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Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles

Report outlines cost of Indonesia’s EV dream as Chinese-funded nickel plants linked to pollution, ‘land grabbing’ – by Resty Woro Yuniar (South China Morning Post – January 17, 2024)

https://www.scmp.com/

A new report accuses a massive China-funded nickel industrial complex in Indonesia’s Maluku province of causing “significant” environmental destruction and existential threats to indigenous peoples in the area, adding to the array of issues the nation faces in becoming a major player in the global electric vehicle (EV) supply chain.

Released on Wednesday by the US-based Climate Rights International (CRI) advocacy group, the report also alleges that the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) in Halmahera, Maluku, worked with Indonesian police to protect the interests of some nickel miners by engaging in “land grabbing, coercion and intimidation of indigenous peoples”.

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Albemarle to cut jobs, halt expansions and sell stake in Liontown – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – January 17, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) said on Wednesday it would cut jobs and defer spending on projects, including a massive refinery project in South Carolina, as part of a wide-ranging plan to slash costs in light of falling lithium prices. The world’s top producer of the battery metal said it plans to spend $1.6 billion to $1.8  billion in 2024, down from about $2.1 billion it invested last year.

“The actions we are taking allow us to advance near-term growth and preserve future opportunities as we navigate the dynamics of our key end-markets,” chief executive Kent Masters said in the statement. “The long-term fundamentals for our business are strong and we remain committed to operating in a safe and sustainable manner.” 

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First Quantum weighs asset sales as Cobre Panama shutdown takes toll – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 17, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. FM-T is considering a range of merger and acquisition options as it attempts to stem the financial damage caused by the closing of its giant Panama copper mine.

The Vancouver-based copper miner said in a release it is considering the sale of some of its smaller operations, as well as potentially selling stakes in its large mines. First Quantum has already been approached by at least one major mining company interested in pouncing as its stock flounders. First Quantum’s share price has fallen by more than two-thirds since last summer.

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Surging exchange stocks pile the pressure on nickel – by Andy Home (Reuters – January 17, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Nickel was the worst performer among the London Metal Exchange’s (LME) base metals last year by some margin as the market priced in a wave of new Indonesian supply.

Indonesia’s mined production rose by 29.2% year on year in the first 10 months of 2023, according to the International Nickel Study Group. Nickel demand is rising fast thanks to its use in electric vehicle batteries but nowhere near the pace of supply growth.

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Lithium Venture in Chile in Talks with EV Firms to Invest in Mine Project – by James Attwood (Bloomberg News – January 17, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — A joint venture valued at $1.5 billion to $2 billion that wants to become Chile’s third lithium producer is in talks with investors to bankroll its project.

Simco Lithium, owned by a Singaporean investment fund and a Chilean business group, is exploring the sale of a non-controlling stake, said Sebastian Yang, a board member representing the Simbalik fund. While the around $600 million project is too small to appeal to major mining firms, there is interest from battery and electric-vehicle makers.

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Conservative leader promises to speed approvals for new mines – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – January 2024)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Pierre Poilievre also says Sudbury and its minerals have a big role to play in providing clean energy

Pierre Poilievre took advantage of the bracing conditions in Sudbury on Saturday to stress his plan for cheaper heating bills, as well as take some shots at his main political rival, who recently returned from a vacation in Jamaica.

“While Justin Trudeau flies around in a taxpayer-funded private jet, burning fuel and passing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, he punishes people for heating their homes,” said the Conservative leader, against the backdrop of an Axe the Carbon Tax billboard on Lorne Street. “He is a high-tax, high-carbon hypocrite.”

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Ravensthorpe nickel mine to cut 30 per cent of workforce as mining suspended amid weaker metal prices – by Jarrod Lucas (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – January 15, 2024)

https://www.abc.net.au/

The owner of the Ravensthorpe nickel operation on Western Australia’s south coast says it will suspend mining and cut 30 per cent of its 420-strong workforce. Canada’s First Quantum Minerals has today announced the changes in response to weaker metal prices — the second casualty in as many weeks for WA’s once-booming nickel industry.

Nickel is a key ingredient in stainless steel and lithium-ion batteries, but prices have fallen more than 40 per cent in the past year.

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Panama’s High Court Prizes Ecosystems Over Copper Mining. The Impact? – by Ken Silverstein (Forbes Magazine – January 15, 2024)

https://www.forbes.com/

Panama’s Supreme Court has unanimously rejected a government copper contract with a Canadian company, triggering an ongoing ripple effect. On the surface, it may bode poorly for the renewable energy cause. However, after a little more digging — no pun intended — it may be a net plus for developing countries.

Raw materials such as copper, cobalt, and lithium are central to the renewable energy revolution — the construction of everything from windmills and solar panels to electric vehicle batteries. But producers dig for the natural resources in poorer countries while conglomerates potentially get rich by building high-value end products.

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Merger talks about the Sudbury mining camp long overdue, says industry watcher – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 12, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Stan Sudol sees synergies and cost savings if Glencore and Vale form mining joint venture in the Sudbury basin

Vale Base Metals chairman Mark Cutifani’s remarks this week to Reuters new agency about a pursuing a business combination between his company and Glencore in the Sudbury basin has mining analyst Stan Sudol wondering, “What took them so long?”

The Sudbury-raised and Toronto-based owner of the Republic of Mining website is a keen observer of the global nickel industry and of the Sudbury camp. Now is the “perfect time” for a business combination between Sudbury’s two largest miners, and one that’s long overdue, he said.

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Canada Nickel secures strategic investment from Korea’s Samsung SDI – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 12, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Canada Nickel Company Inc. (CNC-X) chief executive Mark Selby sees the potential for a major mining company to buy the firm after it attracted yet another strategic investment from a global power player.

Toronto-based Canada Nickel on Friday announced an US$18.8-million equity financing from Korean electric car battery maker Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. The funds will be used to develop an Ontario electric vehicle battery minerals mine that Canada Nickel hopes to have in production before the end of the decade.

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Conversion facility with links to massive Dumont Nickel project planned for Quebec – by Emma Jarratt (Electric Autonomy Canada – January 11, 2024)

https://electricautonomy.ca/

NiVolt Technologies says it has mixed hydroxide precipitate production capabilities and is scouting locations for a hydrometallurgical facility in Quebec

A new hydrometallurgical conversion facility to process nickel concentrate may be coming to Quebec. The news comes from an announcement by NiVolt Technologies of successful production testing and advancement of a project feasibility study.

NiVolt is a portfolio company of Kinterra Capital, a Toronto-based private equity firm. Kinterra recently closed a US$565-million battery metals mining fund. Its holdings include a stake in the Dumont Nickel project, located about 60 kilometres north of Val-d’Or.

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Australia is ‘no longer competitive’ in nickel: producer – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review -January 11, 2024)

https://www.afr.com/

The biggest nickel producer on the ASX says Australia is no longer competitive in the sector and its miners will never attract a so-called green premium for their product.

Nickel Industries managing director Justin Werner issued the dire warning with more than 1000 jobs in the balance in Australia after a plunge in nickel prices and forecasts Indonesia will flood the market with supply for years to come.

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Should Ottawa look to Chinese imports in meeting its EV targets? – by David-Olive (Toronto Star – January 11, 2024)

https://www.thestar.com/

It might not need come to that in the EV transition if global automakers can narrow the value gap with their Chinese competitors, David Olive writes.

The revolution in electric vehicles (EVs) appears to have stalled. “Appears” is the operative word, since most of the factors holding back expected rapid growth in EV sales are short-term in nature.

But the stall raises questions about Canada’s ability to meet its target of EVs and long-range plug-in hybrids accounting for at least 20 per cent of all new vehicle purchases by 2026 and 100 per cent by 2035.

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Grupo Mexico weighs bid for First Quantum’s Spanish mine – by Jacob Lorinc, Dinesh Nair and Archie Hunter (Bloomberg News – January 11, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Grupo Mexico is among several firms considering bids to buy a Spanish copper mine from First Quantum Minerals Ltd., as the Canadian metals producer seeks to bolster its balance sheet after its flagship mine in Panama was ordered to shut down.

First Quantum initiated a process to sell its Las Cruces mine in southern Spain in December after the sudden closure of the Cobre Panama mine left the company facing financial uncertainty, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. Las Cruces, one of First Quantum’s smallest operations, is valued at less than US$1 billion, the people said.

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New push to combine Glencore, Vale mining assets in the Sudbury basin – by Darren MacDonald (CTV Northern Ontario – January 11, 2024)

https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/

The news service Reuters is reporting that the long dreamed of merger of Vale and Glencore mining assets in Sudbury basin could happen this year. “Talks for a Sudbury tie-up have been on and off since 2006, when annual savings were put at more than $500 million, with a number of options being touted for the mining and processing operations in the area,” the Reuters story said(opens in a new tab).

Brazil-based Vale purchased the former Inco for $19.6 billion in 2006. Talk of combining efforts in the area have surfaced from time to time, and an official with the company raised the issue recently, according to the Reuters story.

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