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Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles

US Moves to Restore Stockpiling ‘Panic Button’ in EV Metals Fight with China – by Mark Burton, Joe Deaux, Michael J Kavanagh, Jennifer A Dlouhy and Annie Lee (Bloomberg News – 19, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Insiders liken it to a “panic button.” And for more than 80 years, the primary job of the National Defense Stockpile has been to keep the US military supplied with essential raw materials and protect against supply shocks.

So when China surprised the markets by restricting exports of two niche industrial metals last year, top-level officials in the Pentagon-controlled agency—and the White House—faced an uncomfortable reality: Its panic button no longer worked. The realization triggered a different kind of alarm in Washington.

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Critical minerals sector is ‘not healthy,’ says head of global gold giant – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – February 18, 2024)

https://financialpost.com/

‘Just look at the so-called critical minerals industry today, lithium’s a bust, so is nickel’ — Barrick chief

The critical mineral industry required to power the energy transition away from fossil fuels is in an unhealthy state and running ahead of itself, says Barrick Gold Corp.’s chief executive Mark Bristow, who heads the world’s second-largest gold company.

Bristow said the mining sector is entering an era dominated by the demand for metals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt, but the projects containing these critical minerals are often led by promoters more focused on the short-term benefits rather than by “responsible miners” that are in it for the long run.

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GM, Panasonic strike deals to buy EV battery materials from Quebec’s Nouveau Monde – by Nicolas Van Praet (Globe and Mail – February 16, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

U.S. automaker General Motors Co. and Japan’s Panasonic Holdings Corp. will buy electric-vehicle battery materials from Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. and invest in the company, buoying the Quebec miner’s bid to become a go-to critical mineral supplier for North America.

GM and Panasonic have each committed to purchasing 18,000 metric tonnes of graphite for battery anodes annually, beginning when Nouveau Monde’s planned mining and refining facilities enter production, the company said in news releases Thursday. The offtake agreements will run for six to seven years, and they represent about 85 per cent of Nouveau Monde’s planned commercial production, which it is aiming to begin in 2027.

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‘Time for courageous, big-thinking policy’, says nickel miner – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review – February 17, 2024)

https://www.afr.com/

Andrew Forrest-owned nickel miner Wyloo says “courageous, big-thinking policy” is needed to save the industry in Australia. Wyloo is pushing hard for big tax breaks and other action beyond belated relief measures announced by the Albanese and WA governments on Friday.

Perth-headquartered Wyloo and other big players in nickel and lithium are maintaining calls for a production tax credit of at least 10 per cent to reduce costs and spur investment in downstream processing of battery and strategically important minerals.

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West challenges China’s critical minerals hold on Africa – by Andy Home (Reuters – February 16, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) – China’s CMOC Group overtook Glencore to become the world’s largest producer of cobalt last year as it ramped up its new Kisanfu mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company’s production leapt by 174% year-on-year to 55,526 metric tons, accounting for over a quarter of global demand of 213,000 tons.

Kisanfu, in which Chinese battery giant CATL owns a minority stake, has flooded the cobalt market. The Cobalt Institute estimates global production exceeded demand by 12,500 tons in 2023, making it one of the “biggest surpluses in recent years”.

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Canadian graphite miner NMG scores deals with GM, Panasonic – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – February 15, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Nouveau Monde Graphite (TSX-V: NOU) (NYSE: NMG) inked on Thursday multi-year offtake agreements with General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Panasonic Holdings, with both companies also vowing to invest in the Canadian miner to help it produce high-quality graphite in North America.

GM and Panasonic have each committed to purchase 18,000 tonnes of natural graphite active anode material annually over a period of six to seven years, the Montreal-based miner said. They are also making equity investments of $25 million each in the company. The two firms and potential co-investors could join future rounds of financing worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Nouveau Monde Graphite (NGM) said in a statement.

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Heather Exner-Pirot: Why critical minerals are key to Canada’s global influence – by Heather Exner-Pirot (The Hub – February 12, 2024)

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It’s time to establish strategic reserves for critical minerals

From the acquisition of a rare earths stockpile from a mine in the Northwest Territories to the purchasing of stakes in Canadian miners Solaris Resources and First Quantum, a recent spate of Chinese investment in Canadian mining projects has rightly sparked concerns. In the past three years, many Western nations including Canada have put out critical minerals strategies to promote friendly sources of supply and mitigate Chinese dominance in the sector. Yet we are still falling behind.

At the same time, one empathizes with Canadian miners looking to China for investment; they are not finding it anywhere else. Junior and mid-sized miners are starved for capital even as Western politicians are proclaiming their commitment to the sector. Thankfully, there is a solution to the challenge of both reducing dependence on Chinese-controlled exports and boosting Western investment in our own supply. It is time to establish strategic reserves for critical minerals.

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Indonesia Has Grand Ambitions for Its Nickel Industry – by Christina Lu (Foreign Policy – February 13, 2024)

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As the country heads to the polls this week, the future of Jakarta’s bid is set to come into sharper focus.

Long before the energy transition gained momentum around the world, nickel powerhouse Indonesia dreamed of harnessing its mineral riches to transform its economy and wield greater leverage in the international marketplace.

The global shift away from fossil fuels and the growing demand for the critical minerals powering green technology have turbocharged Jakarta’s ambitions. Nickel is a key component in electric vehicle batteries, yet few countries can claim as big of a stake over the global nickel sector as Indonesia, which is home to some of the world’s biggest nickel reserves and mined half of the global supply in 2022.

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US wildlife service considering endangered status for tiny snail near Nevada lithium mine – by Scott Sonner (Associated Press – February 8, 2024)

https://apnews.com/

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Federal wildlife officials have agreed to conduct a full, year-long review to determine whether a tiny snail found only in high-desert springs near a huge lithium mine being built along the Nevada-Oregon line should be listed as a threatened or endangered species.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a finding published Thursday in the Federal Register that enough scientific exists to warrant the review sought by environmentalists who say that groundwater pumping required for the operation of the Thacker Pass mine could push the Kings River pyrg to the brink of extinction.

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How China Built BYD, Its Tesla Killer – by Keith Bradsher (New York Times – February 12, 2024)

https://www.nytimes.com/

The leading Chinese electric vehicle company, with origins as a battery maker, has posted two years of million-car growth in sales.

China’s BYD was a battery manufacturer trying its hand at building cars when it showed off its newest model in 2007. American executives at the Guangzhou auto show gaped at the car’s uneven purple paint job and the poor fit of its doors. “They were the laughingstock of the industry,” said Michael Dunne, a China auto industry analyst. Nobody is laughing at BYD now.

The company passed Tesla in worldwide sales of fully electric cars late last year. BYD is building assembly lines in Brazil, Hungary, Thailand and Uzbekistan and preparing to do so in Indonesia and Mexico. It is rapidly expanding exports to Europe. And the company is on the cusp of passing Volkswagen Group, which includes Audi, as the market leader in China.

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Feds invest $5 million in Temiskaming cobalt processing plant – Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – February 9, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Refinery developer optimistic more government, private funding will arrive to finish construction

Ottawa is weighing into the processing of critical minerals with a $5-million investment in Electra Battery Materials’ cobalt refinery in Temiskaming, the first dedicated plant of its kind in North America.

The funding will go toward a restart of a construction project that was mothballed in 2023 and for other preparatory technical and processing work. In an interview with Northern Ontario Business, Electra CEO Trent Mell called today’s funding announcement “great news, but it is only a first step.”

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Canada Nickel Co. introduces plans for new processing facilities, but funding remains uncertain – by Matthew McClearn (Globe and Mail – February 9, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Canada Nickel Company Inc. announced plans Thursday to build two large processing facilities near Timmins, Ont., whose output would be directed partly to North America’s rapidly growing market for electric vehicles.

The company said its wholly owned subsidiary, NetZero Metals Inc., intends to build a nickel-processing facility it described as North America’s largest, as well as a stainless-steel and alloy plant it said would be Canada’s biggest.

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Can royalties help Australia’s critical minerals lift off? – by Clyde Russell (Reuters – February 12, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Feb 12 (Reuters) – A consistent contradiction in Australia’s mining sector is that while there is a pressing need for new mines to be developed to provide raw materials for the energy transition, the capital to do so is hard to find.

The relatively easy part is getting an exploration permit, doing some initial drilling and proving up a resource. The hard part is then raising the finance to develop the mine from exploration to production.

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Canada Nickel looking to build two processing facilities in Timmins – by Maija Hoggett (Northern Ontario Business – February 8, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Toronto mine developer looks to break ground on zero-emission project in mid-2025

A Toronto nickel company is seeking to position Timmins as a global source of clean critical minerals. Timmins MPP George Pirie, the provincial minister of mines, was in town Feb. 8 for Canada Nickel’s announcement that it’s developing two processing facilities — one for nickel and another for stainless-steel and alloy production.

The facilities would be the downstream processing element for its proposed Crawford open-pit nickel mine.When complete, Canada Nickel CEO Mark Selby said the nickel processing facility will be the largest in North America, while the stainless-steel and alloy production will be the largest in Canada.

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Canadian miner plans US$1 billion nickel processing plant for EVs – by Jacob Lorinc (Bloomberg News – February 8, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Mining firm Canada Nickel Co Inc. plans to develop a nickel processing plant in Ontario that would cost US$1 billion and be North America’s largest once completed.

The plant would have capacity to produce more than 80,000 tons of nickel annually, and should begin operations by the start of 2027, the Toronto-based miner said in a Thursday press release. The company also plans to build a stainless steel and alloy production plant to process nickel and chromium concentrate, which would cost an additional $2 billion, according to Chief Executive Officer Mark Selby.

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