Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles – Page 37

Glencore said to prepare sweetened Teck bid – by Thomas Biesheuvel, Dinesh Nair and Jacob Lorinc (Bloomberg News – May 30, 2023)

June 1, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Glencore Plc is getting closer to increasing its offer for Teck Resources Ltd., in a move aimed at ending weeks of limbo in the battle over the Canadian miner’s future.

The Switzerland-based commodities giant is working on a potential improvement to its bid that could be announced as soon as the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. By raising its offer and ratcheting up shareholder pressure, Glencore is seeking to force Teck to the negotiating table, the people said.

Decarbonization ambitions ignite debate over mining, permitting – by Robert Zullo (Iowa Capital Dispatch – May 31,2023)

June 1, 2023

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The decarbonized, electrified future envisioned by the Biden administration, state governments, automakers, utility companies and corporate sustainability goals depends to a huge degree on minerals and metals.

Lots more lithium will be needed for car and truck batteries, as well as the big banks of batteries that are increasingly popping onto the electric grid to balance the intermittency of wind and solar power. Those batteries, as well as wind turbines and solar panels, also need copper, cobalt,, nickel, zinc and “rare earth” elements used in electric car motors and other clean technologies, among other materials.

Quebec and Ontario signalling major lithium production developments – by Mehanaz Yakub (Electric Autonomy – May 30, 2023)

June 1, 2023

https://electricautonomy.ca/

As Canada races to solidify its EV supply chain, Quebec and Ontario are vying for investments and development of their lithium sectors

The Ontario government is aiming to establish an end-to-end electric vehicle supply chain in the province. This, it says, will help position Canada as a global contender in the rapidly expanding market for EV production and battery manufacturing.

To date, the province has successfully attracted automakers Volkswagen and Stellantis (along with LG Energy Solutions) to establish two battery cell manufacturing plants. Additionally, Belgium-based Umicore has invested $1.5 billion in setting up a cathode active material facility near Kingston.

Tensions with China not impacting this Chinese-owned lithium mine in Manitoba – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – June 1, 2023)

June 1, 2023

https://financialpost.com/

The Tanco mine, one of Canada’s two lithium producers, hopes to expand against the odds

Ottawa surprised the mining world with its decision in November to bar three Chinese companies from buying stakes in Canada’s lithium businesses due to national security concerns.

Since then, investments from Chinese miners into Canadian companies that own properties containing minerals, such as lithium, copper or nickel, that are in high demand and needed for the energy transition away from fossil fuels have been unheard of.

SQM and Codelco begin talks over lithium partnership in Chile – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – May 29, 2023)

May 30, 2023

https://www.mining.com/

SQM (NYSE: SQM), the world’s second largest lithium producer, and Chile’s state-owned copper miner Codelco, have formally begun talks aimed at setting up a public-private partnership to extract the battery metal in the Atacama salt flat.

The negotiations between the firms are part of the new national lithium strategy President Gabriel Boric announced in April. The plan identifies the Salar de Atacama as a strategic asset because it contains the country’s largest known lithium resources as well as the only active operations.

[Mali] Goulamina: A lithium sleeping giant – by Tom Parker (Australian Resources and Investment – May 29, 2023)

May 30, 2023

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Mali has long been a gold mining hotspot, but two companies are looking to establish the country’s critical minerals credentials with the Goulamina lithium mine.

Leo Lithium and Ganfeng Lithium Group – China’s largest lithium chemicals producer – are joint venture (JV) partners in the Goulamina lithium project, which is set to begin spodumene concentrate production in the second quarter of 2024 ramping up to a Stage 1 production capacity of 506,000 tonnes per annum (tpa).

Australia Sees ‘Enormous Market’ for its Battery Metals in US – James Fernyhough and Eric Martin (Bloomberg News – May 28, 2023)

May 30, 2023

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden’s signature climate policy is helping drive a “golden age of mineral exploration” in Australia, as the US rushes to catch up with China on clean energy technologies, the Australian trade minister said.

Deals between Australian miners and US carmakers had already spurred increased investment in exploration and refining of battery metals, and the Inflation Reduction Act is accelerating that, Trade Minister Don Farrell said in an interview while visiting Detroit over the weekend.

Industry, business groups optimistic on nickel mining bordering Lake Superior – by Bruce Walker (The Center Square – May 26, 2023)

May 30, 2023

https://www.thecentersquare.com/

(The Center Square) – Geologists and mining experts say Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula may provide a solution for an obstacle facing the electric vehicle transition. Minerals are needed, and this area has them.

U.S. manufacturers are largely dependent on foreign countries like China, Russia and Indonesia for critical minerals like nickel and cobalt, which are key materials for electric vehicle batteries. Automakers increasingly are looking for domestic supplies, and northern Minnesota and Wisconsin as well as Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – a geological area bordering Lake Superior dubbed the Midcontinent Rift – may provide the solution.

Nickel’s price paralysis could see mines ‘gobbled up’ cheap – by Peter Ker (Australian Financial Review – May 25, 2023)

May 25, 2023

https://www.afr.com/

Miners say pricing mechanisms for nickel have struggled to keep pace with the industry’s shift to supplying the specialised needs of battery and electric vehicle makers, creating an opportunity for acquisitions on the cheap.

Australian nickel was traditionally sold to stainless steel producers in briquettes or powders, but miners such as BHP now sell the bulk of their nickel to electric vehicle manufacturers like Tesla, which want nickel for the cathodes of lithium-ion batteries.

A trillion-dollar payday in the making as Ontario’s EV supply chain takes shape at a remarkable pace – by David Olive (Toronto Star – May 25, 2023)

May 25, 2023

https://www.thestar.com/

Ontario’s once dying auto industry is in the midst of resurrection with a battery plant in Windsor, another on the way in St. Thomas and an exploding electric vehicle market

You don’t create one the world’s powerhouses in a 21st-century-defining activity without at least a bit of drama. And drama we’ve had in the fractious negotiations over an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Windsor, Ont. That “gigafactory,” already under development, is crucial to Ontario’s strategy to create an EV supply chain of world-class status.

Fortunately, that strategy has never been in jeopardy, despite some panicky concerns raised during the Windsor negotiations. More worrisome is the EV chain’s access to critical minerals. More on that later.

Column: Supply anxiety is the new hope for developing energy transition mines – by Clyde Russell (Reuters – May 25, 2023)

May 25, 2023

https://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE, May 25 (Reuters) – Can “supply anxiety” drive the next mining boom and deliver the minerals vital for the energy transition? A fear that the world won’t produce enough copper, lithium, aluminium and other metals vital for electrifying virtually everything that runs on fossil fuels is an increasingly common theme.

Almost every speaker at this week’s 121 Mining Investment event in Melbourne made the same point: There isn’t enough production to meet anticipated demand, there aren’t enough projects in the pipeline, and even when new mineral deposits are discovered, the regulatory and financial barriers to developing them take years to navigate.

Ring of Fire project at risk due to red tape and cumbersome consultation process, billionaire owner says – Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – May 24, 2023)

May 24, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Andrew Forrest, the Australian billionaire owner of the most promising mining assets in Ontario’s Ring of Fire region, says the viability of the critical minerals project is at risk because of Canada’s regulatory burden, its cumbersome consultation process and persistent delays in building crucial infrastructure.

The Ring of Fire, in the province’s far north, is a key part of Ontario’s and Canada’s plans to become a player in metals for electric-vehicle batteries, but it has sat undeveloped for the better part of two decades owing to unproven economics, tension with Indigenous communities, a lack of political consensus and the gigantic capital cost requirements.

Lithium company points to late 2027 for Thunder Bay refinery startup – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – May 24, 2023)

May 24, 2023

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Avalon Advanced Materials seeks to peddle petalite to the electric vehicle manufacturing masses

A lithium player’s aspirations in 2020 to fast-track a refinery project into production in Thunder Bay is being walked back by new management. After some front office reshuffling, Avalon Advanced Materials is now pushing out the start date of a lithium hydroxide processing plant by about four years.

With more pragmatic timelines in place, Avalon is now looking to start mining at its Separation Rapids project, north of Kenora, in late 2025 or early 2026, if government permits and approvals come through a timely fashion.

Ottawa drove China out of Canada’s lithium industry, but questions linger over costs – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – May 23, 2023)

May 24, 2023

https://financialpost.com/

Here’s what you need to know about the move’s impact on miners, critical minerals and even the TSX

Last November, the federal government ordered three Chinese companies to divest from three junior Canadian lithium explorers. The step was taken amidst an increasing demand for critical minerals such as lithium and copper that are expected to play a key role in the world’s shift away from fossil fuels.

The move seemed to be a part of a larger step taken by Western nations to offset China’s dominance in the critical minerals sector and divert supply chains towards friendlier countries. It’s been about half a year since Ottawa’s surprise announcement, and the three Canadian miners who were impacted have now managed to fill the gaps left by the ban on Chinese capital.

Ford strikes lithium deals as ‘near-shoring’ trend benefits Canadian miners – by Andrew Willis (Globe and Mail – May 24, 2023)

May 24, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Quebec’s nascent lithium mining industry has won a vote of confidence from Ford Motor Co., with the automaker signing an 11-year contract with Nemaska Lithium for future production from two planned facilities in the province.

Ford announced long-term supply agreements with Nemaska and four other lithium miners Monday at an investor conference, part of a strategy to dramatically increase electric-vehicle production over the next three years.