Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles – Page 3

Canadian Tariffs Will Undermine U.S. Minerals Security – by Gracelin Baskaran (Centre for Strategic and International Studies – Janaury 29, 2025)

January 31, 2025

https://www.csis.org/

Gracelin Baskaran is the Director, Critical Minerals Security Program.

As the United States races to reduce its reliance on China for minerals vital for national, economic, and energy security, tariffs with Canada may drastically undermine these efforts. Canada is the biggest source of the United States mineral imports, providing key sources of uranium, aluminum, nickel, steel copper, and niobium. To put it into perspective, in 2023, Canada accounted for $47 billion of United States mineral imports.

China followed with $28.3 billion. The consequences of tariffs would be particularly profound for the defense industry, nuclear energy, and heavy manufacturing. A 25 percent tariff on Canadian mineral imports could cost U.S. off-takers an additional $11.75 billion—a figure that would increase as base metal and uranium prices recover.

Automotive News: Critical minerals for EVs could provide Canada leverage amid Trump tariff threats – by David Kennedy (Automotive News – January 30, 2025)

January 31, 2025

https://finance.yahoo.com/

U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that the United States does not need Canadian imports would struggle to hold up in a trade war, with Canadian critical minerals for electric vehicles and other industrial uses among the products that would be tough to replace, according to recent analyses.

About $40 billion (CND) in critical minerals cross the Canada-U.S. border each year, according to Accelerate, an industry alliance advocating for Canada’s EV supply chain. That includes billions in copper, nickel and aluminum, and growing volumes of other metals vital to the automotive, defence and energy sectors.

China funnelled $57 billion to control critical mineral supply chain – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – January 29, 2025)

January 30, 2025

https://www.mining.com/

China has systematically extended its control over critical minerals essential for the global energy transition and net-zero emissions, using a network of at least 26 state-backed financial institutions over the past two decades, a new report shows.

The database, compiled by AidData at the College of William & Mary in the United States, reveals how Beijing has leveraged an intricate web of financial mechanisms to dominate the global supply chain for critical minerals. These minerals — including copper, cobalt, nickel, lithium and rare earth elements — are vital for emerging technologies such as electric vehicle batteries and solar panels.

Winsome Resources begins permitting for Adina lithium project in northern Quebec – by Staff (Canadian Mining Journal – January 27, 2025)

January 28, 2025

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

Australia-based Winsome Resources (ASX: WR1) – a lithium exploration and development company – has submitted the preliminary information statement for its Adina Lithium Mining project with the proper provincial authorities that oversee mining project developments located in self-governing Indigenous communities in Northern Quebec that are signatories to the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA).

Winsome’s filing represents a milestone as it formally commences the provincial regulatory process in the James Bay region associated with permitting the proposed mine at Adina, as well as the proposed modifications to the Renard operation. Indigenous communities in the region refer to the James Bay region as Eeyou Istchee.

Trump’s EV Policy Reversal Threatens Indonesia’s Nickel Industry and Green Energy Transition (Jakarta Globe – January 28, 2025)

January 28, 2025

https://jakartaglobe.id/

Jakarta. A recent executive order by US President Donald Trump rolling back electric vehicle (EV) mandates is likely to disrupt Indonesia’s burgeoning EV ecosystem, according to the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios). The policy could significantly impact demand for critical minerals, foreign investment, and global financing for green energy projects, while strengthening China’s grip on Indonesia’s nickel downstream industry.

Bhima Yudhistira, Executive Director of Celios, said reduced global demand for EV batteries could pressure prices for commodities such as nickel, copper, and bauxite—key components in EV manufacturing.

Nevada’s Lithium Could Help Save the Earth. But What Happens to Nevada? – by Meg Bernhard (New York Times – January 24, 2025)

January 28, 2025

https://www.nytimes.com/

Many climate experts see its deserts as a place to build the green-energy future. For two local activists, the price is too great.

Few Americans follow the nation’s lithium-mining industry as closely as Patrick Donnelly. Since 2021, he has set up 30 or so Google Alerts for variations on the word “lithium,” and he uses the findings to populate an online map of projects across the West. It is so useful that one industry insider has referred to it as “an investor’s handbook.”

This is paradoxical: Donnelly, who works at an environmental nonprofit called the Center for Biological Diversity, is one of the industry’s most vigilant watchdogs. The true spirit of his monitoring and mapping efforts comes through in a Twitter exchange he had with one mining firm, Rover Critical Minerals, a few years ago.

Chile Keeps Faith in Lithium Expansion Even as Glut Worsens – by James Attwood (Bloomberg News – January 23, 2025)

January 24, 2025

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Chile, home to the world’s biggest lithium reserves, is confident that investors will compete for licenses to drill new deposits even amid a worsening global glut that’s squeezing the battery-metal industry.

“We’re convinced that there’s interest,” Mining Minister Aurora Williams said in an interview late Wednesday — a day before Chile warned that global oversupply is set to increase this year, despite some industry cutbacks.

Column: Only Indonesia can help nickel recover from price bust – by Andy Home (Reuters – January 22, 2025)

January 24, 2025

https://www.reuters.com/

Nickel ended 2024 trading at four-year lows, a spectacular reversal of fortune for a metal that soared so high in 2022 it almost broke the London Metal Exchange (LME). There is no mystery to this dramatic tale of boom and bust.

Indonesia has flooded the world with more metal than it can absorb, crushing the price and leaving a trail of casualties among the rest of the world’s producers. The market’s fortunes this year depend on whether Jakarta can tame the excesses of its nickel sector and align supply more closely with demand.

NEWS RELEASE: Vale Base Metals launches strategic review for Thompson mine as part of global optimization (January 23, 2025)

January 24, 2025

TORONTO, Jan. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ – Vale Base Metals has launched a strategic review to explore and evaluate a range of alternatives, including the potential sale, for its mining and exploration assets in Thompson, Manitoba, the Canadian-based subsidiary of Vale SA (NYSE: Vale) announced today.

The Thompson review is part of a process to optimize Vale Base Metals’ global mining portfolio to enable copper growth in the Carajas region and ensure the competitiveness of its vertically integrated nickel portfolio to create long-term value for its shareholders and stakeholders. Vale Base Metals has engaged an external advisor to lead the Thompson review, which is expected to conclude in 2H 2025.

Ontario’s big EV gamble just lost everything to Trump – by Randall Denley (National Post – January 24, 2025)

January 24, 2025

https://nationalpost.com/

Ford placed a big bet on increasing American demand for EVs, but the new president’s moves almost certainly ended that possibility

U.S. President Donald Trump hasn’t imposed any tariffs on Canada yet, but he’s already dealt a potentially devastating blow to Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s signature industrial policy.

Ford has heavily touted his plan to make the province a major player in the electric-vehicle industry, especially in the production of batteries. Ontario has promised billions of dollars in government support to make it happen. With the stroke of a pen this week, Trump undermined that plan, perhaps fatally.

Vale Base Metals considering selling its mining and exploration assets in Thompson, Manitoba – by John Barker (Soundings – January 23, 2025)

January 24, 2025

https://soundingsjohnbarker.wordpress.com/

Vale Base Metals said Jan. 23 it is considering selling its mining and exploration assets in Thompson, Manitoba. Vale Base Metals is the Canadian Toronto-based subsidiary of Vale SA. Vale Base Metals has launched a strategic review of its options for its Thompson assets, include two mines and an adjacent mill along with other exploration opportunities, Vale said.

The strategic review is expected to be completed later this year, the company said. The strategic review is part of a process to optimize Vale’s global portfolio to enable copper growth in the Carajas region in Brazil. Vale Base Metals has engaged an external advisor to lead the Thompson strategic review.

Can a Rio Tinto-Glencore Merger Supercharge the Race to Net Zero? – by Jennifer L (Carbon Credits – January 21, 2025)

January 22, 2025

https://carboncredits.com/

The recent merger talks between two mining giants—Glencore and Rio Tinto—signal a major shift in the global market. The merger, though now discontinued, was a strategic move aimed at creating a powerhouse focused on electric metals crucial to the global low-carbon economy.

These metals, including copper, nickel, and cobalt, are key components in the development of electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy infrastructure, and other clean technologies that are central to the global energy transition.

Bolivia steps up lithium dealmaking despite growing opposition – by Sergio Mendoza and James Attwood(Bloomberg News – January 21, 2025)

January 22, 2025

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Bolivia is stepping up efforts to tap the world’s biggest lithium deposits, readying deals with new investors to build processing plants despite low prices and growing opposition from lawmakers and citizen groups.

The Andean nation opened its first industrial-scale plant in late 2023, built by a Chinese group, and last year signed deals for further investments with Russia’s Uranium One Group and a Chinese consortium, which are awaiting congressional approval.

Trump’s EV rollback not expected to suppress appetite for critical minerals – by Melanie Burton, Ernest Scheyder, Alexander Smith, Violet Li and Stefanno Sulaiman (Reuters – January 21, 2025)

January 22, 2025

https://www.reuters.com/

US President Donald Trump’s rollback of electric vehicle targets may temporarily slow demand for lithium and other critical minerals, but is unlikely to hamper the mining industry amid surging global EV demand, analysts and industry leaders said.

Trump on Tuesday revoked predecessor Joe Biden’s 2021 executive order that sought to ensure half of all new vehicles sold in the US by 2030 are electric. Automakers had been positioning for a jump in EV demand due largely to that Biden move.

Russia Targets Ukraine’s Key Lithium Reserves – by Wojtek Grojeck and Kian Sharifi (Radio Free Europe – January 2025)

January 14, 2025

https://www.rferl.org/

Russia has captured two of Ukraine’s four lithium deposits since it launched its all-out invasion in 2022, potentially depriving Kyiv of a key economic resource.

On January 11, Russia claimed to have seized control of Shevchenko, a rural settlement in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. The settlement sits on top of one of Ukraine’s biggest lithium deposits.