Delays to mining projects in Western Australia could push commodity prices higher and exacerbate shortages.
3 min
SYDNEY—Rio Tinto PLC’s destruction of two ancient caves in Australia to expand an iron-ore mine could have ramifications for global commodity markets if local lawmakers intensify scrutiny of mining activities that threaten heritage sites.
Among the most controversial recommendations made by a federal-government inquiry into the destruction of the rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia in May is a moratorium on expansions of existing mines or new pits that encroach on sites of cultural or historical significance. Even if lawmakers opt for a less hard-line approach, experts warn of potential delays to production and higher costs that could affect supply of key raw materials such as iron ore, used to make steel.
None of the recommendations handed down by the inquiry in its interim report on Wednesday are binding, but miners risk inflaming tensions with some investors who feel the industry needs to show greater sensitivity to environmental and cultural issues if they don’t accept them. They also face sensitive negotiations with indigenous groups that are the traditional owners of the land.
Metals prices have been rallying as China’s economy bounces back strongly and other major markets recover from the coronavirus crisis. Copper prices have risen to their highest level in almost eight years. Iron ore is one of the best-performing assets this year, fetching $150.75 a metric ton on Wednesday, its highest price since early 2013.
China’s unexpectedly strong appetite for these commodities has raised concerns over whether there’s enough supply, with many analysts predicting market deficits for iron ore and copper through at least the middle of next year.
Delays to mining projects in Western Australia, where companies dig up metals including copper and gold, could push commodity prices higher and exacerbate shortages already worsened by pandemic-driven disruptions to operations elsewhere. Iron ore is considered to be most at risk because Australia accounts for more than half of the world’s trade in the commodity by sea.
“This could be a watershed moment for the Western Australia mining industry and could impact Western Australia iron-ore production, and possibly other commodities, in 2021 and beyond,” Goldman Sachs said.
Already there are tensions between miners and some investors following the report into the loss of the Juukan caves, which contained a trove of artifacts that indicated they had been occupied by humans more than 46,000 years ago.
Fortescue Metals Ltd., the world’s fourth-largest iron-ore exporter by volume, rejected the idea of a voluntary moratorium on new heritage consents. “We do not believe that this is either a feasible or practical solution,” Elizabeth Gaines, Fortescue’s chief executive, said.
Fortescue said it had worked with indigenous groups to protect and avoid nearly 6,000 heritage sites threatened by its mining activities.
Miners must balance the need to replace the ore that they unearth with respecting the interests of indigenous groups. Fortescue pointed out that the iron-ore industry has been a pillar of Australia’s economy as it emerges from a first recession in 29 years.
“A moratorium would unnecessarily stall mining, infrastructure and other activities for an unknown and possibly extended period,” said Tania Constable, chief executive of Minerals Council of Australia, an industry group.
Still, many investors feel the industry needs to do more, and have pushed for leadership changes when standards fall short. Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques and two other executives were ousted after several investors criticized the company’s initial response to the caves’ destruction because no one had been held accountable.
Hesta, an Australian pension fund for health-care workers, said it strongly supports the recommendation that companies with existing heritage approvals, known as Section 18 permissions, suspend related works until they can verify consent by traditional landowners.
“The inescapable findings of the inquiry are that Aboriginal heritage sites remain vulnerable to destruction,” said Debby Blakey, Hesta’s chief executive. “It would be unacceptable to investors that boards of mining companies are not actively and transparently seeking to understand their exposure to this risk.”
Kim Christie, an iron-ore analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said a near-term squeeze on commodities supply from Australia isn’t likely. The final report from the inquiry won’t be finalized until next year. Still, there is a risk of higher mining costs and delays to expansions or new mines later as miners sharpen their focus on heritage issues and consultation with traditional owners, she said.
“Certainly moving forward if there is going to be that greater level of tightness [in supply] it could support prices higher than we otherwise would have thought,” Ms Christie said.
Scrutiny will especially fall on Rio Tinto. A moratorium on new heritage consents could affect up to 12 projects that Rio Tinto has planned over the next five or so years to maintain its iron-ore production at current rates, Goldman Sachs said. That means there is a risk that Rio Tinto won’t ship 327 million tons of iron ore next year as the bank had earlier forecast.
Rio Tinto said it is reassessing its mining operations in places with identified heritage sites that could be affected over the coming two years.
“I think Rio Tinto would rather forgo a few tons than their reputation,” said Ms Christie, of Wood Mackenzie.
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Rugged coastal drives and fireside drams define a slow, indulgent journey through Scotland’s far north.
A haven for hedge-fund titans and Hollywood grandees, Greenwich is one of the world’s most expensive residential enclaves, where eye-watering prices meet unapologetic grandeur.
The lunar flyby would be the deepest humans have traveled in space in decades.
4 min
It’s go time for the highest-stakes mission at NASA in more than 50 years.
On April 1, the agency is set to launch four astronauts around the moon, the deepest human spaceflight since the final Apollo lunar landing in 1972.
The launch window for Artemis II , as the mission is called, opens at 6:24 p.m. ET.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration teams have been preparing the vehicles to depart from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on the planned roughly 10-day trip. Crew members have trained for years for this moment.
Reid Wiseman, the NASA astronaut serving as mission commander, said he doesn’t fear taking the voyage. A widower, he does worry at times about what he is putting his daughters through.
“I could have a very comfortable life for them,” Wiseman said in an interview last September.
“But I’m also a human, and I see the spirit in their eyes that is burning in my soul too. And so we’ve just got to never stop going.”
Wiseman’s crewmates on Artemis II are NASA’s Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
What are the goals for Artemis II?
The biggest one: Safely fly the crew on vehicles that have never carried astronauts before.
The towering Space Launch System rocket has the job of lofting a vehicle called Orion into space and on its way to the moon.
Orion is designed to carry the crew around the moon and back. Myriad systems on the ship—life support, communications, navigation—will be tested with the astronauts on board.
SLS and Orion don’t have much flight experience. The vehicles last flew in 2022, when the agency completed its uncrewed Artemis I mission .
How is the mission expected to unfold?
Artemis II will begin when SLS takes off from a launchpad in Florida with Orion stacked on top of it.
The so-called upper stage of SLS will later separate from the main part of the rocket with Orion attached, and use its engine to set up the latter vehicle for a push to the moon.
After Orion separates from the upper stage, it will conduct what is called a translunar injection—the engine firing that commits Orion to soaring out to the moon. It will fly to the moon over the course of a few days and travel around its far side.
Orion will face a tough return home after speeding through space. As it hits Earth’s atmosphere, Orion will be flying at 25,000 miles an hour and face temperatures of 5,000 degrees as it slows down. The capsule is designed to land under parachutes in the Pacific Ocean, not far from San Diego.
Is it possible Artemis II will be delayed?
Yes.
For safety reasons, the agency won’t launch if certain tough weather conditions roll through the Cape Canaveral, Fla., area. Delays caused by technical problems are possible, too. NASA has other dates identified for the mission if it doesn’t begin April 1.
Who are the astronauts flying on Artemis II?
The crew will be led by Wiseman, a retired Navy pilot who completed military deployments before joining NASA’s astronaut corps. He traveled to the International Space Station in 2014.
Two other astronauts will represent NASA during the mission: Glover, an experienced Navy pilot, and Koch, who began her career as an electrical engineer for the agency and once spent a year at a research station in the South Pole. Both have traveled to the space station before.
Hansen is a military pilot who joined Canada’s astronaut corps in 2009. He will be making his first trip to space.
Koch’s participation in Artemis II will mark the first time a woman has flown beyond orbits near Earth. Glover and Hansen will be the first African-American and non-American astronauts, respectively, to do the same.
What will the astronauts do during the flight?
The astronauts will evaluate how Orion flies, practice emergency procedures and capture images of the far side of the moon for scientific and exploration purposes (they may become the first humans to see parts of the far side of the lunar surface). Health-tracking projects of the astronauts are designed to inform future missions.
Those efforts will play out in Orion’s crew module, which has about two minivans worth of living area.
On board, the astronauts will spend about 30 minutes a day exercising, using a device that allows them to do dead lifts, rowing and more. Sleep will come in eight-hour stretches in hammocks.
There is a custom-made warmer for meals, with beef brisket and veggie quiche on the menu.
Each astronaut is permitted two flavored beverages a day, including coffee. The crew will hold one hourlong shared meal each day.
The Universal Waste Management System—that’s the toilet—uses air flow to pull fluid and solid waste away into containers.
What happens after Artemis II?
Assuming it goes well, NASA will march on to Artemis III, scheduled for next year. During that operation, NASA plans to launch Orion with crew members on board and have the ship practice docking with lunar-lander vehicles that Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have been developing. The rendezvous operations will occur relatively close to Earth.
NASA hopes that its contractors and the agency itself are ready to attempt one or more lunar landing missions in 2028. Many current and former spaceflight officials are skeptical that timeline is feasible.
