Category: Mining

Beng Kuang Group Unveils Specialised Dredging Equipment for Offshore Tin Mining Activities

Beng Kuang Marine Limited (the “Company” and together with its subsidiaries, the “Beng Kuang Group”), is pleased to share that its in-house team has designed and developed specialised dredging equipment for offshore tin mining activities.

Highlights:
– Designed and developed by its in-house team, the specialised dredging equipment has been tested for operational efficiency at various offshore tin mining sites within Indonesia
– Strengthening the value propositions and service offerings under the Group’s Infrastructure Engineering division as an innovative solutions provider for offshore tin mining activities
– With dwindling surface deposits and more tin ore under the seafloor in Indonesia, tin mining activities have been moving to offshore sites in recent years(1)
– Opportunities to create new revenue streams from the sales and installation of the proprietary specialised dredging equipment and/or providing offshore dredging services for tin concession holders in Indonesia and Malaysia

Notably, the pilot phase of the Group’s specialised dredging equipment was undertaken in collaboration with a leading tin smelter based in Indonesia.

Installed on barges, the specialised dredging equipment has been tested for operational efficiency in various offshore tin mining sites in Indonesia with the following highlights:
– Deep-water extraction of up to 60 metres
– Capable of drilling and extraction of 8-10 holes daily
– Extraction rate of 100 kg to 150 kg per hole

Tin’s high conductivity, low melting point, high specific gravity, low toxicity, and relative abundance makes it an essential component of modern electronics. In the early 2000s, electronics manufacturers and suppliers transitioned away from leaded to lead-free solders, with higher tin concentrations. As lead-free solders came to dominate the market, the demand for tin production surged(1).

At 80,000 tons annually, Indonesia is the second largest tin producer in the world, just barely behind China’s 85,000 tons. Tin mined in Indonesia and throughout the world is predominantly used in solders, both for electronics as well as for plumbing and other structural solders(1).

Since 2020, the price of tin has been on a strong uptrend, due to severe supply tightness resulting from COVID-19 lockdowns, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia, major tin producers accounting for a combined 30% of global refined tin production in 2020, Fitch notes, that has yet to match up with demand despite easing slowly. Fitch expects tin demand to continue outstripping supply, pushing the market into deficit by 2026(2).

With its specialised dredging equipment, Beng Kuang Group aims to develop new value propositions for offshore tin mining activities and create new revenue streams.

Mr. Yong Jiunn Run, Chief Executive Officer of Beng Kuang Group, said, “There are strong key drivers in the demand for tin globally and while there are significant tin ore deposits within Indonesia’s offshore regions, there are various operational challenges in such offshore tin mining activities.

Utilising our technical expertise from multiple business areas, we are excited to showcase how our specialised dredging equipment, technology and services can enable tin concession owners in Asia to gain greater access to these offshore tin ore deposits and create more efficiency in these operations.”

(1) bit.ly/2ZiUQI6
(2) bit.ly/3oTEMW9

About Beng Kuang Marine Limited
(Bloomberg: BKM:SP / Reuters: BENK.SI / SGX Stock Code: BEZ)

Beng Kuang Marine Limited (the “Company”, and together with its subsidiaries, the
“Beng Kuang Group”) was founded in 1994 and has been listed on Singapore Exchange since 15 October 2004.

Over the years, Beng Kuang Group has been striving to be the “Preferred Partner” in providing total solutions for the marine, offshore oil and gas industries. As a testament to its commitment to quality, health and safety, many of its subsidiaries have been accredited with the relevant ISO certifications.

Leveraging on its strong track record and established business networks, Beng Kuang Group continues to strategically grow its key businesses in Infrastructure Engineering, Corrosion Prevention, Supply & Distribution and Shipping.

For more information, please visit http://www.bkmgroup.com.sg/

Issued on behalf of Beng Kuang Marine Limited by 8PR Asia Pte Ltd.
Media & Investor Contacts:
Mr. Alex TAN
Mobile: +65 9451 5252
Email: alex.tan@8prasia.com

Leon Fuat Berhad Powers Up for Green Energy

  • The Group is investing RM5.26 million to install solar panels for processing operations

Leon Fuat Berhad (Leon Fuat or the Group), primarily in the business of trading, processing and/or manufacturing (collectively referred to as processing) of steel products, specialising in rolled long and flat products, is pleased to announce that the Group is making its move towards having sustainable energy powering production operations through an investment in solar panels.

Mr, Ooi Seng Khong, Group Managing Director of Leon Fuat

A total of RM5.26 million is being invested for solar panels as part of the Group’s sustainability initiatives and these panels will be gradually installed in stages depending on the readiness of project sites.

Group Managing Director of Leon Fuat, Mr. Ooi Seng Khong said, “We see this move as a good investment for the environment in the long run to reducing CO2 emissions as we are using renewable solar energy and it will also lower the cost of energy consumption. This initiative will help us in our energy management initiatives and solar power is environmentally sustainable as well as effective.”

“We have been monitoring both electricity and fuel consumption as part of our sustainability initiatives since the financial year ended 31 December 2017 and are cognisant of the need to source for more sustainable sources of energy for our steel processing operations. The installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels will have a capacity of 2.1 million kWh per year, and we expect to save an estimate of 30% savings in electricity consumption per year when the solar panels are fully completed.”

For disclosure purposes, three of the Group’s subsidiaries involved in steel processing consumed a total of 4.9 million kWh of electricity in 2020, which is a 37.1% increase from 2019.

“We will continue to build organisational capacity to adapt to a sustainable future while focusing on the strategy to improve productivity through sustainable practices and bring value to our stakeholders,” Ooi said.

Entry into 3-Year Lease for an Industrial Property in Singapore to Commence Production of Lab-Grown Diamonds

SGX-listed Metech International Limited (“Metech” or the “Company”, and together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”), is pleased to announce that its joint venture company, Asian Eco Technology Pte. Ltd. (“AET”) has entered into a 3-year lease agreement for an industrial property located at Kallang for the production of lab-grown diamonds.

Diamonds are more widely known to be used in jewellery but diamonds are also commonly used for industrial applications in oil & gas, medical equipment, aerospace, among others.

There are also continual discoveries of greater uses for diamonds in industrial applications, which could herald future electronics with powerful new properties that will enable next-generation military, aerospace and telecommunications applications(1).

Lab-grown diamond is chemically, physically and optically identical to a mined diamond, hence without the need for mining, lab-grown diamonds is a sustainable source of this important material.

According to the tenth annual report on the global diamond industry, prepared by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) and Bain & Company, global lab-grown diamond production reached 6-7 million carats produced in 2020 alone, with up to 60% of it manufactured in China. However it is still a very small market segment as compared to diamond mining, which peaked at 152 million carats in 2017 and currently stands at around 111 million carats(2).

Ms. Samantha Hua, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Metech, said: “The establishment of our specialised and high-tech production facility for lab-grown diamonds in Singapore is a pivotal part of our business strategy.

Sustainability is a core focus for Singapore’s future development and we believe that the sustainability features of lab-grown diamonds and its increasing applications are aligned with the growth trends of the future.

Building on our current momentum, we look forward to expand our production capabilities in Singapore and grow our business presence globally.”

(1) https://medium.com/thelabs/diamonds-could-be-the-crown-jewel-in-future-electronics-40b1211e91a1
(2) https://www.bain.com/insights/global-diamond-industry-2020-21/

About Metech International Limited

(Bloomberg: CENR:SP / Reuters: METE.SI / SGX Stock Code: V3M)

Listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, Metech International Limited (“Metech”) has a multi-pronged business model that aligns with the macro trends in the area of environmental and sustainability.

While proactively evaluating new business opportunities to broaden its business model, Metech continues to build on its capabilities and extend the value propositions of its business units.

Issued on behalf of Metech International Limited by 8PR Asia Pte Ltd.
Media & Investor Contacts:
Mr. Alex TAN
Mobile: +65 9451 5252
Email: alex.tan@8prasia.com

This announcement has been prepared by the Company and its contents have been reviewed by the Company’s Sponsor, RHT Capital Pte. Ltd. (the “Sponsor”) for compliance with the relevant rules of the Listing Manual Section B: Rules of Catalist of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (the “SGX-ST”). The Sponsor has not independently verified the contents of this announcement.

This announcement has not been examined or approved by the SGX-ST and the SGX-ST assumes no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, including the correctness of any of the statements or opinions made or reports contained in this announcement.

The contact person for the Sponsor is Mr Khong Choun Mun, Registered Professional, RHT Capital Pte. Ltd. at 6 Raffles Quay, #24-02, Singapore 048580, sponsor@rhtgoc.com.

UREEQA Launches New High-yield Staking Pools

UREEQA (www.ureeqa.com), a blockchain platform for protecting, managing and monetizing creative work, will launch two new high-yield Staking Pools, both of which are designed to bring the company’s followers and investors an opportunity to greatly increase their holdings.

The fresh campaign comes several months after UREEQA opened three initial staking pools, all of which were full within hours of their launch. This time, two pools will be available at 12 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 30, 2021. One (called Hitchcock) is a VIP pool, only available to those who own one of the platform’s Community Qards. The other (called Angelou) is open to anyone.

Hitchcock offers a 155% annual percentage yield (APY) with a maturity date of two months and a maximum individual contribution of 100,000 URQA. Angelou offers a 55% APY with a maturity date of three months and a maximum individual contribution of 50,000 URQA.

Tokenholders will earn URQA as soon as they’re in either pool.

“Our last Staking Pools campaign was a tremendous success, and we have no doubt that we’ll build on that while helping to enrich the digital wallets of our Tokenholders with Hitchock and Angelou,” UREEQA CEO Kirk Fergusson said. “As an added benefit to all UREEQAns, the new pools should also help shore up URQA on the open market.”

For more information on our end-of-summer ‘pool party,’ visit us on Medium or Twitter.

About UREEQA
The UREEQA platform strives to protect Creators’ work, their rights and their revenue by harnessing the power of blockchain technology.

Established in Canada in 2020, UREEQA will modernize the inefficient and bureaucratic systems currently in place for copyright, patent, industrial design and trademark protection. By building a robust and compelling Package of Proof for source creative work, UREEQA only mints Validated NFTs to represent creative rights. This helps keep buyers safe by giving them confidence that the work they are purchasing was minted by the smart contract approved by the Creator of the work and is therefore authentic.

UREEQA provides value and opportunities for its Creators, Validators and Token holders via URQA, the token at the heart of the UREEQA ecosystem.

For more information on UREEQA and upcoming announcements, please visit us at Ureeqa.com, join our Telegram channel and Discord server, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

– Discord: https://discord.com/channels/756566642418384906/824682437417369654
– Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ureeqa_inc/
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ureeqainc/
– Medium: https://medium.com/ureeqa-inc
– Telegram: https://t.me/UREEQA
– Twitter: https://twitter.com/UREEQA_Inc
– Official website: https://www.ureeqa.com/

Metech Enters Into Joint Venture to Manufacture and Distribute Lab-Grown Diamonds

SGX-listed Metech International Limited (“Metech” or the “Company”, and together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”), is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Asian Green Tech Pte. Ltd (“AGT”), has entered into a joint venture agreement (“JVA”) with X Diamond Capital Pte. Ltd. (“XDC”) on 24 September 2021 to establish a joint venture, pursuant to which AGT and XDC (collectively, the “Parties”) will incorporate a joint venture company (“JV Company”) in Singapore to carry out the business of manufacturing and distribution of lab-grown diamonds (the “Joint Venture”).

Under the JVA, AGT shall operate and manage the JV Company while XDC shall provide technical support to the JV Company.

The Rising Popularity and Applications of Lab-Grown Diamonds

A lab-grown diamond is a diamond: chemically, physically and optically identical to a mined diamond.

While diamonds are more widely known to be used in jewellery, diamonds are also commonly used for industrial applications as they are extremely effective at polishing, cutting, and drilling.

Furthermore, lab diamonds have the edge on mined diamonds with regards to their purity and hardness, with lab-grown diamonds found to be ten times more durable than natural diamonds. The US Department of Energy reports that diamond-based components reduce energy losses by up to 90%(1).

According to figures published by Diamond Foundry, the total environmental footprint of mined diamonds is much higher than lab diamonds(2).

In May 2021, the world’s largest jewellery, Pandora, says it will no longer sell mined diamonds and will switch to exclusively laboratory-made diamonds due to concerns about the environment and working practices in the mining industry(3).

Lab-grown diamond production has ballooned in recent years, with 6-7 million carats produced in 2020 alone, though still a tiny industry compared to diamond mining, which peaked at 152 million carats in 2017 and currently stands around 111 million carats. But lab-grown diamonds are increasingly pitched as the sustainable choice to price- and planet-conscious young consumers. In addition to Pandora, De Beers, Vrai and Kimai have begun selling lab-grown diamonds as well as or in place of mined ones(4).

According to Statista, the market size of lab-grown diamonds is forecasted to increase its value to approximately US$29.2 billion by 2025 and grow to nearly 19.2 million carats by 2030(5).

The Joint Venture is aligned with the Group’s strategy to expand further into the environmental and sustainability business.

As lab-grown diamonds are created without the need for mining, they are a more sustainable production of diamonds and there are also opportunities to integrate renewable energy in such manufacturing activities, hence it is aligned with the Group’s environmental and sustainability business model.

Ms. Samantha Hua, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Metech, said: “With better technology and declining production costs, lab-grown diamonds will be a sustainable solution to the declining supply of mined diamonds. In addition, the millennial generation are also more conscious about the environmental, sustainability and ethical impact of mined diamonds. With our joint venture, we have the capabilities to create our own quality diamonds in Singapore and establish new channels to make it accessible to a wider consumer base. I believe that we are in the early stages of this emerging consumer trend and we are excited about the opportunities ahead.”

About Metech International Limited
(Bloomberg: CENR:SP / Reuters: METE.SI / SGX Stock Code: V3M)

Listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, Metech has a multi-pronged business model that aligns with the macro trends in the area of environmental and sustainability.

While proactively evaluating new business opportunities to broaden its business model, Metech continues to build on its capabilities and extend the value propositions of its business units.

For more information, visit www.metechinternational.com.

Issued on behalf of Metech International Limited by 8PR Asia Pte Ltd.
Media & Investor Contacts:
Mr. Alex TAN
Mobile: +65 9451 5252
Email: alex.tan@8prasia.com

(1) https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200207-the-sparkling-rise-of-the-lab-grown-diamond
(2) bit.ly/3kFndrM
(3) https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56972562
(4) bit.ly/3udv1nS
(5) https://www.statista.com/topics/7108/lab-grown-diamond-industry/

This press release is to be read in conjunction with Metech’s exchange filings on 24 September 2021, which can be downloaded via www.sgx.com.

This announcement has been prepared by the Company and its contents have been reviewed by the Company’s Sponsor, RHT Capital Pte. Ltd. (the “Sponsor”) for compliance with the relevant rules of the Listing Manual Section B: Rules of Catalist of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (the “SGX-ST”). The Sponsor has not independently verified the contents of this announcement. This announcement has not been examined or approved by the SGX-ST and the SGX-ST assumes no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, including the correctness of any of the statements or opinions made or reports contained in this announcement.

The contact person for the Sponsor is Mr Khong Choun Mun, Registered Professional, RHT Capital Pte. Ltd. at 6 Raffles Quay, #24-02, Singapore 048580, sponsor@rhtgoc.com.