‘Lithium rush’ boosts sales of mineral claims in N.S. – by Catherine Morasse (CBC News Nova Scotia – March 5, 2023)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/

For as long as she has lived in New Ross, Nova Scotia, Ruth Veinotte has seen different prospectors come and go. What they seek has changed through time, says the woman who has lived in the Lunenburg County community for 67 years. From manganese, which was exploited until the 1930s, the region later drew exploration for tin, uranium and other minerals.

Veinotte looks across the rural landscape that has drawn such interest as she finishes refuelling her pickup truck on the community’s quiet main road.

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Gov’t urged to incentivize downstream nickel processing – by Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat (Manila Bulletin – March 5, 2023)

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Imposing a ban or tax on the export of raw ore is not the solution to attract middle to downstream nickel processing in the country, but the granting additional incentives to investors, according to a top industry player.

Martin Antonio G. Zamora, president and CEO of Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC), the country’s lone nickel mining company with a processing operation of its raw ore, said during a media round table that incentives may be granted in the form of additional tax breaks on top of what has been given to manufacturing firms at present to attract more downstream processing operations.

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Panic Over Metals for EVs Goes All the Way to Automakers’ C-Suites – by Danny Lee, David Stringer and Jacob Lorinc (Bloomberg News – March 3, 2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — The merry-go-round of private meetings at an annual mining industry conference at Florida’s Hollywood Beach had a cast of new faces this year: auto sector executives increasingly anxious about surging prices and tighter supply of metals used in electric vehicle batteries.

Tesla Inc., Ford Motor Co. and Mercedes-Benz Group AG were among automakers which sent senior staff to mingle with about 1,500 delegates at the BMO Global Metals & Mining Conference, an event normally attended mainly by iron ore and aluminum producers.

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Two-thirds of European battery production at risk – analysis (Transport Environment.org – March 6, 2023)

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More than two-thirds (68%) of lithium-ion battery production planned for Europe is at risk of being delayed, scaled down or cancelled, new analysis shows. Tesla in Berlin, Northvolt in northern Germany and Italvolt near Turin are among the projects that stand to lose the greatest volumes of their slated capacity as the companies weigh up investing in the US instead.

Transport & Environment (T&E), which conducted the research, called for both EU-wide financial support to scale up battery production and faster approvals processes to capture projects at risk from American subsidies.

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South America Steps Up Efforts to Turn Lithium Into Batteries – by James Attwood, Jonathan Gilbert and Mariana Durao (Bloomberg News – March 5, 2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — South American nations are stepping up efforts to propel themselves further down the electric-vehicle supply chain by leveraging their vast mineral wealth, expanding processing capacity, and targeting vehicle manufacturing.

Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Brazil plan to coordinate action on turning more of the region’s mined lithium into battery chemicals, as well as moving into manufacturing of batteries and EVs, according to Argentina Mining Undersecretary Fernanda Avila.

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Lithium Prices Have Crashed Spectacularly, Here’s What Next – by Alex Kimani (Oil Price.com – March 05, 2023)

https://oilprice.com/

Over the past few years, the lithium markets exploded as the electrification drive went into overdrive. EV makers like Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) have been scrambling to secure supplies amid rapid EV growth and tight lithium supplies, sending lithium carbonate prices up more than six-fold and spodumene up nearly tenfold in the space of a few years.

But as the old adage in the commodity markets goes, the cure for high prices is high prices, or in more common parlance, what goes up must come down: lithium prices have crashed spectacularly over the past four months, reversing years of gains.

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PREVIEW Miners grow anxious as Canada tightens foreign investment rules – by Divya Rajagopal (Reuters – March 6, 2023)

https://www.reuters.com/

TORONTO, March 5 (Reuters) – Junior mining companies hoping to produce lithium, nickel and other green energy metals are worried that Canada’s crackdown on some overseas investors may limit their ability to raise funds for mines and related facilities.

Ottawa last fall proposed bolstering its Investment Canada Act (ICA) to give government ministers power to block or unwind critical minerals investments if they believe such deals threaten national security.

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A mid-term look at critical mining in North America – by P.J. Kwong (Canadian Mining Journal – March 1, 2023)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

The government policies defined to meet net-zero emissions targets require leveraging green technologies globally to ensure the health of the planet. For countries to meet their respective net-zero targets, the importance placed on the development of critical minerals’ projects has never been higher.

In some cases, the need to accelerate project development is required to meet projected shortfalls in some critical minerals’ supplies; for example, the demand for lithium will quickly outpace supply as new operations are slow to come on-line.

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Analysis: Lithium price slide deepens as China battery giant bets on cheaper inputs – by Siyi Liu and Melanie Burton (Reuters – February 28, 2023)

https://www.reuters.com/

BEIJING/MELBOURNE, Feb 28 (Reuters) – Rare discounts offered by Chinese battery giant CATL (300750.SZ) to automakers have accelerated a plunge in lithium prices, and the market is set to drop a further 25% with supply growth outpacing demand, analysts and traders say.

After a frenzied rush by electric vehicle makers to secure raw materials over the past two years, which drove prices for lithium carbonate up more than six-fold and spodumene up nearly ten-fold, the bubble has burst.

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The Drift: Glencore hopes to attract ‘best and brightest’ to Sudbury mining electric vehicle lab – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – March 3, 2023)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Glencore Sudbury INO’s $350,000 donation to Cambrian College will be ‘transformative gift’ in advancing BEV innovation

Growing up, Matteo Neville was the kind of kid who spent his time taking apart motors and engines just so he could figure out how they worked.

He was fascinated by robotics and technology, electronics and programming, so when he decided to return to school as a mature student, he was immediately drawn to Cambrian College’s mechatronics program.

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Mining company set to invest $176M in new concentrator – by Martin Cash (Winnipeg Free Press – February 28, 2023)

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

THE owners of the only producing lithium mine in the country are preparing to invest $176 million to build a new concentrator in Manitoba, which may be a precursor to an even larger investment in the province.

Tantalum Mining Corp. of Canada Ltd., which owns the lithium Tanco Mine near Lac du Bonnet, has already begun preliminary work on the site and is in discussions with neighbouring Sagkeeng First Nation. Consultants are preparing the information needed to apply for permits.

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Critical Minerals Pushed by GOP Wary of Biden Climate Policies – by Kellie Lunney (Bloomberg – February 28, 2023)

https://about.bgov.com/

House Republicans, leery of Democrats’ climate policies, are pushing an alternative agenda: reducing US reliance on foreign-sourced critical minerals for everything from green energy to military equipment.

“This country would be in dire straits” if adversary nations stopped selling the US critical minerals, Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), chairman of the House Natural Resources Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, said in an interview. “We need to move on this, and keep the safety and security of this country in the palm of our own hands.”

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Production resumes in China’s Yichun, ‘Asia’s lithium capital’, unlikely to affect supply chain, analysts say – by Yujie Xue (South China Morning Post – March 1, 2023)

https://www.scmp.com/

Production has resumed in China’s Yichun, “Asia’s lithium capital”, after a government investigation into illegal mining activity last week temporarily halted production in the local lithium industry.

Some lepidolite mines restarted mining activity on Monday, according to Chinese media outlet Cailian. Soon after news of the production resumption emerged, the shares of leading lithium producers with mines in Yichun rose slightly on Tuesday. Shenzhen-listed Anshan Heavy Duty Mining Machinery, for instance, rose 2.25 per cent.

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China lithium probe shuts down chunk of global supply – by Alfred Cang (Australian Financial Review – February 28, 2023)

https://www.afr.com/

Singapore | China’s lithium industry is reeling as its top production hub – responsible for about a 10th of the world’s supply – faces sweeping closures amid a government probe of environmental infringements.

The crackdown in Yichun, Jiangxi province, follows a local lithium frenzy over the past year as miners raced to feed rampant demand for the battery material – and to benefit from record global prices. Now, they grapple with a close-up inspection by environment officials from Beijing.

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McEwen Copper attracts investments from Stellantis, Rio Tinto – by Mariaan Webb (Mining Weekly – February 28, 2023)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

McEwen Copper, a subsidiary of McEwen Mining, on Monday announced two separate transactions that provide a significant financial boost for its Los Azules project, in Argentina.

The company announced that automaker and mobility group Stellantis had invested 30-billion Argentine peso (about $150-million) to acquire shares of McEwen Copper in a two-part transaction that closed last week.

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