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01 / 05
Frontier Buyers Sign Carbon Removal Deal with CarbonRun

Frontier | Pollution

Frontier Buyers Sign Carbon Removal Deal with CarbonRun

“Frontier has facilitated offtake agreements with CarbonRun, a Canadian company using a well-established method of river de-acidification called river liming for carbon removal. Frontier buyers will pay $25.4 million to permanently remove 55,442 tons of CO₂ between 2025 and 2029 at multiple sites, starting with deployments in Nova Scotia, Canada. This is the first carbon removal offtake via river liming.

River liming adds crushed up limestone (alkalinity) to acidified rivers to repair the damage caused by acid rain. It was successful in treating the acid rain problem in Scandinavia. Due to increased costs, the practice is in a state of decline, with many applicable regions having to cease or reduce river liming activities. CarbonRun discovered that adding limestone also boosts rivers’ natural ability to extract CO₂ from the air. The atmospheric and land-based carbon found in rivers combines with the limestone to produce bicarbonate. Bicarbonate in the river water makes its way to the open ocean for permanent storage.

The Frontier offtake focuses on rivers acidified by pollution and climate change, where river liming has both carbon removal and ecosystem benefits such as salmon and shellfish population restoration. Expanding river liming to pH-neutral rivers would give this approach the potential to reach gigaton scale.”

From Frontier.

The Guardian | Leisure

Paris Reopens Seine River After Century-Long Swimming Ban

“Parisians and tourists flocked to take a dip in the Seine River this weekend after city authorities gave the green light for it to be used for public swimming for the first time in more than a century.

The opening followed a comprehensive clean-up programme sped up by its use as a venue in last year’s Paris Olympics after people who regularly swam in it illegally, lobbied for its transformation.

The outgoing mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, also helped to champion the plans, jumping in the river herself before the Olympics.

About 1,000 swimmers a day will be allowed access to three bathing sites on the banks of the Seine for free, until the end of August.”

From The Guardian.

Bloomberg | Pollution

Mount Everest’s Trash-Covered Slopes Get Cleaned by Drones

“Human waste, empty oxygen cylinders, kitchen leftovers and discarded ladders.

Sherpas working on Mount Everest carry all that and more — 20 kilograms (44 pounds) per person — navigating a four-hour hike that traverses crumbling glacial ice and treacherous crevasses to bring trash back to base camp.

During the most recent climbing season, they had new assistance from two giant SZ DJI Technology Co. drones, which can complete the same journey in six minutes, sharing the task of clearing an expanding volume of refuse piling up on the world’s highest peak…

‘We’re very happy,’ said Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa, a 33-year-old Sherpa at local expeditions firm Asian Trekking who has reached the summit of Everest 15 times. He estimates that about 70% of the garbage usually carted off the mountain by his team was transported by drone this year.”

From Bloomberg.

Mining Weekly | Mineral Production

Japan to Begin Test Mining Rare-Earth Mud in Early 2026

“Surveys have confirmed the presence of rare-earth-rich mud at depths of 5 000 to 6 000 meters within Japan’s exclusive economic zone near Minamitori Island, Ishii said.

The mud is believed to contain dysprosium and neodymium, which are used in electric vehicle motor magnets, as well as gadolinium and terbium, used in various high-tech products, Ishii said.

Pipes from a deep-sea exploration vessel operated by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology will be used to extract the mud, which will then be transported to the mainland for analysis to determine its rare earth content.

If successful, the project aims to launch trial operations of a system capable of recovering 350 metric tons of mud per day in January 2027.”

From Mining Weekly.

World Health Organization | Energy Consumption

Energy Access Has Improved across the world

“Almost 92 percent of the world’s population now has access to electricity, in contrast to 87 percent in 2010. In 2023, increases in the number of people with access to electricity outpaced population growth, raising the rate of global access to 92 percent and reducing the number of people without electricity to 666 million—19 million fewer than the previous year…

The greatest growth in access between 2020 and 2023 occurred in Central and Southern Asia, while the pace of progress in Sub-Saharan Africa calls for significant acceleration.”

From World Health Organization.