Czech-based specialty chemicals company Draslovka has reached an agreement to roll out a global testing and implementation programme for GlyCat, its glycine-based gold-leaching product, in several of the mines run by Barrick Gold. This is the first such trial and could lead to a global rollout.

According to Draslovska, using GlyCat, a non-toxic, food-grade and recyclable reagent, “can potentially unlock substantive savings and generate value for Barrick’s operations, while improving environmental footprint”. Depending on the ore, these could include:

The merger between speciality chemicals distribution firms Caldic and Connell has been closed, creating a new global player with sales of €3 billion/year, 3,500 FTE employees and a presence in 43 countries. It will be mainly active in the food, (bio)pharma, personal care and industrial formulations markets.

“The strong regional presence of Connell helps Caldic to create a unique global growth platform with substantial footholds in two high-growth regions, in Asia-Pacific and Latin America, following the merger with GTM last year,” Caldic said.

Imperative Chemical Partners and RSI Chemicals are joining forces to create one of the largest land oil and gas chemical businesses in the US under the joint ownership of Hastings Equity Partners and One Equity Partners. Both are based in Texas.

In its 2022 result presentation, BASF announced measures that are expected to yield cost savings of €500 million/year, mainly in Europe and about half of them at the largest verbund site in Ludwigshafen, Germany. These will be implemented in 2023 and 2024, focusing mainly on the service, operational and R&D divisions and corporate functions. All this will lead to a net loss of about 2,600 jobs and a €200 million/year reduction in fixed costs by the end of 2026.

Nippon Shokubai has concluded a licence agreement with its Japanese compatriot and affiliate company, Rena Therapeutics, to make and sell heteroduplex oligonucleotide (HDO) as a research reagent to industry and academia in all countries where it is covered by patents. Rena has existing licences with Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceutical.

Solvay has agreed to source mixed rare earth oxides (rMREOs) recycled from permanent magnets at the Ontario site of Canadian cleantech start-up Cyclic Materials for use in automotive, renewable wind energy and electronics applications at its site in La Rochelle, France (pictured).

Patrick Ho, market development manager – chemicals at Gestra, looks at the advantages of finding the right energy partner