‘Blame it on RIO’, BHP and ONE-Dyas? Serbia and Chile, ‘Strike While Iron Is Hot’!

Rio Tinto, heard of ‘BHP executives killed in chopper crash’ in Angola? Happened two years after BHP began diamond exploration despite ‘concerns expressed by many Western firms over insecurity.’ Rio, appears you ‘dodged a bullet.’

‘Blood Diamonds’ and Lithium come at a high price! Rio, seems you did not wish to pay until a ‘change in stability…and sovereign risk …We have no immediate plans to do anything big in Angola.”

Not until 2021, when Serbs kicked you out, and you went down to Africa. Rio, looking now to be in the line of fire by no longer heeding your own advice to not set foot in Angola?

Now that you reportedly secured a second deal with Angola, stay ‘down under’!  RIO, for the huge ROI you’re getting, $5.7M  deal comes cheap.

Sure, you came first, but you’re still number 2 behind BHP. Of course, being both a British and Australian multinational company, it’s not surprising. Can’t trust the Brits or Aussies.

BHP, read ALL operations were suspended after that 2007 crash, and that your focus was in ‘the safety and well being of the staff.’ Serbia is also focused on its people’s ‘safety and well being.’

Death and Radioactive Failures & Crashes!

It’s undeniably clear. Power of electricity and lithium comes at price. Problem is, few are getting its power but paying the price of pollution or risk of radiation. Recall BBC  headline, “Rio Tinto apologises for losing radioactive capsule in Australia.”

Serbia, Brothers and Sisters, if this can easily happen in their country what can one expect in ours?  How bad? Says ABC, “Authorities had warned a person exposed to the capsule could suffer burns and radiation sickness.”

Of course, like most multi-billion dollar companies, fines are ridiculously low. “ABC revealed the penalty for failing to safely store, pack and transport such items was a measly $1,000 fine.”

Could be worse? Recall the train crash that put workers safety at risk? And this was no ordinary train. The “train was fully autonomous, no driver was on board to realise the transmission error and halt it.”

But do they disclose deaths? According to the Wall Street Journal:

“Mining companies working jointly with another miner don’t typically report deaths at operations they don’t manage directly. Between 2010 and 2018, the world’s three largest publicly listed miners, BHP, Rio Tinto PLC and Vale, reported 117 deaths globally at their managed operations.”

Death or exposure to toxins. Chile, sounds familiar? Recall Boliden Lawsuit. My December 2021  paper may remind you, “Where ‘Children of Men’ Play: Swedish “Poisonous Wastes” Dumping Site in Chile” or Sweden’s Waste: The Other Chemical Weapon?

Forget not President Gabriel Boric’s words: “If Chile was the cradle of neoliberalism, it will also be its grave. Do not be afraid of the youth changing this country.” 

Lithium, Chile’s ‘White Gold’

Chilean Workers, well played. Best to ‘strike while the iron is hot’!

If Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) is the world’s biggest lithium producer, shouldn’t your people, like Angola, ‘call the shots’? Recall, BHP ignored risk in Angola staying until its Executives’ plane crashed. And then they got out.

BHP and Rio, we heard of Escondida and Lundin Mining’s workers striking. Something about ‘labor negotiations.’ American Auto Workers may relate. If Executives are happy to broadcast high earning on Wall Street, then workers too should have a share of the profits!

In US, over the last 10 years, one of its BigEnergy companies has been making alkaline batteries from US and Foreign Countries: Three in Europe and six in Asia including China.

Batteries are higher in Prices but seem to be lower in juice? Not as DURAble or ENERGIZEd as before. Hmm? What’s changed?

According to, We Forum, “There is a huge, unregulated market for battery packs, however, posing a challenge to regulators and a threat to consumers. The United States imports hundreds of millions of lithium-ion batteries each year…China accounted for the vast majority of U.S. battery.”

So no matter how US tries to circumvent China imports by turning to other nations, China finds a way in. “Chile’s government said that strong interest from private firms in lithium deals…Almost 60 are domiciled in Chile…11 from Canadian, four from Australia, three from the US and two from China. The names of those vying for contracts weren’t disclosed.” AI fans?

Funny, Americans and China rely on Chile while at the same time Americans are dependent on China. But will the future of lithium be that of diamonds; Replaced with synthetic lab rocks?

Two prescient public comments come to mind: 

“The timeline here is quite short. Other battery chemistries are being developed and will become commercially viable and will begin to replace lithium-based chemistries in the 2030s.”

“This political change means that Chile will never make much money from lithium and will probably end up with a big lithium extraction operation that is only marginally profitable and has a big workforce that goes on strike a lot.”

BHP and Rio: Ready to ‘Reap What You Sow’?  

Funny, in 2005, the ‘head of BHP’s diamond division said Ekati was its route into a booming industry which it had no plans to quit.”

BHPs Marcus Randolph told Reuters, “If we weren’t in the diamond business we would be trying to figure out how to get into it …We like this business probably more than most of the minerals we are involved in.”

Marcus, it’s now 2024. Heard of synthetic diamonds?  A ‘Pandora’s Box’ opened for artificial rocks! I warned those in e-car business, EVs like ‘blood diamonds’ are not everyone’s best friend. 🙂  

As President of Diamonds and Specialty Products, Marcus, did you read your 2003 Report to BHP

Optimizing Risk versus Reward in Exploration’ ? You noted ‘Key Strategy’ was ‘Understand Risk.’ But in your Terrain Selection, Angola as Serbia, was rated ‘High.’ Reward too good to pass?

Serbia is now contending with its own ‘Red Sea’ battle – Aussies’ and Brits racking in top $ at the cost to Serbia’s environment. Rio Tinto, the people of Serbia have spoken, “Get off the Drina.”

Not surprising to read headline in Balkan Green Energy News, “Constitutional Court of Serbia rules in favor of Rio Tinto’s lithium project.” Hmm, Judges ruling in favor of a foreign company but against their citizens interest? US and Nippon Steel, sound familiar?

Looks like Serbia’s ‘Lady Justice’ is blind as in the US. The Court overlooks “petition with over 38,000 signatures…to ban the exploration and mining of lithium and boron in the entire country.”

Says Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, “Rio Tinto absolutely didn’t provide enough information to the people in Jadar, Rađevina, in local places and local villages. It also didn’t provide enough information to the Government of the Republic of Serbia.”  

Rio Tinto, playing BHPs Risk-Reward playbook? Appears Planning didn’t fare out. “Unambiguous agreements with governments” and “Strong ‘Social License to Operate’ with local communities.”

Rio, ask Randolph as to cutting your losses in Serbia, how will you ‘Ruthlessly cut projects that miss milestones’? Finally, Randolph states, ‘Are you sure, that if you find what you’re looking for, you will want to develop it?’

Marcus, sure looks like ‘it’ found you in 2022 – batteries. Coming from a man who said about diamonds, “We like this business probably more than most of the minerals we are involved in.”

Damn, you went from precious ‘blood diamonds’, to drilling services and equipment to finally recycling batteries! Hear the empty echo, as you ‘bat an eye’? 🙂

‘Democracy’ has a Price!

President Aleksandar Vucic, tens of thousands are against lithium mining in Serbia. Vucic says ‘strict environmental safety protocols will be put in place.’ Like the safety protocol of Rio Tinto ‘losing radioactive capsule’ while in transport in its own country?

Looks like you’re making your people do dirty and dangerous work for these foreigners. “Speaking about the revived Rio Tinto project, Green-Left Movement co-leader Biljana Djordjevic said that activists ‘fear Serbia will be sacrificed to provide lithium for electric vehicles that pretty much nobody in Serbia can afford”.

Serbia, like it or not, a new reliance has grown for TCEs energy. “A Critical Raw Materials Summit was held in Belgrade…between the European Union and the Serbian government.” If Serbia’s leader allows Rio to proceed, few will be getting the power of lithium but paying a price.

President Vucic is right about ‘terror of the minority against the majority.’ The Manipulative Minority in government who had sold out its people. Democracy? What do you know of it? A ‘mockery of democracy’ is manipulating the people into accepting false narratives.

Vucic, fear your take down or are you truly reliant on foreign interference or what you call ‘external forces’? Was it Russia who “warned that mass unrest was being prepared in Serbia, with the ultimate goal of a coup and the overthrow of the country’s leadership”? If so, what will you do for the Kremlin?

My fellow Serbs, when a weak leader fails its Country, the People need a Monster to fight back!

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, “said the mining of lithium…is necessary for Europe ‘to remain sovereign in a changing world and not be dependent on others.”  

Scholz, but you are ‘dependent on others’! Just as you became reliant on Hungary and China for batteries. Recall ‘The Professional’ French Spy who said, ‘German batteries don’t go with Japanese robots.’  Well now, Germany has reversed engineered the risk!

Says Mercedes-Benz Group, “One part in our lithium supply chains comes from Australia, another from Chile.” Appears they’re also dependent and around it goes.

Germany, you may be able to afford EVs but you sure ain’t selling them. Sholtz, recall in 2021 when Mercedes was preparing to go ‘all electric’?

Reports The Verge that “CEO Ola Källenius told Reuters. “It’s not going to be 100% in 2030, obviously… from the whole European market, but probably from the Mercedes side as well.”

Germany, if “Mercedes-Benz backs off plan to only sell EVs by 2030” then back off Serbia!

ONE-Dyas, Germany’s Other Dependence

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, best you focus on Dutch drilling. Here’s another country you’re dependent on!

ONE-Dyas and HSM Offshore Energy, I hear you reached ‘key milestone in North Sea.’ World Oil reports that you ‘successfully rolled out the N05-A Topside for ONE-Dyas.’

And that ‘Once completed, the N05-A Platform will be the first electrified gas production platform in the North Sea.’ Question: Will it be completed before you start on this 18-year permit drilling for the Germans?

Consider two points: 1. CEO of ONE-Dyas said, “The goal is to use electricity from German wind farm Riffgat and eliminate the discharge of drilling cuttings, leading to drilling operations that are as close to zero emissions as possible.”

Unfortunate if ‘GOAL’ is NOT met until 17 years into the drilling and ‘discharge of drilling cuttings’ is not ELIMINATED. Yet, if goal is met, how ‘close to zero emissions’?

Also your ‘agreement with Borr Drilling for a minimum of 150 days.’ More importantly, that this “rig employs a Selective Catalytic Reduction system and other technologies said to reduce emissions of nitrogen and carbon emissions from its operations by up to 95%.”

Key words here are ‘said to reduce.’ Let’s be clear, ‘up to 95%’ is NOT a 95% minimum. It could be 1%.

I think the ‘key’ milestone is what Hans with HSM said, ‘Local gas production is key for the Dutch economy and needed to smoothen the energy transition.”

Germany be reminded “drilling and extraction would be halted if it was determined that Germany no longer needed natural gas as an energy source.” ‘Fridays for Future’, we’re on it 24/7!

Funny how the cloud reflects on seabed and vice-versa! ONE-Dyas, will drilling be for 18 years or will you meet same fate as the ‘Flying Dutchmen’? 🙂

ONE-Dyas, I am reminded of Pink Floyd’s opening track, “One of These Days.” Recall the line “One of these days, I’m going to cut you into little pieces.”

BHT, maybe you heard it. Rio Tinto, would you like to hear it or see it? Brace yourself, here’s all that’s left.