolitical splits over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza had held back G20 negotiations, as had the recent death of the Brazilian diplomat leading the discussions, Daniel Machado da Fonseca.

Governments at the IMO, meanwhile, have agreed to put a price on shipping emissions. But the IMO and government shipping negotiators have suggested they want most of this money to be used to clean up the shipping industry, not for broader climate finance such as the new UN loss and damage fund.

Spring meetings

Ahead of next week’s spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), Stiell reiterated his support for the Bridgetown Agenda, a set of international financial reforms that would shift more multilateral funding into tackling climate change.

“The Spring Meetings are not a dress rehearsal. Averting a climate-driven economic catastrophe is core business,” Stiell said. “It can’t slip between the cracks of different mandates.”

So far, the biggest reform agreed is a change to the World Bank’s debt-to-equity ratio of 1%. That will free up $4 billion a year – but while reformers are calling for more, opponents fear credit rating agencies will downgrade the bank, making it more expensive to borrow money.

European court rules climate inaction by states breaches human rights

The newest proposal in Stiell’s speech was his call for the IMF to make “more use” of an obscure pot of money called the Catastrophe Containment Relief Trust (CCRT).

The CCRT provides grants for debt relief to the world’s poorest countries when they are hit by disasters that meet a preset threshold of destruction.

But the IMF’s latest annual report described the trust as “critically underfunded” with “insufficient resources to provide significant relief” when another disaster strikes.

Old-fashioned finance?

French President Emmanuel Macron has been a vocal supporter of a new global pact on finance that would push more money into climate action into debt-strapped developing nations, hosting many world leaders at a summit in Paris last year to discuss the reforms.

But last month, France cut its aid budget by 12.5%. The UK has also reduced its aid spending in recent years, and shuffled the numbers to count more as climate finance – while a potential Donald Trump victory threatens the US’s already relatively low level of international climate funding.

Former French diplomat, Laurence Tubiana, who is now chair of the European Climate Foundation, told journalists yesterday that in Europe the “fiscal space is just non-existent”, adding “the agenda of the day is to cut public spending”.

But Sara Jane Ahmed, finance adviser to the V20 group of climate-vulnerable countries, told Climate Home that rich nations can create more fiscal space by printing money, borrowing, taxing or cutting spending elsewhere.

In London, Stiell said a “quantum leap in climate finance is both essential and entirely achievable”, and argued that providing more is in the interests of powerful developed countries.

Without climate finance, he said, poorer nations would not submit bold new climate plans and then “all economies, the G7’s included, will soon be in serious and permanent strife”.

The post UN climate chief calls for “quantum leap in climate finance” appeared first on Climate Home News.

Categories: H. Green News

Royal Dutch Shell Plc .com - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 09:46

Posted by John Donovan: 10 April 2024

In a move that has the London Stock Exchange quaking in its trading boots, Shell’s CEO Wael Sawan has dropped a bombshell threat: Shape up or we ship out to the Big Apple!

Sawan, not one to mince his words, has warned that if London’s stock market continues to undervalue Shell, they’re packing their bags and heading Stateside faster than you can say “oil spill.”

Despite enjoying the swanky lifestyle in London, Sawan’s loyalty to the UK is about as solid as a house of cards in a hurricane. With dual Lebanese and Canadian citizenship, he’s got one foot out the door already. He’s sick and tired of London investors treating Shell like yesterday’s news while simultaneously picking their pockets clean with hefty taxes.

But wait, there’s more! Former Shell bigwig Ben van Beurden chimed in, backing Sawan’s play and highlighting the “major issue” of Shell’s valuation gap between London and New York. It’s like a game of Monopoly, and London is losing big time.

And if you thought the drama ended there, think again! Shell’s share price soared to an all-time high, hitting a whopping 2,860p. It’s like a rollercoaster ride, but instead of adrenaline, you get existential dread about the future of London’s financial hub.

But fear not, dear investors, for Shell has kindly given London a two-year notice period to shape up. So, buckle up, London Stock Exchange, because if you don’t improve, you’ll be bidding adieu to Britain’s most valuable listed company faster than you can say “tax evasion.”

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Categories: J2. Fossil Fuel Industry

The US Environmental Protection Agency has set legally enforceable drinking water limits for a group of the most dangerous PFAS compounds, marking what public health advocates hailed as “historic” rules that will dramatically improve the safety of the nation’s water. Though the rules only address several PFAS compounds, the technology water utilities are installing will address many of the compounds. However, the technology does not address some of the newly discovered “ultra short chain” PFAS that are not well studied. Public health advocates say the problem highlights the need to regulate PFAS as a class and prohibit their non-essential uses.

Water utilities have long opposed the rules because they did not want to have to pay for upgrades, which they say will cost billions of dollars and lead to increased bills for customers.

The nation “cannot afford to say don’t regulate because it’s too expensive”, said Kyla Bennett, a former EPA official now with the non-profit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. “We have to have clean water but I agree that the cost needs to be shifted back to an industry that lied to us for decades and knowingly poisoned our water,” she added.

Read the PEER Story…

The post US imposes first-ever limits on levels of toxic PFAS in drinking water appeared first on PEER.org.

Categories: A2. Green Unionism

North American Windpower - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 08:29

EDF Renewables UK is entering into a partnership with ESB and Reventus Power to develop the Gwynt Glas Floating Offshore Wind Farm in the Celtic Sea.

The partnership sees each company owning a 33.3% share of the project. DP Energy remains a project development partner.

“We already work with ESB on other projects, including Neart na Gaoithe, our offshore wind farm currently under construction in the Firth of Forth, and the Stornoway onshore wind farm in the Western Isles,” says Matthieu Hue, CEO of EDF Renewables UK.

“We have a close relationship with the Reventus Power team, having worked with them on Provence Grand Large, France’s first floating offshore wind farm. We are fully committed to developing Gwynt Glas Floating Offshore Wind Farm, and look forward to delivering clean energy, supporting skilled jobs and boosting local economies.”

The project is expected to bid in The Crown Estate’s Leasing Round 5.

The post EDF to Develop Gwynt Glas Floating Offshore Wind Farm appeared first on North American Windpower.

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Solar Industry Magazine - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 08:22

Quickscrews International/QuickBOLT has appointed Rick Gentry as its vice president of product development, tasked with leading the strategic development of products tailored to the needs of woodworkers and solar installers.

With over 30 years of dedicated service to the company, including his previous role as VP of sales, Gentry brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his new position. His unique skills and deep understanding of the market position him to make a significant impact by introducing ingenuity into product categories where Quickscrews International/QuickBOLT aim to expand its presence, the company says.

“I am excited about the opportunities ahead in leading product development at Quickscrews International/QuickBOLT,” Gentry comments. “I look forward to collaborating with our teams to drive innovation, deliver exceptional products and exceed customer expectations.”

The post QuickBOLT Names New VP of Product Development appeared first on Solar Industry.

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Solar Industry Magazine - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 08:22

Yamaha Motor Corp. plans to install solar arrays at the company’s Southeastern Headquarters in Kennesaw, Ga., and Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America (YMMC) in Newnan, Ga. this summer.

The initiative supports Yamaha’s goal to reduce emissions produced as a direct result of business activities and achieve carbon neutrality within its manufacturing operations and facilities by 2035. Yamaha expects conclusion of the solar installations by the end of 2024.

Yamaha will work with VeloSolar in Atlanta for the installation of the solar array panels. With more than a decade of experience designing, installing and maintaining commercial solar installations, VeloSolar is one of Georgia’s largest solar installation companies. The company’s extensive portfolio includes numerous other Georgia-based companies including COX Enterprises.

“The installation of these solar panels represents a substantial step forward in Yamaha’s quest to substantially reduce carbon emissions,” says Mike Chrzanowski, president and CEO, Yamaha Motor Corp.

“We anticipate the solar array in Kennesaw will supply about 60% of the facilities’ electricity needs. At the Newnan facility we anticipate avoiding roughly 13,600 tons of carbon dioxide over the life of the array. That’s equivalent to eliminating approximately 14,930,000 pounds of coal emissions. These panels are in addition to the already existing solar arrays at YMMC.”

The post Yamaha Installing Solar Arrays at Georgia Facilities appeared first on Solar Industry.

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Mining.Com - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 08:22

Gold’s blistering run came to a halt on Wednesday after a key US inflation report signalled a likely delay in Federal Reserve interest rate cuts until later in the year.

Spot gold slid 0.6% to $2,354.80 per ounce by 1:50 p.m. EDT, retreating below the key $2,350 level. US gold futures were also down 0.3% at $2,354.80 per ounce.

The pullback comes on the back of a 0.4% rise in the core consumer price index, according to government data Wednesday. This measure, which economists view as a better indicator of underlying inflation than the CPI, has now advanced 3.8% from a year ago.

The hot print in price pressures means that interest rates may remain high for a longer period of time, which hurts the appeal of non-yielding assets like gold. Both the US Treasury yields and the dollar advanced after the print, sending bullion down by as much as 1.4% to $2,320.12 an ounce.

Still, gold is holding at elevated levels, having registered all-time peaks for eight straight sessions including $2,365.35 an ounce on Tuesday. Since mid-February, the metal has gone up by nearly 17%.

The rally has left some onlookers puzzled because of the lack of any obvious triggers — especially as convictions on three quarter-point rate cuts faded fast. Heightened geopolitical risks in the Middle East and Ukraine, plus buying by central banks led by China, have added some bullish momentum for the precious metal.

Gold is partly helped by buying as some investors shifted focus “from the number of rate cuts to sticky and rising inflation,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank AS.

Hansen sees a short-term correction in bullion “given how far gold has traveled in a short period of time,” with a dip below $2,230 likely to trigger a round of long liquidation.

(With files from Bloomberg)

Categories: J2. Fossil Fuel Industry

The Carbon Brief - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 08:16

Welcome to Carbon Brief’s Cropped.
We handpick and explain the most important stories at the intersection of climate, land, food and nature over the past fortnight.

This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s fortnightly Cropped email newsletter. Subscribe forfree here.

Key developmentsLatin America news roundup

TREE FELLING FALLS: Political shifts in Brazil and Colombia have “had a significant impact on tree felling”, with large reductions in deforestation occurring in both countries over 2023, according to analysis from the University of Maryland and the World Resources Institute that was covered by BBC News. Tree loss in the Brazilian Amazon decreased by 39%, although in the Cerrado – an important savannah in Brazil – it increased by 6%. In Colombia, primary forest loss decreased by nearly 50%, compared to last year. But, the outlet added, “increased tree felling and fires in Bolivia, Laos and Nicaragua wiped out many of these gains”.

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE: According to satellite data released last week, Venezuela “is battling a record number of wildfires”, fuelled in part by intense drought in the region, Reuters reported. More than 30,000 “fire points” were recorded in the country during the first three months of the year. The newswire wrote: “Man-made fires that are often set to clear land for agriculture are spreading out of control thanks to high temperatures and low rainfall in northern South America, as well as a lack of prevention planning, researchers say.” A University of Oxford fire researcher said that the fires “could be a worrying sign for what’s ahead” when Brazil enters its dry season.

COMMISSION CHANGE: The scientific community must “speak out strongly” against proposed changes to Mexico’s National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO), two academics wrote in an editorial in the journal Science. They explained that the government intends to “reduce CONABIO from a multi-ministry federal government agency to a branch within the environment ministry” and argued that this change would “strip CONABIO of its independent voice, credibility and influence on national and international policy”. The government is expected to make a final decision by the end of this month.

DENGUE ‘SURGE’: The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned of a “surge in dengue cases in the Americas”, with more than 3.5m cases recorded to date – “three times more cases than those reported for the same period in 2023”, which was itself a record year, PAHO director Jarbas Barbosa said. According to PAHO: “Several environmental and social factors contribute to the spread of dengue, including rising temperatures, extreme weather events and the El Niño phenomenon.” Urbanisation and population growth also play a role, the organisation added.

Africa drought ‘disaster’

NATIONAL EMERGENCIES: More than 24 million people in southern Africa face hunger, malnutrition and water scarcity due to the combined impact of drought and floods, according to a warning from the charity Oxfam, CNN reported. It comes after Zimbabwe joined Zambia and Malawi in declaring a state of disaster over the drought, according to Sky News. Zimbabwe president Emmerson Mnangagwa made the emergency declaration in a speech on 3 April, where he called for $2bn (£1.6bn) in humanitarian aid, the broadcaster said. The Associated Press (AP) spoke to a mother affected by the drought in Zimbabwe.

CLIMATE ROLE: The “erratic” weather in southern Africa, which has lurched between drought and floods in recent months, is likely “spurred” by human-caused climate change, which is making extreme events more unpredictable, the AP said. It added that conditions have been worsened by El Niño, the naturally occurring climate phenomenon that periodically affects much of the globe. In southern Africa, El Niño “means below-average rainfall” and “sometimes drought”, the newswire reported.

EXTREME CONTINENT: Many other parts of the continent continued to face severe – and, in many cases, record-breaking – extreme weather. Much of northern Africa continued to face extreme heat, with the Moroccan city of Oujda recording a “minimum temperature” for April that was 7C higher than the previous record, according to a Twitter account tracking extreme temperatures. That temperature was close to the all-time record, logged in the month of July. (“Minimum temperature” refers to the coolest temperature in a 24-hour period, with high minimum temperatures indicating dangerously hot nights.) West Africa also continued to face record heat. Carbon Brief reported on how Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, was coping with the extreme temperatures.

SpotlightThe ‘grave threat’ of ghost roads

In this spotlight, Carbon Brief reports on a new study detailing the impact of “ghost roads” on deforestation rates in the Asia Pacific region.

“Ghost roads” – illegal or informal roads that do not appear on any map – are fast expanding in biodiversity-rich tropical nations.

Carved out by farmers, miners, loggers, land grabbers and drug traffickers, these illicit roads give more direct access to pristine tropical forests – and help extractors carry out their activities while evading detection by authorities or NGOs.

The absence of ghost roads from official records or international datasets makes understanding the scale of their impact on tropical forests extremely difficult.

A new study published in Nature this week aimed to reverse this.

“I think we all knew that ghost roads were a serious problem, but they hadn’t been studied in a concerted way,” study author Prof Bill Laurance, a conservation biologist at James Cook University in Cairns, Australia, told Carbon Brief.

Volunteer army

The research team focused on three tropical islands in the Asia Pacific: Borneo, Sumatra and New Guinea.

To try to understand the extent of ghost roads on the islands, the researchers deployed an army of more than 200 trained volunteers.

Using satellite imagery, these volunteers studied over 1.42m plots, each one square kilometre in area, noting down the existence of roads that were missing from leading global datasets.

Study lead author Jayden Engert, a conservation ecologist and PhD student at James Cook University, told Carbon Brief that a broad range of people volunteered to help out with the mapping effort:

“We found volunteers through many different avenues, chiefly by advertising within our university and at other universities. We also ran a volunteer Map-athon with the Facebook group ‘Wild Green Memes for Ecological Fiends’, which brought in a decent amount of volunteers and also helped to raise awareness of the issue.”

Ghosts detected

The mapping effort revealed 1.37m km of ghost roads – 3-6.6 times more roads than were present in leading road datasets.

“I was blown away by how many unmapped roads there were,” Engert told Carbon Brief.

To understand how the ghost roads could be affecting deforestation rates, the scientists developed a map of their study area and quantified the percentage of forest loss in each plot.

They then used modelling to determine how the forest loss correlated with 38 biological and socioeconomic factors related to tree cover, including population density, distance to the nearest city and protected-land status – as well as ghost-road density and distance from ghost roads.

The research found that ghost-road density had by far the strongest link with forest loss out of all of the 38 factors studied.

Furthermore, ghost-road building “almost always preceded local forest loss”, the researchers wrote in their study.

They also found that the relationship between road density and forest was nonlinear, “with deforestation peaking soon after roads penetrate a landscape and then declining as roads multiply and remaining accessible forests largely disappear”.

They concluded by saying:

“Collectively, our findings suggest that burgeoning, poorly studied ghost roads are among the gravest of all direct threats to tropical forests.”

Laurance told Carbon Brief that their findings are likely to apply to other parts of the tropics:

“There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that other developing tropical nations are facing similar challenges with ghost roads. We also have been working in the Amazon and central Africa for the past several decades, and there we see many similar and equally daunting realities on the ground.”

News and views

FARM FLU: The US Department of Agriculture has confirmed cases of the “highly pathogenic” avian influenza in dairy cows in Idaho, bringing the number of confirmed outbreaks to 12 herds across five states, with other tests ongoing in presumptive positive cases. The country’s largest fresh egg producer also reported an outbreak, leading to “rising concern” despite assurances that the “risk to the public remains low”, the Associated Press reported. The detection of the virus in cattle raises “critical questions about whether the country is equipped to handle an influenza outbreak after the coronavirus pandemic…exposed the weaknesses in the nation’s public health infrastructure and decimated the public’s trust in key federal agencies”, the Washington Post reported.

INDIGENOUS INDONESIANS: Indonesian president-elect Prabowo Subianto must prioritise ratifying the country’s Indigenous Peoples bill, two Indigenous-rights activists argued in China Dialogue. The bill was first proposed in 2009, but president Joko Widodo failed to ratify it despite “repeated promises to do so”, the writers noted, adding: “Prabowo’s new government appears set to continue expanding Indonesia’s domestic resource-processing capabilities…signal[ling] the continued, unjust plunder of Indigenous territory.” Indonesia is home to around 22 million Indigenous people and more than 2,500 Indigenous communities. They face “deforestation, agricultural crises, marginalisation and discrimination and the usurpation of customary rights”, as well as voter disenfranchisem*nt, the activists said.

NEW BIODIVERSITY CHIEF: BusinessGreen reported that German diplomat and environmental-policy expert Astrid Schomaker has been appointed the next executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UN body that oversees negotiations on biodiversity loss. According to the publication, Schomaker has spent the last seven years overseeing environmental diplomacy and global sustainable development at the European Commission. She replaces the acting executive secretary, British CBD veteran Dr David Cooper. Carbon Brief published an in-depth interview with the last permanent executive secretary, Tanzanian lawyer and diplomat Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, in 2022.

WHALE OF A TIME: Māori king Tuheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII and other Indigenous leaders in the Pacific have “urged the legal recognition of whales as persons with inherent rights”, according to the Pacific Islands News Association. The leaders are endorsing the He Whakaputanga Moana, or the Declaration for the Ocean, which “outlines a comprehensive plan” for protecting whales from “unsustainable practices, pollution and climate change”, the outlet explained. It will do so through establishing protected areas and integrating Indigenous knowledge with other science. Travel Tou Ariki, a high chief from the Cook Islands, said: “Whales play a vital role in the health of our entire ocean ecosystem…We must act with urgency to protect these magnificent creatures before it’s too late.”

BIG MEAT COP: Lobbyists from the world’s largest meat companies have celebrated a “positive outcome” from the last global climate summit, COP28, according to a DeSmog investigation. Speaking on a virtual panel organised by the trade outlet FeedStuffs, three representatives for US livestock firms said they were left “excited” and “enthusiastic” for their industry’s prospects after the summit, which saw countries commit to a series of voluntary pledges for tackling agricultural emissions without addressing meat consumption. Constance Cullman, the president of the US lobby group the Animal Feed Industry Association (AFIA) said COP28 left her organisation with “a far more positive outcome than we had anticipated”, according to DeSmog.

STANDING TOGETHER: Advocacy groups in Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, Kenya, Liberia and Mexico have launched a new initiative to protect environmental defenders, Liberia’s Daily Observer reported. The initiative will provide “partnerships, financial support and training” for civil-society organisations to protect them against the risks that environmental defenders face, such as threats, violence and smear campaigns, the newspaper said. Three environmental defenders were recently killed during protests in Kinjor, Liberia.

Watch, read, listen

WASTED WETLANDS: An investigation by Ireland’s Noteworthy found that the planting of non-native trees on peatlands could put some of the country’s “cleanest” rivers and streams at risk.

SALINE INHABITANTS: Hakai Magazine wrote about how Utah’s shrinking Great Salt Lake is imperilling the strange creatures found in its waters.

TREE SMUGGLING: A four-part investigation by the Africa Report, in collaboration with the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network, examined timber trafficking from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH: A feature in High Country News explored how drones can be used in service of conservation of predators in the Rocky Mountains.

New science

Threat of mining to African great apes
Science Advances

Up to one-third of Africa’s great apes face risks from mining projects, new research found. The study looked at the overlap between industrial mining projects and great ape distribution in 15 African countries, excluding the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to a lack of available data. The research found that industrial mining projects overlap with the habitat of nearly 180,000 apes. It also found that the overlap was largest in west African nations, including Senegal and Sierra Leone. In the paper, the authors noted that the “rapid growth of clean energy technologies is driving a rising demand for critical minerals”, which are increasingly being mined in Africa.

The asymmetric impacts of international agricultural trade on water use scarcity, inequality and inequity
Nature Water

A new study found that the water “embedded” in agricultural trading “disproportionately benefits the rich and widens both the water scarcity and inequity gap between the poor and the rich”. Researchers used a global model of crop water requirements to simulate the amount of water used for irrigation for 26 different crops, then analysed how international trade affects water scarcity and inequity in eight countries. They found that the poorest people in developing countries “suffer[ed] from both increased water scarcity and inequity”, but poor populations in developed countries were more likely to benefit. They also identified the trade of staple crops as “the major driving factor” affecting these in most countries, due to the large volumes of staple crops traded.

Significant shifts in latitudinal optima of North American birds
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

The optimal location for North American birds has shifted northward by an average rate of 1.5km each year in response to climate change, a new study found, representing a total distance moved of 82.5km over the past 55 years. The research uses modelling to estimate the “latitudinal optima” of 209 American bird species, drawing on bird population abundance data over the past half-century. It found that one-third of the species studied showed a “significant shift of their optimum” over the study period, with birds in western North America experiencing the biggest shifts. The results “directly implicate climate-induced increases in temperature as the primary driver” of bird abundance shifts, the researchers said.

In the diary

• 10-12 April: 2024 Ocean Decade conference | Barcelona
• 16-19 April: Scoping meeting for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on cities | Riga
• 19 April: Start of India’s general election
• 23-29 April: Fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment | Ottawa

Cropped is researched and written by Dr Giuliana Viglione, Aruna Chandrasekhar, Daisy Dunne, Orla Dwyer and Yanine Quiroz. Please send tips and feedback to cropped@carbonbrief.org

Cropped 27 March 2024: Bankrolling meat and dairy; EU nature restoration pushback; Missing cherry blossoms

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27.03.24

Cropped 13 March 2024: Drought hits food supplies; ‘Mass bleaching’ of coral reefs; Industrialising African ag

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13.03.24

Cropped 28 February 2024: Chocolate crisis; Tree-planting scrutinised; EU restoration law

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28.02.24

Cropped 14 February 2024: Nature fund gets real; Migratory species in peril; EU rolls back regulations

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14.02.24

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The post Cropped 10 April 2024: ‘Ghost roads’ deforestation; Record wildfires; Southern Africa drought appeared first on Carbon Brief.

Categories: I. Climate Science

North American Windpower - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 08:16

The organizers of the biannual WindEnergy Hamburg event have announced the full schedule of panel discussions and special events for September 24-27 at the Congress Center Hamburg in Germany.

By 2030, the EU wants to have 425 GW of wind energy generation capacity in place, with two thirds contributed by onshore units. To date, however, Europe has installed only 272 GW. To achieve the 2030 goal, it will be necessary to install an average of 33 GW every year.

“We can only reach this by maximizing our expansion efforts. One key means to that end is repowering – replacing wind turbines that have reached the end of their lifespan with more powerful models,” explains Claus Ulrich Selbach, business unit director, maritime and technology fairs and exhibitions, at Hamburg Messe und Congress.

Repowered wind turbines’ higher energy output requires smart grid feed-in management, as well as innovative, high-performance energy storage technologies. For exhibitors addressing this field of expertise, WindEnergy Hamburg will lay out a dedicated Storage Tour.

“The Storage Tour will allow visitors and exhibitors to locate all companies dedicated to this complex topic at a glance, and speak with them directly,” says Andreas Arnheim, director of WindEnergy Hamburg.

A total of 150 conferences and panel discussions featuring renowned speakers will take place during WindEnergy Hamburg. There will be events focused on equipment engineering, regulatory matters, finance, grid engineering, supply chains, digitalization/AI and project planning, among others. The WindEnergy Hamburg team developed this program jointly with partners including the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), WindEurope, VDMA, BWE and companies from the wind energy sector.

Also at WindEnergy Hamburg, 1,500 companies from 40 countries will present their innovations and solutions in 10 exhibition halls to up to 40,000 visitors from 100 different nations. Equipment manufacturers and suppliers representing all stages of the onshore and offshore wind energy value chain will provide a comprehensive overview of the market.

For more information and to register, click here.

Photo courtesy of Hamburg Messe und Congress/Nicolas Maack

The post WindEnergy Hamburg Set for September appeared first on North American Windpower.

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Solar Industry Magazine - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 08:15

ComEd is planning an expansion of its 345 kV Elmhurst, Ill., transmission substation, with construction currently under way and an expected completion date by the end of next year.

“ComEd is proud to maintain and grow the most reliable grid in the country, which requires proactive planning to meet the future power needs of our customers,” says Mark Baranek, senior vice president technical services at ComEd. “Investments like the expansion of the Elmhurst substation will ensure the grid is primed to support local business growth for many years to come.”

Engineering and design for this $93 million project began last year. Construction of this substation is being completed by a local firm, Ruiz Construction Systems.

The post ComEd Announces Northern Illinois Substation Expansion Project appeared first on Solar Industry.

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Skeptical Science - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 08:12

This year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) will take place as a fully hybrid conference in both Vienna and online from April 15 to 19. I decided to join the event virtually this year for the full week and I've already picked several sessions I plan to attend. Among them are two sessions, I'll be presenting in. This blog post provides an overview of my itinerary.

Monday

The week kicks off right away at 8:30 in the morning with a Union Symposia (US2) about the Climate emergency, human agency: making sense of the current state of scientific knowledge on climate change to strengthen climate literacy.

This Union Symposium will build on key findings from the Sixth Assessment Cycle of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It will place the current scientific understanding in this context of climate science history and lay out what is the current state of climate, with the observed intensification of global and regional changes, and what are physically plausible futures, unpacking how science underpins the understanding of the climate emergency. The presentations will be given by Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, IPSL, France and Joeri Rogelj, Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College, London, Great Britain.

Then it's time for a short course (SC2.2) starting at 10:45 providing an introduction to science for policy. This will be a repeat for me, but I found this session - convended by Chloe Hill - interesting when I attended it in previous years.

This session will provide an introduction into some key ‘science for policy’ themes and provide specific details about when and how scientists can engage with policy to increase the impact of their efforts. It will also provide resources and tips for scientists so that they can start their science for policy journeys. The last part of the Short Course will include a Q&A with those working on the science-policy interface. This session will be relevant to all career levels and scientific disciplines.

In the afternoon, I plan to join short course (SC3.3)Scared of giving presentations to a (geo-)scientific audiences?as this cannot hurt in the run-up to my own presentations on Tuesday and Wednesday.

This short course deals with the various reasons and symptoms of stage fright and how they can be overcome. Scientists will share their experiences and what has helped them to deal with their fear of presenting. There will be practical tips and room for questions as well as exchange of experiences. This year, we're exploring a fresh angle: science communication. While the stage is set for scientific discourse, effective communication is key. Meet our speakers, Dr. Simon Clark and Dr. Heather Handley, seasoned communicators, sharing insights!

To finish day 1 of EGU24, I picked yet another short course (SC2.6) Climate change, morals and how people understand the politics of climate change

Update April 11: Unfortunately, session SC2.6 was withdrawn, but there is an interesting alternative, I plan to join instead and it's also a short course: SC2.5Ethics for geoscientists in a time of crisis:

What does 'ethics' mean and what is the role of ethics in your daily practices as a scientist? Where and how do ethics enter into your geoscientific research and teaching? Although ethics as a subject of study is traditionally the domain of social sciences and humanities, as scientists we are confronted with ethical questions and decisions every day. In the context of climate emergency, mass extinction and global social injustices, it is increasingly important to understand the role played by our research and the systems and structures within which our work is embedded. Ultimately, we could ask ourselves a question: does our research contribute to building a world that corresponds to our values?

In between these sessions - or if I find out that one I planned to attend isn't quite a good fit for my interests - I may pay a virtual visit toGather.town to check out some virtual posters or find some people to chat with.

Tuesday

The morning is mostly taken up by a "double slot" Education and Outreach session (EOS4.4) titledGeoethics: The significance of geosciences for society and the e nvironment. This session is convened by Silvia Peppoloni with Svitlana Krakovska, Giuseppe Di Capua and David Crookall as co-conveners.

Geoscience knowledge and practices are essential for effectively navigating the complexities of the modern world. They play a critical role in addressing urgent global challenges on a planetary scale (including, climate change and its social, humanitarian, and health impacts), informing decision-making processes and guiding education at all levels. However, the response to these challenges remains largely inadequate across the board. By equipping both citizens and the wider societal stakeholders with the necessary knowledge background, geosciences empower them to engage in meaningful discussions, shape policies, contribute to reduce inequities and injustice, and implement solutions for local, regional, and global social-environmental problems. Within this broad scope, geoethics strives to establish a shared ethical framework that guides geoscientists’ engagement with sensitive and significant issues concerning the interaction between geoscience and society.

I may pop-out of that session for a bit to listen to apress conference starting at 10:00 about Unveiling Antarctica’s secrets: new research brings us one step closer to predicting the future of the icy continent.

At 14:00 it's time for Education and Outreach session (EOS1.8) Telling climate stories: platforms, tools, and methodologies for accurate and engaging science communication.

Scientists, communicators, citizens, and the media: public awareness of climate change calls for interdisciplinary collaboration to create clear and cohesive narratives to reach a wide and diverse audience and create a real impact. Climate change narratives can take different paths and focus on different perspectives, professions, sectors, and the audience addressed. The role of trust is also pivotal, as different publics are likely to reject information, regardless of its accuracy, if the message doesn’t resonate with an individuals' personal experiences. [...] This session is also designed to host a space of dialogue among researchers, fact-checkers, and communications experts to assess how disinformation affects science credibility and society and present tools to tackle it, enhancing the quality of information with a positive effect on public trust in science and resilience.

My slot to presentResources to give facts a fighting chance against misinformation is from 16:50 to 17:00 with 8 minutes alloted for the presentation itself. I'll briefly introduce participants to Skeptical Science, mention ourrebuttals updates factory andquick debunking of "Climate the Movie" before mentioning the Debunking Handbook, the Conspiracy Theory handbook, theFLICC taxonomy of science denial techniques and how to learn about them with the help of the Cranky Uncle game. Sounds like a lot? Yes, but it all fits within the 8 minutes, if only barely! You can take a "sneak peek" at my presentation here.

Wednesday

Wednesday will be a rather interesting day for me. It starts at 8:30 with Union Symposia (US6) Misunderstanding or malice? Getting to the bottom of geoscience disinformation and much to my surprise I was invited to be one of the panelists for this almost 2 hour long session. This will obviously be a first for me, so I'm still not quite sure what I'm getting myself into with agreeing to being on the panel. However, given that the conveners are well aware of my background, I'll be able to talk about the "stuff" I'm familiar with, including at least some of the items mentioned in the presentation for EOS1.8 or other comparable presentation I already did at EGU and/or elserwhere. This Union Symposia is convended by Flora Maria Brocza with Chloe Hill, Viktor J. Bruckman, Kirsten v. Elverfeldt and Christina West as co-conveners. Apart from myself, the confirmed speakers for the session are Vita Crivello (Science-Policy & Science Communication expert), Gaura Naithani (Project Manager & Researcher, European Journalism Centre) and Simon Clark (Science communicator & author).

In the afternoon, I plan to join the closely related short course (SC2.10) From Misunderstanding to Malice: Countering Mis- and Disinformation. The course is convenced by Kirsten v. Elverfeldt with Flora Maria Brocza, Maida Salkanovic, Chloe Hill and Simon Clark as co-conveners.

The research we conduct doesn’t fall into a vacuum. Once published, it enters a large information ecosystem, where we hope that our findings will resonate. As researchers, we devote our whole careers to the study of a narrow field of knowledge. This devotion is not shared by other players in this ecosystem who engage with our research, which might lead to misunderstandings and thus unintentional misinformation. Even others in the ecosystem intentionally seek to spread false information or foster ideologically driven disinformation campaigns. Thus, the players in the ecosystem range from fellow scientists from the same or other disciplines, journalists, politicians, social media influencers, the general public, to troll farms. Clearly, not all of them have or seek an in-depth understanding of the scientific context in which a particular piece of information slots into, and some merely seek to generate attention or outrage with their writing.

Many scientists feel somewhat uneasy in this ecosystem - lacking the tools to engage meaningfully. For example, when talking to journalists, information on the uncertainty of data may not be conveyed for the sake of clear and easy-to-follow storylines. Facts may be simplified or even misrepresented, which might lead to a certain reluctance of scientists to talk to journalists. However, especially this type of direct science-media-interaction is crucial for the debunking of mis- and disinformation.

In the late afternoon - starting at 16:15 - I tentatively plan to join the first part of Education and Outreach session (EOS1.1) Science and Society: Science Communication Practice, Research, and Reflection. Based on previous years' experiences, I'm expecting to learn about several interesting projects related to science communication in this session convended by Solmaz Mohadjer and Roberta Bellini, Francesco Avanzi, Usha Harris and Maria Vittoria Gargiulo as co-conveners.

Science communication includes the efforts of natural, physical and social scientists, communications professionals, and teams that communicate the process and values of science and scientific findings to non-specialist audiences outside of formal educational settings. The goals of science communication can include enhanced dialogue, understanding, awareness, enthusiasm, improving decision making, or influencing behaviors. Channels can include in-person interaction, online, social media, mass media, or other methods. This session invites presentations by individuals and teams on science communication practice, research, and reflection, addressing questions like: What kind of communication efforts are you engaging in and how you are doing it? How is social science informing understandings of audiences, strategies, or effects? What are lessons learned from long-term communication efforts?

Thursday

While putting together my itinerary it looked as if Thursday morning would be an empty slot, but only until I realized that session EOS1.1 had 3 timeslots all told, with two of them happening on Thursday morning starting at 8:30! So, the same description as above applies for Education and Outreach session (EOS1.1) Science and Society: Science Communication Practice, Research, and Reflection. To see the list of presentations clickhere for part 2 and here for part 3.

In the afternoon it's time for short course (SC3.2) Elevate your Pitch: Developing Engaging Short Scientific Presentations. Perhaps this will also contain some helpful tips for non-scientific presentations which based on the learning objectives of this short course could well be the case:

• Structuring a killer elevator pitch – learning from 1/2/3-min examples
• Knowing your audience – harnessing the power of tailored openings/closings
• Captivating delivery – leveraging body language to your advantage
• Harnessing creativity - choosing the right medium
• Enunciating to engage – communicating across borders
• Effectively practising your pitch – making the best of your time

The final session for me on Thursday will most likely be Education and Outreach session (EOS4.1)Science Policy Interface: Shaping Debates and building bridges. I picked this for two reasons: it's another repeat for me and earlier sessions were interesting. And, it's a session in the fun - if somewhat hectic - PICO format, with a whirlwiind of 2-minute long pitches followed by longer discussions with abstract authors at their onsite or virtual screens. The session is convened by Marie Heidenreich with Susann Birnstengel, Giorgia StasiECS, Chloe Hill and Maria Vittoria Gargiulo as co-conveners.

Friday

Right now, it looks like I might have a "late start" to the day on Friday (unless I hang out in Gather.town!) with a Great Debate (GDB8) aboutArtificial Intelligence in scientific publishing: blessing or bane? This may or may not be of interest for me, so I'll take a look and then decide if I watch it or not.

The rise of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, including Large Language Models (LLM), presents both challenges and opportunities for scientific publishing. How can we use these tools responsibly and effectively?

The discussion will explore several aspects of the topic, including:

• Best practices in employing AI tools for scientific writing
• The potential of AI to assist in the peer review process
• Responsibilities and ethical considerations for authors, reviewers, editors and publishers

In the afternoon Great Debate (GDB6) If informing is not enough, how should scientists engage to accelerate the social transformation required by climate change and biodiversity collapse? will most likely be my last session for this year's EGU conference.

Numerous geoscientists are producing and disseminating knowledge about climate change and contemporary environmental degradation to increasingly wider audiences, from civil society to policymakers. This knowledge is notably gathered in alarming reports by scientific institutions such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and it indicates that rapid and radical transformations of our societies are simply vital.

Still, ongoing efforts to trigger such transformations, whether by political, economic, or civil society stakeholders, often fall short of the urgent actions recommended. It has increasingly been suggested that putting most efforts into ever-improving knowledge and communication is a strategy that can only address part of the obvious gap between Science and the required societal change (see review articles by Stoddard et al., 2021 and Oreskes, 2022).

Summary

As you can see, I'm planning for quite a busy week and will most likely not be twiddling my thumbs much! In addition to attending the sessions above, I also plan to offer a few Networking Pop-Up Events to talk about our resources and Cranky Uncle if people take me up on the offer. This year, these events can be scheduled to happen somewhere in Gather.town so that should bef fun to try out!

Like in previous years, I intend to write up my take on the sessions attended and also keep an eye on how well things work in this fully hybrid conference format. We'll then see how much of the week goes as planned!

Categories: I. Climate Science

Solar Industry Magazine - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 08:06

After testing at CFV Labs and the Renewable Energy Test Center, Origami Solar has released data it says demonstrates that modules incorporating the company’s steel module frames passed frame-related industry-standard tests required to support module maker certifications.

Certifications included those of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), specifically IEC 61215 static mechanical load testing and IEC 61701 salt-mist corrosion testing and continuity testing of equipotential bonding.

CFV ran both required static load testing and optional test-to-failure tests.

RETC’s salt mist corrosion and continuity testing on modules using Origami’s steel solar frames demonstrated similarly successful results, says the company, confirming corrosion protection performance of its zinc-aluminum-magnesium coatings.

“As our modeling predicted, Origami steel module frames demonstrated excellent performance across the full range of certification tests,” says Origami Solar’s Lauren Ahsler.

“The tests prove to the industry that there is minimal risk to module makers’ ability to get modules certified when they switch to steel solar frames. These rigorous, third-party tests also show that switching to steel module frames has the potential to address the decrease in allowable loading specifications for large format modules and to improve overall PV plant reliability. The steel frames’ excellent performance in the salt-spray test sequence should resolve any concerns about corrosion protection. This independent testing demonstrates that Origami’s steel solar frames represent a big step forward for the solar industry.”

The post Origami Solar Releases Third-Party Testing Results of Module Frames appeared first on Solar Industry.

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Solar Industry Magazine - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 07:55

Excelsior Energy Capital has entered a multiyear agreement to acquire 2 GW of PV modules from Heliene, with the two companies expected to work closely as a part of the agreement.

The modules supplied under the agreement are slated to primarily be produced at a Heliene factory in Mountain Iron, Minn., and at a new factory Heliene plans to build in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

“The Excelsior team is excited by the wide-ranging benefits of this new agreement, which materially derisks supply of PV modules for our projects and allows us to work collaboratively alongside an established industry player as they expand and innovate over time,” says Chris Frantz, partner at Excelsior.

A majority of the PV modules supplied by Heliene are slated to be produced in the U.S.

The post Excelsior Energy Capital Acquiring 2 GW of Solar Panels from Heliene appeared first on Solar Industry.

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Global Justice Ecology Project - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 07:39

Brook Thompson When the salmon numbers in the Klamath River dwindled, it wasn’t just a loss of wildlife, it was a piece of Brooke Thompson’s heritage slipping away. Our latest episode of Breaking Green features Brooke, a Yurok and Karuk Native American, water resource engineer, and PhD student, who unravels the deep ties between her […]

The post New Breaking Green Podcast: Fight for Salmon Conservation and Cultural Survival with Brook-Thompson appeared first on Global Justice Ecology Project.

Categories: B4. Radical Ecology

Mining.Com - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 07:23

Revival Gold (TSXV: RVG) said on Wednesday it has signed an agreement to buy privately held exploration company Ensign Minerals in an all-stock deal worth approximately C$21.9 million. This acquisition gives US-focused Revival a second gold exploration asset to complement its Beartrack-Arnett project in Idaho.

Ensign’s flagship Mercurprojectin Utah is located 57 km southwest of Salt Lake City in the Oquirrh Mountainsregion, which is known to host sediment-hosted gold deposits. Bingham Canyon, one of the world’s largest copper-gold mines, is also situated there.

Historically, approximately 2.6 million oz. of gold were mined from the Mercur district, including 1.5 million oz. by Getty Oil Company and later Barrick Gold between 1983-1998, after which it closed due to low gold prices. Since then, Barrick completed reclamation of the Mercur site.

From 2020 to 2022, Ensign entered various agreements to consolidate the Mercurproject area, which now covers 62.55 square kilometres divided between private land, federal claims, and state leases. Amongst the deals was an option to acquire Barrick’s interest in the area for $20 million.

Work by past owners has resulted in the delineation of an inferred resource estimate that totals 89.6 million tonnes grading 0.57 gram per tonne gold for 1.64 million oz. of contained metal. This estimate has an effective date of Feb. 1, 2024, and is based primarily on exploration of the private land.

By adding the Mercurproject, Revival’s gold resource base would now grow to 3.8 million oz. in the inferred category, on top of the 2.4 million oz. measured and indicated categoryalready at Beartrack-Arnett, for which permitting preparations are underway.

CEO Hugh Agro says the combined mineral resource will vault Revival Gold ahead to become one of the largest pure gold development companies in the US. With Mercur, he believes the company is obtaining a “high-quality complementary project” at an attractive acquisition price of about $10 per ounce in situ.

Revival Gold considers the large regional package at Mercur to “hold attractive potential for additional discoveries” based on the project’s track record of past production and the results of recent fieldwork undertaken by Ensign.

In the short term, its primary objective with Mercur over the next 6-12 months will be to advance metallurgy, optimize the project’s geological model and pursue a potential preliminary economic assessment (PEA), the company said.

While advancing towards a PEA, Revival Gold expects to continue the compilation of historical data, property-wide prospecting, geological mapping and planning for potential future exploration drilling.

Agro said the addition of Mercur will shorten the estimated timeline to heap leach gold production while increasing the potential production scale of the company’s heap leach gold business to approximately 150,000 oz. per year.

To complete the deal, nearly 61.4 million Revival Gold shares, more than half of those outstanding, will be used to acquire Ensign’s 52.6 million outstanding stock. This share exchange ratio (1.1667:1) gives Ensign an implied value of C$0.4164per share, a 17% premium over its 20-day volume weighted average of C$0.3569.

Upon completion, current Revival Gold shareholders would own 65% of the new company, with former Ensign holders owning 35%.

Ensign had previously agreed to a takeover by Vancouver-based Taura Gold (TSXV: TORA)in October 2023 for an implied value of C$24 million. However, the deal fell through earlier this year due to disagreements over how the Mercur project resource was calculated.

Revival Gold’s shares were up 1.1% at C$0.38 by 10:30 a.m. ET on the news, giving the Toronto-based gold developer a market capitalization of C$42.4 million ($31m).

Categories: J2. Fossil Fuel Industry

Delaware Riverkeeper Network - Wed, 04/10/2024 - 07:13

File: DRN EPAMCL.Press Stmnt4.10.24.pdfResource Type:Press

Categories: G2. Local Greens