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Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles

Europe aims to take its place on the global EV battery production stage – by Amanda Stutt (Mining.com – March 28, 2019)

http://www.mining.com/

The European Commission is eyeing opportunities within the EU’s minerals and mining sector, and has put forward, in its Strategic Action Plan (SAP) on batteries, a comprehensive set of targeted measures to make Europe a global leader in sustainable battery production and use.

The SAP focuses on including raw materials research and innovation, financing and investment, standardization, regulation, and trade and skills development to secure a sustainable supply of battery raw materials.

In his opinion piece in the EU Observer, Raw Materials: ‘holy grail’ of 21st century industrial policy, Maros Sefcovic, Vice President of the European Commission in charge of the Energy Union, said that Europe has world-leading technologies as well as high environmental and social standards, and that the EU aims to ensure that mining is no longer the polluting industry of the past.

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Electric carmakers must make ‘ethical battery’: Amnesty – by Lewis Sanders IV(Deutsche Welle – March 21, 2019)

https://www.dw.com/en/

Customers face a false choice between people or the planet when buying electric cars, according to a rights watchdog. Amnesty International has called for the industry to make “radical changes” in five years.

The electric vehicle industry needs to “make the world’s first completely ethical battery with five years,” human rights watchdog Amnesty International said on Thursday. The London-based organization accused electric automakers of failing to curb human rights abuses, including child labor, linked to the mining of key minerals needed for batteries.

“Finding effective solutions to the climate crisis is an absolute imperative, and electric cars have an important role to play in this,” Amnesty International chief Kumi Naidoo said. “But without radical changes, the batteries which power green vehicles will continue to be tainted by human rights abuses.”

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Chicago Zoos Want You to Recycle Old Cellphones to Save Gorillas – by Alex Ruppenthal (WTTW.com – March 20, 2019)

https://news.wttw.com/

Recycling your used cellphone could help save an endangered gorilla species. How, exactly? Cellphones, tablets, battery chargers and other small electronics are manufactured using a mineral compound called coltan, which is hand-mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Central African country also happens to be a prime habitat for Eastern gorillas, and deforestation associated with coltan mining continues to displace large numbers of the animals.

Starting in February and continuing through the end of April, Lincoln Park Zoo is encouraging Chicago-area residents to drop off their old cellphones and other small electronic devices in the collection box at the zoo’s Searle Visitor Center.

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Huge demand for copper, cobalt, lithium and nickel in the offing as EV uptake increases – by Tracy Hancock (MiningWeekly.com – March 15, 2019)

http://m.miningweekly.com/

Metals of the Future

Investors focused on the mining sector may not fully appreciate how quickly the electric vehicle (EV) is being adopted globally, in light of the world pursuing a low-carbon emissions future, says battery metals investment vehicle Cobalt 27 Capital chairperson and CEO Anthony Milewski, who warns of a potential deficit in the supply of the metals critical to achieving this future.

Global management consultancy firm McKinsey & Company says 2017 marked the first time EV sales passed the one- million mark, noting in May 2018 that, by 2020, EV producers could be moving 4.5- million units, about 5% of the overall global light-vehicle market.

Even with South Africa’s electricity supply woes, automotive company Jaguar Land Rover South Africa forecast in January that South Africa could have 145 000 EVs on its roads, expecting yearly sales of new EVs to reach 43 000 units in the next six years.

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How the outlook for Canada’s miners may hinge on Volkswagen’s $66-billion gamble on electric vehicles – by Scott Barlow (Globe and Mail – March 14, 2019)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Global mining giant Glencore PLC estimates that the production of an electric vehicle will require 84 kilograms of copper, 30 kilograms of nickel and eight kilograms of cobalt. Demand for battery powered cars then is not only of interest to oil patch investors concerned about future demand, but also potential investors in Canada’s base-metal miners.

We will find out a lot about future demand for electric vehicles in 2019 as global auto companies attempt to eat into Tesla Inc.’s leading market share.

Consumer excitement about Tesla cars is expected to wane significantly. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, in a report Tuesday, noted that the Tesla brand is losing its “aura of exclusivity” because of recent price cuts. “We see TSLA hitting an air pocket in demand that is coming earlier than we expected,” he said. Mr. Jonas also cut his stock price target for Tesla to US$260 from US$283.

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Ford chairman praises CEO, mulls lithium venture – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters U.S. – March 12, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co Executive Chairman Bill Ford said on Tuesday that he is very confident in Chief Executive James Hackett’s leadership and that the automaker is considering striking supply deals with a lithium producer.

Ford, the second-largest U.S. automaker, is in the midst of a restructuring of global operations and is spending $11 billion to bring 40 electrified vehicles to the market by 2022, part a move by the company to take part in the electrification trend sweeping the automotive industry.

Michigan-based Ford has also announced a commercial vehicle alliance with Germany’s Volkswagen AG, with plans to jointly develop electric and self-driving vehicles.

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Europe’s first lithium mine looks to automakers for investment – by Christiaan Hetzner (Automative News Europe – February 21, 2019)

https://europe.autonews.com/

BOCHUM — Europe’s first lithium mine is looking for investors from the auto industry looking to secure an environmentally-friendly supply of the key battery material for their electric vehicles.

While the 250-million-euro project in Finland will not be enough to make Europe self-sufficient, the company expects it can deliver enough lithium to comprise 25 gigawatt hours of battery cell supply starting at the end of 2021.

Speaking on the sidelines of the annual CAR Symposium in Bochum earlier this month, the mine’s operator said automakers are mulling the possibility of owning a stake. Currently a ton of battery-grade lithium hydroxide sells on the open market for about $14,000, but prices can vary considerably.

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Minerals, Mining and the Green Revolution – by Emily King (Geology For Investors – February 2019)

https://www.geologyforinvestors.com/

While we still remain reliant on fossil fuels, there is tremendous momentum towards renewable energy in many countries. Increasingly, our homes and businesses are powered by solar panels and wind turbines. Nearly every year, new records are set for the amount of renewable energy power capacity added to global power grids.

Similarly, electric vehicles are being adopted rapidly and replacing their gas-powered fore-bearers. Within the next decade, there is expected to be an estimated 125 million electric vehicles on the roads, getting people and materials where they need to go without any gas or oil involved.

However, this green revolution will not run on bamboo; instead, it will require robust supplies of minerals, some of which can be difficult to obtain, to ensure that we can effectively harness the energy we need.

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Canada lithium mining hopeful takes another big hit – by Frik Els (Mining.com – February 18, 2019)

http://www.mining.com/

Nemaska Lithium (TSE: NMX) announced on Monday it has terminated a multi-year supply agreement with Livent Corporation that would cost the Quebec company up to $20m to settle.

The deal with Livent, spun out of US lithium major FMC Corp last year, saw Nemaska provide up to 8,000 tonnes per year (28,000 tonnes in total during the term of the contract) of lithium carbonate starting in April this year.

According to a press released late on Monday, Nemaska told Livent it “might have no option but to terminate” the agreement and repay Livent the USD$10 million the it received in April 2017 “plus a similar amount as a termination fee”.

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Who should fuel the EV revolution? – by Guy Dixon (Globe and Mail – February 15, 2019)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Ontario is gearing up to power a population of electric vehicles, but how soon is the populace going to drive them?

As an example of one region’s readiness for electric vehicles, Ontario Power Generation, which produces about half of the province’s electrical generation, said it will be able to provide the extra power needed for an estimated three million or more EVs to hit Ontario’s roads in 20 years.

“The energy is there,” but the infrastructure is lacking – the ability for drivers to conveniently plug in their cars en masse overnight, said Andrea Brown, senior manager of electrification development at Ontario Power Generation.

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Quebec lithium developer’s stock craters after cost blowout – by Amanda Stutt (Mining.com – February 13, 2019)

http://www.mining.com/

Nemaska Lithium’s (TSE: NMX) stock plummeted Wednesday after disclosing it has been forced to revise the budget for the Whabouchi lithium mine and Shawinigan electrochemical plant upward by C$375 million. The company, with a $300 million market cap on the TSX, clawed back some of the early day’s losses, but still closed the day down 35%.

Nemaska, which has also received funding from the Quebec provincial and Canadian federal governments, is building the Whabouchi hard rock lithium mine in the James Bay region and Shawinigan processing plant north of Montreal, aiming to put Canada on the global lithium production map.

Nemaska has already spent over $138 million on the Whabouchi mine and mill, and another $67.3 million for the plant in Shawinigan. The additional funding is largely related to installation and indirect costs, said the company. Direct purchase package costs – mainly equipment – are in line with the original budget.

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Column: Nickel rally fades, electric vehicle buzz doesn’t – by Andy Home (Reuters U.K. – February 12, 2019)

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Was it another false dawn for the nickel market? Last week’s rally to a five-month high of $13,350 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange has gone into sharp reverse. Nickel was trading back at $12,385 on Tuesday.

The trigger for the price surge was concern that Brazilian producer Vale’s nickel operations would suffer some sort of knock-on effect from the devastating tailings collapse at the company’s Brumadinho iron ore mine.

Such fears have proved unfounded. So far. There may still be ramifications for Vale’s Onca Puma ferronickel operations in the state of Para. But nickel’s ability to rally at all in the current gloomy macroeconomic environment is testament to continued investor interest in the metal’s potential demand boost from the electric vehicle (EV) revolution.

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Cobalt’s price crash bottoming out, stocks to hinder quick rally – by Pratima Desai (Reuters U.S. – February 12, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Cobalt’s near year-long price slide is finally coming to an end, but high inventories of the battery metal will stop prices quickly re-claiming 2018’s 10-year highs.

London Metal Exchange prices have crashed to two-year lows of $32,000 a tonne compared with levels near $100,000 in the first half of 2018.

The drop was sparked by rising supplies from the artisanal and industrial sectors in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a surplus of cobalt chemicals, used to make rechargeable batteries to power electric vehicles, in top consumer China.

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India eyes South America’s lithium reserves for battery manufacturing – by Uma Gupta (PV Magazine India – February 12, 2019)

PV Magazine India

As India plans to set up large lithium-ion battery plants, the Lithium Triangle countries in South America (comprising Chile, Argentina and Bolivia) have offered to meet India’s growing demand for lithium.

A delegation from Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) recently visited the Lithium Triangle countries in South America (comprising Chile, Argentina and Bolivia) to explore opportunities in the mining of Lithium.

Significantly, as India looks to set up large lithium-ion battery plants, these countries have offered to meet India’s growing demand for lithium, reported The Financial Express.

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Electric Minerals: Tesla, Chrysler Feel the Heat as African Nations Demand Bigger Cut – by Greg Thomson (Hacked.com – February 10, 2019)

Hacked.com

Officials from mineral-rich African nations met with representatives from the ‘big mining’ industry at the Mining Indaba investment conference in Cape Town this week, with each hoping to make headway amid newly-simmering economic tensions.

Those tensions have been fuelled by a realization on the part of certain African nations that they now hold all the cards when it comes to producing minerals essential for the manufacture of electric vehicles.

As such, countries like Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia have demanded a bigger piece of the pie from mining companies, so much so that the CEO of multi-billion dollar mining company, Barrick Gold, has already labelled the situation ‘untenable’.

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