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Industry News

Canadian National Railway offers higher hourly pay, improved schedule in new offer to union

(Reuters) - Canadian National Railway said on Friday it has proposed an offer that included higher hourly wages, improved vacation leave and more consistent work schedules as part of negotiations with a union representing its employees.

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The most innovative companies in agriculture for 2024

(Fast Company) - Humans have been farming since the Neolithic era, long enough for their tools and practices to need a little TLC. That, of course, has become the near-singular focus in recent years of a growing crop of industry upstarts—some through technology, others by importing ingenious ideas outside of agriculture, still others by returning to fundamentals they believe got lost along the way. What makes the 2024 list of most innovative agriculture companies so impressive is that their products and services barely overlap, yet many could complement or even enhance the others.

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Energy Department offers $3.5B for battery manufacturing

(Utility Dive) - The funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law will go toward new, retrofitted and expanded battery and critical mineral production sites.

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Keep Sulfur in mind when making fertilizer decisions

(SFN Today) - We know there are essential elements for plant growth. Sulfur is one of them, but there are two forms of sulfur. Taylor Purucker, crop nutrition lead for the Mosaic Company, talks about the two types of sulfur.

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STB gets earful on proposed rule for reciprocal switching

(Freight Waves) - The Surface Transportation Board recently closed the comment period for rail stakeholders to file their thoughts on whether reciprocal switching should be considered as an option to address subpar rail service in the U.S.

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Copper slump threatens shift to wind power and EVs

(The Wall Street Journal) - A prolonged slide in copper prices is challenging the world’s shift to renewable energy sources. Mining firms will need to dig up gigantic amounts of new copper over the next several years to supply the transition to renewables.

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The path to green energy Is getting messier

(The Wall Street Journal) - The energy transition is getting a dose of reality.Offshore wind projects are being scrapped, and renewable- energy companies' share prices are tanking. In the U.S., automakers are reining in electric-vehicle plans as demand falters.

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Sulfur is demanding its place in crop nutrient budgeting

(EOS) - Scientists advocate for a more significant consideration of sulfur from a multidisciplinary perspective as a necessary step towards sustainable crop management.

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CN prepared for winter despite regulatory uncertainty

(Freight Waves) - Canadian railway CN is prepared to handle low temperatures and heavy snowfall this winter, but it warns that new regulations could test its ability to meet customer demand and keep the supply chain flowing, according to the 2023-2024 winter plan that it recently submitted to the Canadian government.

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Kansas attempts two-person crew requirement

(Railway Age) - The state of Kansas on Nov. 3 will put into effect an administrative rule requiring two-person freight railroad crews.

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Chandrayaan-3's measurements of sulfur open the doors for lunar science and exploration

(Space) - Sulfur in soils near the moon's poles might help astronauts live off the land one day, making these measurements an example of science that enables exploration.

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Aus govt awards A$50m in grants to critical mineral projects

(Mining Weekly) – The federal government on Friday approved nearly A$50-million in grants to accelerate the development of the critical minerals industry in the country, as part of efforts to reach net zero.

The project will also produce 300,000 t/y of elemental sulphur, which will reduce Australia’s dependence on imports for fertiliser production. 

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Prices of Lithium Surge, Lifted by Demand for EVs

(The Wall Street Journal) - Surging prices for lithium are intensifying a race between auto makers to lock up supplies and raising concerns that a shortage of the battery metal could slow the adoption of electric vehicles.

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Energy, mining make the market look too good

(The Wall Street Journal) - Soaring profits at oil companies and miners are making earnings look better than the reality of the rest of the stock market, and distorting Wall Street’s favorite valuation tool, the ratio of price to forecast earnings.

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China battery producers test higher sulphur coke

(Argus) - Chinese demand for medium sulphur anode-grade petroleum coke may increase in the coming years as battery manufacturers — regular consumers of ultra-low sulphur sponge and needle coke — aim to relax specifications to meet growing cost-cutting pressure.

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Scientists propose controversial plan to refreeze North and South Poles by spraying sulphur dioxide into atmosphere

(News.Sky) - A fleet of 125 military air-to-air refuelling tankers would release a cloud of microscopic sulphur dioxide particles at an altitude of 43,000ft (13km) and a latitude of 60 degrees in both hemispheres, slightly shading the Earth's surface beneath.

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Our transition away from fossil fuels paradoxically risks derailing our sustainable future

(Auto Evolution) - Right now, the goal of our society is to limit the use of fossil fuels as part of our energy mix and industrial future. The move might be good and bad at the same time, as this risks cutting away the primary source of sulfur, a mineral used in many fields, including mining critical battery materials.

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Fertilizer supply tightness and weather events seen challenging food security in 2022-2023

(Reuters Events) - While fertilizer inventories saw some increases and demand showed some softening in mid-2022, reduced nitrogen availability combined with weather events will not only keep supply tight but test food security and may create instability.

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Renewables' success skews carbon market

(Wall Street Journal) - Wind and solar projects, viable on their own, still sell offsets to polluters, say critics. With its 34 turbines perched on a hill in southwestern India, the Tuppadahalli wind farm generates green energy and profits.

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The coming global crisis of climate policy

(Wall Street Journal) - Let's come right out and say it: Anyone who still thinks climate change is a greater threat than climate policy to financial stability deserves to be exiled to a peat-burning yurt in the wilderness. Lest you've forgotten, the world's central banks and other regulators are in the middle of a major push to introduce various forms of climate stress testing into their oversight.

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Member News

Chevron boosts oil and gas recovery from two offshore facilities in U.S. Gulf of Mexico

(WO) – Chevron Corporation started water injection operations at two of its offshore projects to boost oil and gas recovery at the company’s existing Jack/St. Malo and Tahiti facilities in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

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Koch changes company name to reflect its diversification

(Bloomberg) -- Koch Industries Inc., the second-largest closely held firm in the US, is changing its name after nearly six decades, along with its corporate structure.

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Exxon aims to become a top lithium producer for electric vehicles with Arkansas drill operation

(MSN) - Exxon Mobil aims to become a leading producer of lithium for electric vehicle batteries through a drilling operation the oil giant is launching in Arkansas, the company announced Monday.

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Tessenderlo Kerley, Inc. celebrates groundbreaking in Ohio for fertilizer facility

Tessenderlo Kerley, Inc. held a celebratory groundbreaking to mark the commencement of construction on a new liquid fertilizer facility in Defiance, Ohio. The new 50,000-square-foot production facility will occupy 50 acres and is set to become operational in 2024. The facility will service the Eastern Great Lakes Region through its distribution partners and will include terminal loadouts for rail cars and tanker trucks.

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Ford to buy lithium from ioneer for U.S. EV battery plant

(Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Thursday it will buy lithium from ioneer Ltd's (INR.AX) Rhyolite Ridge mining project in Nevada and use the metal to build electric vehicle batteries in the United States.

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Koch Ag Completes Acquisition, Forms Joint Venture With Moroccan Phosphate Subsidiary

(The Daily Scoop) - "The closing of this acquisition marks Koch's first substantial investment on the African continent," said Brad Razook, Executive VP of Koch Industries and CEO, Resources. "We are excited to add another nutrient to the KAES portfolio in collaboration with a world-class partner."

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Shell Pushes Big Plans To Drill More in Gulf

(The Wall Street Journal) - Political uncertainty is clouding prospects for new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, but Shell PLC—the Gulf’s biggest producer—is still investing billions of dollars in its waters to pump oil for years to come.

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Rhyolite Ridge: Investing in the future

(Elko Daily) - Alot has been happening with the Rhyolite Ridge lithium/boron project in recent months.
“On March 31, U.S. President Joe Biden announced plans to invoke the Defense Production Act to provide hundreds of millions in new subsidies for the mining of minerals critical for the wind, solar and electric vehicles industries.

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Penflex Becomes The Sulphur Institute's Newest Member

(MSN) - Penflex Corporation recently became the newest member of The Sulphur Institute (TSI), an international, non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for the safe use of sulfur.

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Koch to acquire 50% stake in JFC III from OCP

(Agri Business Global) - Koch Ag & Energy Solutions (Koch) and OCP have signed an agreement under which a Koch affiliate will acquire a 50% interest in Jorf Fertilizers Company III (JFC III) from OCP, the world's largest phosphate mining and leading global fertilizer group. When closed, the transaction will establish a 50/50 joint venture.

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