Electric-Car Dreams Could Fall a Nickel Short – by Rhiannon Hoyle (Wall Street Journal – September 29, 2019)

https://www.wsj.com/

Demand for a form of nickel needed in electric-vehicle batteries is starting to outpace supply

SYDNEY—Global producers of electric cars have big ambitions and a bigger problem: Supplies of a key material are running short.

Nickel sulfate is a brilliantly colored crystalline substance used in electric-vehicle batteries. The ore most commonly used to produce it is mined in only a handful of places—and they include some of the most politically or operationally challenging, such as Russia or Canada’s frozen Northeast.

Nickel sulfate accounts for just a fraction of global nickel sales; about 70% of nickel is used in stainless steel. But auto makers will launch more than 200 new plug-in electric vehicles through 2023, consulting firm AlixPartners estimates—and that isn’t counting hybrids. UBS expects batteries in electric vehicles to account for 12% of global nickel demand by then, up from 3% in 2018.

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Canadian lithium-tech companies find traction amid rise of electric cars – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – September 26, 2019)

https://business.financialpost.com/

Canada’s mainstream lithium miners continue to struggle suggesting the next wave of growth will come from technology — not geology

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau travelled to Burnaby, British Columbia to announce his latest climate change initiative at the pilot plant of an upstart company that’s tinkering with lithium-ion battery technology.

His choice of venue revealed much about the opportunities in Canada as a new supply chain takes shape around the growing electric vehicle industry, which relies on lithium-ion batteries, not oil.

Although mining has been a historical strength in Canada, the latest rush around battery metals may end up providing more opportunities to this country’s fledgling technology sector.

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Miners push for U.S. Congress to vote on electric vehicle supply chain bills – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters U.S. – September 23, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Mining executives eager to speed U.S. production of lithium and other metals for the burgeoning electric vehicle industry are frustrated that the U.S. Congress has yet to pass legislation designed to streamline mine permitting and fund geological studies, among other steps.

Earlier this year, Washington’s trade war with Beijing threatened to curb Chinese shipments to the United States of rare earth minerals used in defense equipment. China is also the world’s largest electric vehicle battery producer, processor of lithium and consumer of copper.

“We don’t have great clarity on what the legislative timelines are,” said Keith Phillips, chief executive of Piedmont Lithium Ltd (PLL.AX), which is developing a lithium mine in North Carolina. “This pending legislation would be a big positive” to help secure investment.

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Australian lithium recovery seen by mid-2020 as EV production revs up – by Melanie Burton (Reuters U.S. – September 17, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Strong demand from the electric-vehicle sector alongside supply cuts should help Australian lithium miners recover toward the middle of next year, earlier than expected, industry executives said on Wednesday.

Australian producers of spodumene, a type of concentrated lithium ore that accounts for about half of global lithium supply, have suffered this year after a flood of production sent prices tumbling by more than 20%. Recently, miners said they do not expect a recovery until the end of this year or early 2020.

BMI Managing Director Simon Moores suggested that the wait could be longer, but still earlier than market consensus of 2021. “There are two factors. One is the build-up of the demand picture downstream.

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U.S. ‘falling behind’ in global race to develop electric vehicle supply chain – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters U.S. – September 17, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is losing the race to extract and refine minerals used to make electric vehicles and should do more to spur domestic production, a bipartisan group of senators said on Tuesday.

The push comes as China has grown to dominate the market for lithium, rare earths, cobalt and other so-called strategic minerals used to make a plethora of consumer products, a dominance that politicians have said poses a strategic threat to the United States.

The Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a Tuesday hearing in part to keep the topic fresh in the national dialogue even as attention begins to lurch toward the 2020 presidential campaign.

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Canadian economy won’t feel impact of battery metal mining – by Frik Els (Mining.com – September 12, 2019)

https://www.mining.com/

Hardly three years ago expectations of a demand boom for battery materials used in electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage reignited interest in the mining sector as the China-induced supercycle in commodities demand started levelling off.

Prices for lithium and cobalt soared (only to fall back again). Same for vanadium. Graphite and rare earth prices made a comeback. Nickel, where EV-related demand is still tiny, was caught up in the euphoria, and the primarily steelmaking metal is holding onto those gains and more.

Longer term mining’s bellwether metal – copper – may benefit the most and aluminum (on a dollar-basis a bigger industry than copper) will feel a sizeable impact.

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Should we mine copper and nickel in Minnesota … to help defeat climate change? – by Walker Orenstein (Minn Post – September 11, 2019)

https://www.minnpost.com/

Just as steel made from Minnesota’s iron ore powered the U.S. military to victory during World War II, supporters of copper-nickel mining in the state say the industry could help defeat another global challenge: the climate crisis.

Demand is on the rise for renewable energy and electric cars that rely on copper, nickel, cobalt and other metals. And as the world continues to transition away from fossil fuels, the need for those minerals will only continue to grow.

In August, Gov. Tim Walz told MinnPost the state should allow mining if it expects to reach a carbon-free future. “There’s 5.5 tons of copper in every megawatt of solar, and it comes from somewhere,” he said.

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Chilean lithium producer SQM bullish on white gold demand; shares rise – by Fabian Cambero (Reuters U.S. – September 11, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Shares in Chilean lithium producer SQM jumped on Wednesday after it announced plans to invest about $2.1 billion in the next five years to strengthen its production amid an expected increase in demand for the ultralight battery metal.

About $1.332 billion of this investment would be in lithium operations, with further amounts going toward growing its nitrates and iodine capacity and maintenance between 2019 to 2023, Chief Executive Ricardo Ramos said in a presentation to investors in New York on Tuesday.

B-Series shares in SQM were up more than 5% in trading on Santiago’s blue-chip stock exchange following the promise of beefed-up investment.

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Lithium bulls need to chill out – by Neil Hume (Financial Times – September 10, 2019)

https://www.ft.com/

Quick to develop supply will keep a lid on prices

Battery metal bulls suddenly have more to cheer about. This week saw the flashy launch of VW’s ID. 3, a mass-market hatchback that symbolises the potential market for the lithium that powers its battery. Last week, China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) bought an 8.5 per cent stake in Australian lithium miner Pilbara Minerals.

The investment by China’s biggest battery producer — and supplier to carmakers including VW, Toyota and Volvo — was seen as a vote of confidence for the sector, which supporters say will be a big beneficiary from decarbonisation and the mass adoption of electric vehicles.

“While there has been commentary talking down the current state of lithium markets, it has belied the significant interest we have continued to see from the strategic players,” said Ken Brinsden, managing director of Pilbara.

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Nickel is the hottest metal in the world right now – by Darren MacDonald (Sudbury Northern Life – September 5, 2019)

https://www.sudbury.com/

Price is up 80% this year, with predictions it could hit US$11 a pound by the end of 2019

The price of nickel on international markets continued its dizzying climb Wednesday, breaking past US$8 a pound before settling in at US$8.17 late in the day.

It’s a surge Terry Ortslan, a nickel analyst at TSO and Associates in Montreal, saw coming in late 2018, when the metal was struggling to hit $5. A few factors were depressing prices at the time, Ortslan said, while predicting a rebound into 2019.

“We all know batteries for electric vehicles are going to be very important new demand source of nickel, as much as stainless steel was 50 or 60 years ago,” he said at the time. “So it’s going to be slow times for the next couple of months, but it’s a short-term issue.

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Is Chile losing ground in the lithium space? – by Tom Azzopardi (Northern Miner – September 4, 2019)

Northern Miner

Chile should lead the world in lithium production. The Salar de Atacama in northern Chile is the world’s largest and richest lithium resource, containing almost half the world’s known reserves, according to the United States Geological Survey. And the region’s geological and climatic conditions make it the most competitive place to produce the mineral.

The country’s only two lithium producers, Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) and Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) (NYSE: SQM), enjoy production costs of less than US$3,000 a tonne, compared to almost US$4,000 a tonne in some Argentinean salars.

So when lithium demand and prices began to take off earlier this decade, Chile’s economic development agency, Corporación de Fomento de la Producción (CORFO), which owns mineral rights on the Salar, signed new lease contracts with Albemarle and SQM allowing them to increase production to around two million tonnes over the life of the leases.

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[Australia Raventhorpe Nickle Mine] Mining Albany for jobs – by Toby Hussey (The West Australian – September 4, 2019)

https://thewest.com.au/

A surging nickel price has prompted the owner of a Ravensthorpe mine site to restart operations early next year, creating more than 350 jobs. First Quantum Minerals confirmed on Tuesday it would re-open its Ravensthorpe nickel operation in the next six months, with a region-wide job search beginning next week.

That search will include an Albany jobs fair on Tuesday, when senior First Quantum HR staff will explain the jobs available, skills required, and proposed rosters, and answer applicants’ questions.

The Albany Advertiser understands the company will be looking for employees with skills ranging from qualified electricians to non-qualified roles in administration, agriculture and transport.

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‘Most renewable energy companies’ linked with claims of abuses in mines – by Kate Hodal (The Guardian – September 5, 2019)

https://www.theguardian.com/

Corporate watchdog urges clean-up of supply chains as analysis finds weak regulation and enforcement has led to lack of scrutiny

Most of the world’s top companies extracting key minerals for electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines have been linked with human rights abuses in their mines, research has found.

Analysis published by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), an international corporate watchdog, revealed that 87% of the 23 largest companies mining cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, nickel and zinc – the six minerals essential to the renewable energy industry – have faced allegations of abuse including land rights infringements, corruption, violence or death over the past 10 years.

As the global economy switches to low-carbon technologies to combat global heating, demand for minerals could rise by as much as 900% by 2050, according to World Bank estimates. In order to prevent further human rights abuses, renewable energy companies urgently need to clean up their supply chains, said BHRRC senior researcher Eniko Horvath.

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Philippines’ nickel ore output hike unlikely to plug Indonesia supply gap – by Enrico Dela Cruz (Reuters/Nasdaq.com – September 2, 2019)

https://www.nasdaq.com/

MANILA, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Philippine nickel mining companies are likely to boost ore production next year when Indonesia bans exports of the raw material used in stainless steel and batteries, but may still not be able to fill up the supply gap.

The Southeast Asian neighbouring countries are the biggest suppliers of nickel ore to China, the world’s largest stainless steel producer and home to some of the biggest makers of batteries for electric vehicles.

The ban will encourage Philippine miners to start ramping up ore output when the local mining season resumes next year, Dante Bravo, president of the Philippine Nickel Industry Association told Reuters.

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Nickel’s perfect bull storm as Indonesia bans exports again – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – September 3, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Whatever happened to that old market adage of buying the rumor and selling the fact? Nickel investors bought heavily into rumors that the Indonesian government was thinking about bringing forward a ban on nickel ore exports.

Now the ban has been confirmed for the start of next year rather than the original 2022 deadline, they have bought some more. London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month nickel hit a five-year high of $18,850 per tonne on Monday with the Shanghai Futures Exchange scaling life-of-contract highs amid surging open interest.

Goldman Sachs added fuel to the bull fires with a forecast that the nickel price could spike to $20,000 over three months. An Indonesian export ban could impact up to 10% of global supply, according to the bank.

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