The lithium industry needs US$116 billion of investment to achieve the 5.7x ramp-up in production needed for 2030 decarbonisation goals, and prices may remain ‘tight’ in the coming years.
That investment figure is in a ‘high case scenario’ in analysis by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, which is based on EV production and penetration rates hitting the 2030 targets set by policymakers around the globe.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) may prove to be one of the most transformative pieces of economic legislation in US history. The vast waves of investment coming to US shores throughout the last year bear out this possibility. One recent analysis estimated that between August 2022 and January 2023, over 100,000 clean energy jobs were created in the United States as a result of almost $90 billion invested in dozens of clean energy projects.
The domestic impacts of the IRA are undeniable. It is less certain what it means for the global energy transition. One year later, much work remains ahead to maximize the potential of the IRA. While US policymakers should consider the IRA’s long-term future and extend many of its provisions past 2032, officials must prioritize opportunities to align with like-minded allies overseas.
Pilbara Minerals has catapulted itself into the position of holding one of the world’s largest lithium deposits after upgrading estimates for its West Australian mines. The upgrade comes as global demand for lithium – a key component of the batteries in electric cars – continued to rise.
The ASX-listed lithium player’s chief executive Dale Henderson said the miner’s estimate for Pilgangoora, near Port Hedland, had jumped 36 per cent to 413.8 million tonnes of measured, indicated and inferred resource, adding about 109 million tonnes from its previous outlook.
In the first part of a series, countries that produce the metals central to the energy transition want to rewrite the rules of mineral extraction
The red-brown landscape of Tenke-Fungurume, one of the world’s largest copper and cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is covered by tens of thousands of dusty sacks. The bags stacked up by the roadside and piled next to buildings contain a stash of cobalt hydroxide powder equivalent to almost a tenth of the world’s annual consumption — and worth about half a billion dollars.
The haphazard stockpiles of this bright green powder, a key ingredient in electric car batteries, point to how the DRC, the world’s largest producer of cobalt, is starting to flex its muscles when it comes to the metals needed for the energy transition.
https://www.mining-technology.com/
The report analyses the long-term negative results of three of France’s major metals corporations operating in New Caledonia.
France’s nickel production sector is at risk of collapse and must be refinanced and restructured to meet EU critical raw materials independence goals, a new government report warns.
The report, published on Tuesday, analyses the long-term negative performance of three of France’s most significant metals corporations operating in New Caledonia, a French territory off the east coast of Australia that is home to approximately 10% of the world’s nickel supply. Société Le Nickel, majority state-owned Koniambo Nickel and Prony Resources Nouvelle-Calédonie are all at risk of falling further behind their Indonesian and Chinese competitors.
As lithium producers warn of shortages amid a global push for electrification, oil and gas companies are making forays into extracting the in-demand metal—and banking on nascent technologies to “become big in lithium.”
Delays in mine permitting, staffing shortages, and inflation are making lithium producers anxious about their ability to meet skyrocketing demand for the battery metal, reports Reuters. “At stake is the pace with which electric vehicles could displace internal combustion engines, a key goal of the green energy transition.”
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/
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.
Looking at a number of possible acquisitions
Rio Tinto Group, the world’s biggest iron ore miner, is looking at a number of possible lithium acquisitions and would like to buy an asset to produce the key battery material in Canada, according to chief executive Jakob Stausholm. The London-based company was “looking at a number of opportunities” in lithium, Stausholm told media in Melbourne on Tuesday.
“I wouldn’t mind having lithium production in Canada,” he said, but added lithium was “a pretty hot market” and he was “reluctant to come out with too big of a check.” Rio already produces aluminum, iron ore and diamonds in the nation.
Lithium exploration company Patriot Battery Metals on Monday announced a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the CV5 deposit at Corvette, in Quebec, establishing it as the biggest lithium pegmatite mineral resource in the Americas.
With a resource of 109.2-million tonnes at 1.42% lithium oxide and 160 parts per million tantalum pentoxide for a total of 3.84-million tonnes of contained lithium carbonate equivalent, CV5 is also the eighth-largest lithium pegmatite resource globally.
Analysts say deal is part of a Vale strategy to grow value of its nickel and copper holdings ahead of electric vehicle demand .
Vale has confirmed it is selling off part of its newly formed Vale Base Metals unit in two separate agreements.
Ten per cent of the company going to Saudi Arabia’s Mining Co (Ma’aden) and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), and three per cent being sold to U.S. investment firm Engine No. 1. The entire deal is valued at $3.4 billion according to a report from Reuters.
West Australian nickel and lithium miner IGO confessed output at its troubled battery metal refining plant was “well below expectation”, casting doubts over Australia’s plans to dent mainland China’s dominance in battery chemical refining.
The Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery, south of Perth, produced a mere 142 tonnes in the June quarter, an 85 per cent drop on the March quarter and significantly lower than the plant’s annual nameplate capacity of 24,000 tonnes.
With its vast salt flats, Latin America is rich in a metal that has become more sought after than gold: lithium. Known as white gold or the oil of the 21st century, this metal is now essential for energy transition and the booming market for electric cars.
The so-called Lithium Triangle, located in the Andean highlands and comprising Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile, covers 52 percent of the world’s lithium reserves, which has aroused the interest of the world’s main economic players and has spurred a race to acquire this metal in South America. Having access to lithium is now synonymous with power.
The dynamics of tightening supply and soaring demand for electric vehicle batteries are becoming increasingly fragile. Battery manufacturers are now looking into new technology with advanced chemistry compositions to ensure long-term metals supply, but progress will be impacted by the outlook for metals prices.
Surging battery metal prices pose challenges to the EV industry
The rapid increase in electric vehicle sales during the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated concerns over China’s dominance in lithium battery supply chains. Meanwhile, the ongoing war in Ukraine has pushed prices of raw materials – including cobalt, lithium, and nickel – to record highs.
Governments tamper with consumer choice at their peril
Toyota president Akio Toyoda, grandson of the company’s founder, recently expressed a view seldom heard from auto executives these days. He said he was standing up for a “silent majority (in the auto industry that) is wondering whether EVs are really OK to have as a single option (for car buyers).”
Companies like Honda and GM have set dates for when their lineups will be exclusively EV. Governments in Canada and the United States have set arbitrary dates for similar action. Toyoda would prefer to offer a variety of environmentally friendly, hybrid-electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles along with more traditional gas-powered automobiles.
RENO, Nev. (AP) — The latest bid by conservationists and tribal leaders to block construction of a huge lithium mine already in the works along the Nevada-Oregon line was denied by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday.
A three-panel judge of the San Francisco-based appellate court rejected a half-dozen legal arguments the opponents had put forth in their appeal seeking to overturn federal land managers’ approval of one of the projects at the forefront of President Joe Biden’s plans to combat climate change.
