Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles – Page 109

Lithium from proposed NC mine could power Teslas. But not everyone supports digging. – by Daniel Egitto (Durham Herald Sun – July 20, 2021

July 21, 2021

https://www.heraldsun.com/

A company’s plan to enter the fast-growing global market for lithium faces local fears that a proposed new mine in Gaston County will hurt residents’ health, environment and quality of life.

As Keith Phillips, CEO of the mining company Piedmont Lithium, prepares to meet with county commissioners for the first time on Tuesday evening, here’s what you should know about lithium and the mine proposal:

WHAT IS LITHIUM?

Lithium is a key component of batteries used in electric cars, bikes, wheelchairs, scooters and personal electronic devices. The global lithium-ion battery market was projected to more than triple over eight years, from $36.7 billion in 2019 to $129.3 billion in 2027, according to a study published by market research firm Valuates Reports.

Nickel Deposits in Canada: A Quick Overview (Investing News Network – July 20, 2021)

July 21, 2021

https://investingnews.com/

Commodity prices have seen drastic increases over the past several months as demand for materials increases in a post-lockdown world. Nickel is amongst many other metals that have seen increases in demand and prices as manufacturing scales up across the globe.

Nickel has traditionally been highly sought after for its use in the production of stainless steel. More recently, nickel has also become an increasingly important element in electric vehicle (EV) production, as the material allows for producers to create lighter, smaller and higher density batteries.

And as more and more countries around the world continue to push towards the adoption of EVs, demand for nickel has continued to increase. Analysts expect this rapidly expanding market to continue growing, with an estimated compound annual growth rate of 26.8 percent by 2031.

EV Metal Index quadruples year-on-year as lithium, nickel prices rally – by Editor (Mining.com – July 19, 2021)

July 20, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

MINING.COM’s EV Metal Index quadrupled from May 2020 and added nearly 18% in value from the previous month, racking up the third best monthly total on record.

The EV Metal Index, which tracks the value of battery metals in newly registered passenger EVs (including hybrids) around the world, came in at $477 million in April, an increase of 326% over the same month last year and bringing the year-to-date total to $2.03 billion.

Total battery capacity of EVs sold during the month tripled year on year to 19.2 GWh, according to Adamas Intelligence, which tracks demand for EV batteries by chemistry, cell supplier and capacity in over 100 countries.

NEWS RELEASE: Joint Statement by Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources and the European Commissioner for Internal Market (Natural Resources Canada – July 19, 2021)

July 20, 2021

OTTAWA, ON, July 19, 2021 /CNW/ – Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr., and the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, released the following joint statement on the framework for Canada-EU Strategic Partnership on Raw Materials.

“The security of supply chains for the minerals and metals essential to the transition to a carbon-neutral and digitized economy is a priority for both Canada and the European Union.

Through this strategic partnership, developed jointly between Natural Resources Canada and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, we will focus on enhancing the security and sustainability of trade and investment, integrating raw material value chains and leading by example on environmental, social and governance standards.

Dawn of a mining supercycle. Are you taking the fizz? – by Frik Els (Mining.com – July 16, 2021)

July 17, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

Published on Thursday, a new Wood Mackenzie forecast for the green energy transition, or GET™ (a new MINING.COM trademark we’re making freely available) is, for good reason, already in wide circulation.

Written by global metals expert Simon Morris, VP for Research, Metals & Mining Global Metals, at the Scotland-based analytics firm, the whitepaper is titled: Champagne supercycle: Taking the fizz out of the commodities price boom

Scots may be known for their frugality, but at this website we don’t believe in taking the fizz out of anything so we decided to get on the wagon and take another look at Woodmac’s GET and planet decarbonisation predictions.

GM Will Suck Lithium From the Salton Sea to Make Batteries – by Mark Vaughn (Autoweek – July 15, 2021)

July 16, 2021

https://www.autoweek.com/

Critics of electric cars would like you to believe that all of the mining for all of the minerals needed in EVs is performed by environmentally destructive means. This may not be an entirely accurate representation of the actual mining and extraction process that gets the lithium necessary for your Li-Ion battery. And the processes are getting cleaner all the time.

Lithium is needed to make batteries for electric cars. Right now, most lithium comes from Australia—51,000 tons of it in 2019. Second-highest producer of lithium is Chile with 16,000 tons.

The list drops off precipitously from there. But the world is going to need a lot more very soon, especially carmakers such as GM, which, along with many if not most of the world’s carmakers has pledged to go all-EV very soon, GM by 2035.

Small miners aim for European supply chain for electric vehicles independent from China – by Clara Denina and Zandi Shabalala (Reuters – July 16, 2021)

July 16, 2021

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Growing demand for electric vehicles has spurred small-scale miners of the lithium, cobalt and rare earths that automakers rely on to develop mines and build refining capacity in Europe to reduce their reliance on China.

Efforts by the United States and Europe to build a secure and independent supply chain for the key minerals used in electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines and aircraft engines have accelerated as the pandemic led to shutdowns and shortages.

With companies under pressure to reduce their carbon footprint, processing metals into goods that are circulated within the continent and do not have to travel far is an environmental goal.

Cobalt refinery operators have ambitious plans for ‘Battery Park’ – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – July 14, 2021)

July 16, 2021July 16, 2021

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

First Cobalt seeks to bring manufacturing partner to northeastern Ontario for value-added processing

The company refurbishing a mothballed metals refinery near the town of Cobalt are discussing the idea of creating a Battery Park, catering to the supply chain needs of the North American electric vehicle industry.

Toronto’s First Cobalt wants to produce refined cobalt at the facility, along with a used battery recycling plant, but they’re also strategizing to produce nickel sulfate on the same site, five kilometres outside of town, within the next few years. Both nickel and cobalt are used in electric vehicle battery production.

For First Cobalt, this is a US$60-million expenditure to bring the former Yukon refinery back to life. The facility ran for about a decade – producing cobalt, nickel, copper, silver and other products – before being shuttered in 2015. First Cobalt acquired the shuttered building in 2017.

It’s not just mining. Refining holds U.S. back on minerals – by James Marshall (E&E News – Greenwire – July 14, 2021)

July 15, 2021

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Republicans are sensing a vulnerability in the White House’s avowed allegiance to renewable energy, questioning whether the Biden administration will embrace mining projects to ramp up the United States’ access to the minerals vital to building electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels.

They have taken aim at a Biden administration decision to delay a land swap that would facilitate copper mining on sacred Apache land and another to postpone orders to open Alaskan land to mineral development (E&E Daily, April 29).

But experts say mining expansion isn’t a silver bullet in the United States’ quest to become competitive with China on critical minerals during the energy transition. Instead, they argue that the key problem the Biden administration must swiftly address is farther up the supply chain: the dearth of U.S. mineral processing plants and refineries.

Can Environmentalists Handle the Truth about Mining? – by Jack Lifton (Investor Intel – July 13, 2021)

July 14, 2021

https://investorintel.com/

Solar panels and wind turbines cannot even begin to supply the concentrated
power needed for smelters, steel furnaces, copper refining, aluminum
production, and myriads of other energy intensive necessary processes.

The recovery of the amount of non-fuel natural resources necessary for the world, or even just the USA, or the EU, or China, to go “green” would simultaneously entail the construction of a massively enlarged minerals processing industry the likes of which the world has not seen since the creation and growth of the steel industry, which is and will remain the structural backbone of our civilization.

Much of the sourcing and processing infrastructure that is needed for its own domestic consumption of natural resources has already been accomplished by China.

But for the rest of the world, such resource recovery and processing onto useful forms at that “greening” scale would require the diversion of a significant percentage of national GDPs for decades.

Top-10 Canadian base metal and uranium explorers and developers (Mining.com – July 13, 2021)

July 14, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

Demand for greener energy has put companies with uranium and base metal projects under the spotlight. Here’s a list of the top ten Canadian-headquartered base metal and uranium juniors with no production. The ranking is based on the companies’ market capitalization as of June 3, and compiled by MiningIntelligence.

NexGen Energy – Market capitalization: C$2.7 billion ($2.3 billion)

NexGen Energy’s (TSX: NXE; NYSE: NXE) market cap has increased fivefold from last year, pushing it from third to first place in this year’s top ten ranking.

The exploration and development company’s valuation has been boosted as the spot price for uranium edged higher in May to pass $32 per lb., and comes after several years in which uranium was trading in the $25-30 per lb. price range.

KPMG NEWS RELEASE: Rising demand for ‘green’ metals renews growth optimism for Canadian mining companies (July 8, 2021)

July 8, 2021

For report: https://bit.ly/3qZTGKX

ESG, sustainability, and innovation key to growth prospects, KPMG in Canada report finds

TORONTO, July 8, 2021 /CNW/ – Rising demand for ‘green’ metals as the world transitions to clean energy is contributing to renewed optimism in the growth prospects for Canada’s mining industry, finds a new KPMG in Canada report, Risk and Opportunities for Canadian miners.

Minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel are critical to the green and digital transition now underway to achieve a below 2°C future. The production of minerals needed to deploy wind, solar, and geothermal power, as well as energy storage, is predicted to increase by nearly 500 per cent by 2050, according to the World Bank. Demand for lithium used in batteries, for example, including electric vehicles, is expected to expand by a factor of 30 by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency.

“The outlook for the mining industry is extremely positive,” says Heather Cheeseman, partner and Toronto mining leader, KPMG in Canada.

Lithium Price Tipped To Rise After Warning Of ‘Perpetual Deficit’ – by Tim Treadgold (Forbes Magazine – July 2, 2021)

July 7, 2021

https://www.forbes.com/

If you’re investment portfolio is not exposed to lithium, a key metal in the batteries which power electric vehicles (EVs), then consider the price effect on a commodity said to be heading for a “perpetual deficit.”

That remarkable description of surging demand for lithium as EV sales accelerate incorporates the second price driver, a lack of supply response from the world’s major lithium miners.

Two investment banks this week upgraded their assessment of lithium in light of the increasing demand and sluggish supply growth with both upgrading their price forecasts for the metal.

Lithium supply chain threatened by East-West geopolitical tensions – report – by Staff (Mining.com – July 6, 2021)

July 7, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

Geopolitical risks and the US-China tensions pose threats to the global lithium supply chain, a new report by Fitch Solutions Country Risk & Industry Research states.

Based on questions asked by the participants in the webinar “Global Lithium Outlook – Key Themes For A Fast-Growing, Fast-Evolving Sector,” the report presents the viewpoint of Fitch’s experts on what the future of the lithium market may look like.

According to the analyst, increasingly tense relationships between the West – a rising battery manufacturer and key EV end market and China – a dominant lithium-processing player and current leading battery manufacturer – are the main issues raising risks over the resilience of supply chains.

Pallinghurst makes billion-dollar bet on Quebec as global battery hub – by Nicolas Van Praet (Globe and Mail – July 5, 2021)

July 5, 2021

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

European private equity investor Pallinghurst Group is making a billion-dollar bet that Quebec will recover from its early blunders in battery materials and become a dependable pillar for supply in North America, as the global shift to electric transportation accelerates in the years ahead.

London-based Pallinghurst has invested more than US$500-million to date in two key battery-mining and material-processing projects in the province, with plans for more.

The company scooped up mining company Nemaska Lithium Inc. out of bankruptcy protection in a partnership with the Quebec government’s investment arm and built up a 15-per-cent position in another supplier, Nouveau Monde Graphite.