Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles – Page 26

China Goes after South America’s New Treasure: Lithium PART II – by Sabina Nicholls (Dialogo Americas – August 14, 2023)

August 15, 2023

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With a triple action of state investment, diplomacy, and geostrategic corruption, China is leading the race for lithium. This situation was discussed in the first part of this report, exposing the tactics of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to conquer the Andean countries rich in this metal.

But what is a gain for China is a loss for Latin America. Experts and analysts are alarmed by the socio-environmental impact of Chinese investments in the exploration and exploitation of lithium and fear a dependence on the Asian country to obtain this mineral, indispensable for the modern world and the energy transition.

More Than 50 Firms Want In on New Lithium-Mining Model in Chile – by James Attwood (Bloomberg News – August 15, 2023)

August 15, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Mining companies are jostling to negotiate lithium deals under a new government model in Chile, home to the world’s biggest reserves of the metal that’s a key component in electric-vehicle batteries.

To meet the demand, authorities are well advanced in work to identify new extraction areas and are compiling bidding rules for contracts to explore and possibly mine them, Karla Flores, head of InvestChile, said in an interview.

Miners face ‘considerable challenges’ meeting demand from US climate law -study – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters – August 15, 2023)

August 15, 2023

https://www.reuters.com/

Aug 15 (Reuters) – The mining industry faces “considerable challenges” meeting larger-than-expected demand for copper, nickel and other electric vehicle metals fueled by a U.S. climate law, S&P Global said in a report on Tuesday, ahead of the legislation’s one-year anniversary.

The landmark U.S. Inflation Reduction Act offers tax breaks for EVs, solar panels and other renewable energy products made from metals extracted in the United States or countries with U.S. free trade deals. Metals from “foreign entities of concern” including China, Russia, North Korea and Iran will be banned in 2025. That has sparked a race among manufacturers to lock down supply.

Time for Canada to fix its First Nations Problem – by John Kaiser (Kaiser Watch Podcast – August 11, 2023)

August 15, 2023August 15, 2023

https://www.kaiserresearch.com/

Why did FPX Nickel drop sharply on Wednesday?

FPX Nickel Corp released a vague Aug 9, 2023 Update on its 2012 MOU with Tl’azt’en Nation which the market didn’t really understand until it tracked down the publication referred to by FPX, Dust’Lus Talo ‘Ooza’ August 2023, a monthly newsletter of the Tl’azt’en Nation.

Page 4 contained a declaration by Chief Leslie Aslin, elected in June 2022, that after more than a decade of collecting from FPX Nickel whatever benefits accrued from the 2012 Memorandum of Understanding, the Tl’azt’en Nation has decided it is unequivocally against development of Baptiste, which would become the world’s first awaruite based nickel mine in a secure jurisdiction, possibly with a zero carbon footprint, producing more than 4 decades of “clean” nickel relative to the dirty nickel Indonesia and Russia supplies (double that if Van is developed).

Yellen warns of risks of over-concentration of clean energy supply chains – by Andrea Shalal (MSN.com/Reuters – August 14, 2023)

August 15, 2023

https://www.msn.com/

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – The United States is working to build resilient, diversified clean energy supply chains to protect its economic security, while guarding against the risks posed by over-concentration in a handful of countries, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in remarks prepared for an event in Las Vegas on Monday.

Yellen will touch on the challenges of transitioning away from fossil fuels in a major speech she will deliver after touring a union facility where workers are learning skills to work on clean energy projects.

Codelco Turns to New CEO as Debt Piles Up at Top Copper Producer – by James Attwood and Valentina Fuentes (Bloomberg News – August 14, 2023)

August 14, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Codelco will name its third CEO in a year in the coming weeks as Chile’s state-owned copper company struggles to turn around a slump in output and earnings. With debt at $19 billion and rising, the stakes are getting higher for bondholders.

Production has hit the lowest in a quarter century, costs have surged and ore grades keep on falling, jeopardizing its status as the world’s No. 1 producer. That’s sent debt metrics to the worst in years despite copper prices staying more than 20% above the average of the last decade.

Carmakers are desperate for nickel and have nowhere to look. It’s spurring majors to invest big – by Josh Chiat (Stockhead – August 13, 2023)

August 14, 2023

https://stockhead.com.au/

The head of Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s mining vehicle Wyloo Metals says carmakers are struggling to find nickel to stick in electric vehicles in a sign the sector is ripe for investment. It comes as BHP (ASX:BHP), a customer of Wyloo’s recently acquired Mincor Resources business in WA’s historic Kambalda nickel district, launches into one of the biggest investment splurges its once near dead nickel division has seen in 50 years.

Wyloo Metals CEO Luca Giacovazzi, who has spearheaded a dramatic expansion of Fortescue founder and iron ore billionaire Forrest’s private mining enterprise in recent years, told the Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum in Kalgoorlie last week contracts signed to date showed how short carmakers would be of the key cathode material.

Opening of Cassini mine marks start of new era for Kambalda’s historic nickel mining industry – by Jarrod Lucas (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – March 29, 2021)

August 14, 2023

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

WA’s Mines Minister Bill Johnston will officially open a new nickel mine at Kambalda today, more than 50 years after the town was put on the map by the discovery of Australia’s first nickel mine. The Cassini underground mine is Kambalda’s first new nickel development in two decades — since the Miitel mine began production in the year 2000.

More than 200 jobs have been created since September’s decision by Perth-based miner Mincor Resources to green light its $98 million restart plan for Kambalda’s once-booming nickel industry. The investment decision was long-awaited after a decade-long run of low nickel prices saw Mincor shut its Miitel and Mariners mines in 2016.

Conference Board forecasts nickel demand will lift all sectors of Sudbury’s economy – by Kate Rutherford (CBC News Sudbury – August 9, 2023)

August 10, 2023

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/

An economist says Sudbury’s recovery is on the way but won’t reach pre-pandemic levels until 2026

Nickel prices and rising demand for the mineral will help Sudbury’s local economy ride out a slowing national economy and carry it to pre-pandemic prosperity by 2026. In its most recent report, the Conference Board of Canada says nickel prices jumped nearly 72 percent between 2020 and 2022 buoyed by the war in Ukraine and strengthening nickel demand.

Senior economist Rob Wiebe says it’s precisely that demand and heightened exploration for nickel to produce batteries for electric cars that will fuel investment across different sectors in the city.

Iran’s lithium lode: A potential strategic game-changer – by Marina Yue Zhang (Lowy Institute – August 9, 2023)

August 10, 2023

https://www.lowyinstitute.org/

Australia might find itself on a political and economic tightrope as China looks to diversify its options for the new oil of our times.

Iran’s recent unearthing of a vast lithium deposit – potentially the world’s second largest – has sent shockwaves through the global lithium competition landscape. Amid the shifting currents of these developments, two key players stand out: China and Australia.

China is the world’s largest importer and processor of lithium, as well as a major lithium battery manufacturer. Australia serves as the primary source of lithium for China’s production. The strategic battle for control of lithium supply chains now holds centre stage in global geopolitical competition, mirroring the oil disputes of past decades.

Magna Mining planning to reopen Crean Hill mine near Sudbury (CBC News Sudbury – August 8, 2023)

August 10, 2023

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/

The former Crean Hill mine operated from 1900 to 2002 before being closed

A Sudbury, Ont. mining company is setting its sights on reviving the Crean Hill mine for further exploration. Magna Mining Inc. acquired the mine in 2022. It recently completed a preliminary economic assessment on the mine, and the results of the study indicated the potential for more mineral production.

“What has been shown by the drilling that was done prior to Magna is there’s still a lot of resources left in the ground, a lot of nickel, a lot of copper, a lot of precious metals,” said Jason Jessup, CEO of Magna Mining.

Battery plants or bust: Why some think Ottawa’s $30-billion EV bet puts Canada on the wrong track – by Marisa Coulton (Financial Post – August 2023)

August 10, 2023

https://financialpost.com/

Country should be focused on what it’s good at, instead of trying to compete with U.S., critics say

Canada is pouring billions of taxpayer dollars into electric vehicle battery plants, but is this the best way for policymakers to grab a piece of the EV supply chain? It’s a question some industry watchers are asking now that the federal government has committed $13 billion toward a Volkswagen AG battery plant in St. Thomas, Ont., as well as $15 billion in funding for the construction of a Stellantis NV-LG Energy Solution battery plant in Windsor, Ont.

While batteries are a key component of the EV market, Greig Mordue, a professor of engineering at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., and former general manager of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, thinks the incentives were “over-the-top,” and ultimately won’t give Canada the edge over the United States it is looking for.

Latin America could become this century’s commodity superpower (The Economist – August 8, 2023)

August 10, 2023

https://www.economist.com/

A growing, greening world will be ravenous for Latin America’s commodities. Will it deliver?

The ground approaching the salt flats in Chile’s Atacama desert is pockmarked with white crystals. Underneath sit vast deposits of lithium salts, the ore for the soft, light metal used to make high-capacity batteries. Pumps run by sqm, a Chilean company that is the world’s leading producer of the stuff, hum as they pull up mineral-rich brine. In evaporation ponds, the liquid forms a patchwork of emerald and blue on the blindingly-bright crust.

The operation is the start of a supply chain that ends in the lithium batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs). The global EV fleet will grow at least tenfold by 2030, to 250m, according to the International Energy Agency, a forecaster. Since 2018 sqm’s annual lithium output has tripled to 180,000 tonnes, a quarter of the global total, and will probably rise to 210,000 tonnes by 2025.

Indonesia defends its curbs on nickel ore exports amid EU claim of breach in international trade – by Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja (The Straits Times – August 3, 2023)

August 10, 2023

https://www.straitstimes.com/

JAKARTA – Indonesia has stepped up its defence of its nickel ore export curbs the European Union has protested against, asserting its right to enhance value addition, boost its economy, and create job opportunities by climbing the value chain.

Indonesia claims it is doing what is necessary to develop its electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem, while the EU claims the nation rich in natural resources has breached rules by restricting international trade. South-east Asia’s largest economy, which was the world’s top exporter of nickel ore, introduced the ban on Jan 1, 2020.

Piedmont Lithium’s plans to supply Tesla face skeptical North Carolina officials (Mining.com/Reuters – August 8, 2023)

August 10, 2023

https://www.mining.com/

Piedmont Lithium on Tuesday drew skepticism and anger at a key meeting with local North Carolina officials about its plans for a lithium mine that would supply the electric vehicle battery metal to Tesla.

The open-pit mine, if approved, would be one of the few lithium-producing sites in the United States, but there has been little progress in gaining approvals for the project, which the company has been trying to get up and running for more than two years.