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US Forced Labor Ruling on Indonesian Nickel Could Backfire – by Cullen Hendrix (The Diplomat – September 23, 2024)

https://thediplomat.com/

The Department of Labor’s recent forced labor determination could push Jakarta into further dependence on China and Chinese firms.

On September 10, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) added Indonesian nickel to its list of goods produced by child or forced labor. Nickel is a critical mineral with applications in steelmaking, aircraft engines and turbines, and perhaps most prominently in renewable energy and vehicles, where it is one of the key components of nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion batteries.

This listing highlights the dominance of Indonesia’s nickel sector by Chinese firms and deals yet another blow to the country’s aspirations to secure a critical minerals-specific free trade agreement (CMS-FTA) with the United States.

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Nickel market no longer afraid of losing Russian supply – by Andy Home (Reuters – September 17, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Sept 17 (Reuters) – Russian president Vladimir Putin’s suggestion that Moscow should consider capping exports of nickel in retaliation for Western sanctions has been greeted with a collective shrug by the market.

The London Metal Exchange three-month price has managed a weak bounce through the $16,000-per metric ton level but the momentum is already fading. This is a far cry from February 2022, when Russia first invaded Ukraine. Fears that metal from Russian giant Norilsk Nickel might have sanctions imposed generated a monster rally in 2022 that morphed into a full-blown meltdown of the LME nickel market.

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Western nations join forces to break China’s grip on critical minerals – by Jamie Smyth, Myles McCormick and Harry Dempsey (Financial Times – September 22, 2024)

https://www.ft.com/

Coalition of 14 governments announces financing network for projects to provide raw materials required by tech industry

Western nations are directing their development finance and export credit agencies to work with private industry to support critical minerals projects, in a drive to break China’s chokehold over a sector that is essential for high-tech industries.

The Minerals Security Partnership, a coalition of 14 nations and the European Commission, will unveil a new financing network at an event in New York on Monday as they try to ramp up international collaboration and pledge financial support for a huge nickel project in Tanzania, backed by mining company BHP.

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US closer to greenlighting ioneer’s Nevada lithium mine – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – September 19, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) cleared on Thursday one of the final regulatory hurdles for ioneer’s (ASX: INR) Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada, a project that would be a key supplier of the electric vehicle battery metal to the local auto industry.

The proposed lithium mine, about 225 miles (362 km) north of Las Vegas, contains one of the largest sources of lithium in North America. It could produce enough of the metal to power nearly 370,000 electric vehicles per year.

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A Copper M&A Frenzy Masks Big Miners’ Hesitation to Build – by Paul-Alain Hunt (Bloomberg News – September 19, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — In the dusty, treeless outback of Southern Australia, a brand new mining camp is home to a hundred workers, putting in 12-hour days, two weeks at a time. Dozens of trucks are scattered across the vast acreage, mounted with towering rigs drilling more than 2 kilometers (1.3 miles) underground. All are focused on the hunt for one of the world’s most coveted minerals: copper.

Oak Dam, discovered by BHP Group geologists in 2018, is a glimmer of hope for Chief Executive Mike Henry, who sees global copper demand doubling over the coming decades as the energy transition takes hold, and wants his company to produce more of it.

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Death Threats and Detained Pop Stars: Inside Serbia’s Lithium Battle – by Kate Aronoff (The New Republic – September 19, 2024)

https://newrepublic.com/

The mining giant Rio Tinto is moving ahead with a novel form of lithium extraction in Serbia’s Jadar Valley. Powerful governments want to see it succeed. But critics say it could contaminate drinking water for a third of the population.

On her way to sing at a birthday party last month, Croatian pop star Severina Vučković was stopped and questioned about her political views by Serbian authorities. Around the same time, Aleksandar Matković started receiving death threats on Telegram.

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Winsome Resources confirms Canadian lithium project’s potential – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – September 17, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Australia’s Winsome Resources  said a scoping study for its $259 million Adina lithium project in Quebec, Canada, has reinforced the asset’s potential as a capital-efficient mine with a 17-year productive life.

The company inked a deal in April to acquire the Renard diamond mine and plant in northern Quebec with the goal of repurposing the existing infrastructure for processing ore from Adina. The lithium explorer and developer bought itself in August an extra three months to decide whether it would buy the past-producing mine, and today’s announcement suggests it would move in that direction.

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Deep in the nation’s only nickel mine, industry fights to green its image – by Hannah Northey (E&E News – September 16, 2024)

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Biden officials point to the Eagle mine as proof that mining critical minerals in the U.S. can gain public support while avoiding pollution and trampling Indigenous rights. Not everyone is convinced.

MICHIGAMME TOWNSHIP, Michigan — In the sun-drenched forests of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula stands the black, gaping mouth of the nation’s only operating nickel mine.

Hundreds of feet below in the darkness, heavy machinery blasts, scrapes and prepares to haul up to the surface rock rich with tiny flecks of high-grade nickel and copper formed more than 1 billion years ago.

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Argentina’s Economic Crisis Thwarts Bid to Go Nuclear With Lithium Bounty – by Jonathan Gilbert (Bloomberg News – September 17, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Nuclear scientists eager to add value to Argentina’s lithium bounty are being stymied by the country’s notorious economic problems.

For decades, the nation’s world-renowned atomic researchers have toiled on projects in Buenos Aires and Bariloche in Patagonia. Now, with Argentina emerging as the fastest-growing producer of lithium needed for the global shift to electric energy, they’re working on innovations to convert the battery metal into something scarcer than gold: lithium-6 isotopes that have key nuclear applications.

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What will Ottawa do about a wave of deals for junior lithium miners? – by Andrew Willis (Globe and Mail – September 17, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A wave of takeovers is poised to reshape the lithium mining industry, with global giant Rio Tinto Ltd. projected to become the dominant producer of an essential metal in a decarbonized economy.

With analysts predicting acquisitions are coming, how is the Canadian government that’s previously pledged to build a domestic critical mineral industry to going to react when foreign buyers begin circling a handful of domestic lithium producers? Based on deals done so far, Ottawa will sign off on any acquisition that doesn’t involve a China-based buyer.

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Nickel Flowing to Europe Shows Indonesia’s Grip on Global Supply – by Eddie Spence (Bloomberg News – September 13, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — European makers of stainless steel are turning to Indonesia for nickel as the country’s booming output forces plants in other countries to shutter.

Exports to Europe of Indonesian nickel pig iron — an ingredient for stainless steel used primarily by Chinese producers — to Europe have surged to 87,485 tons this year from just 1,006 tons in 2023, according to Indonesian government data. The Netherlands, Italy and the UK have taken the shipments, the data show.

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Magna Mining makes a bold $33-million move in Sudbury – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – September 12, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Sudbury mine developer will put its local knowledge to the test in asset deal with KGHM

Magna Mining, a fast-moving Sudbury mining startup company, has taken a giant leap forward by acquiring a working copper mine in the Sudbury basin along with a raft of promising properties from Polish-headquartered miner KGHM International.

Magna, known locally for its redevelopment of the former Crean Hill mine, has signed an agreement to acquire the operating McCreedy West copper mine and a stable for exploration and development properties across the Sudbury basin in a $33.3-million cash-and-share deal.

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Lithium World Asks If Surprise Mine Shutdown Can Arrest Slump (Bloomberg News – September 12, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — An unexpected shutdown at one of China’s biggest lithium mines has left the industry scrambling to judge if the move will be enough to end the battery material’s prolonged price slump.

The share prices of lithium miners from Australia to South America spiked Wednesday after reports that Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., the world’s biggest battery producer, was suspending a mine that accounts for about 5% to 6% of global supply. Citigroup Inc. boosted its price forecasts, while Chinese futures for the metal surged.

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China Nickel Tycoon Seeks Growth in US Energy-Storage Market – by Jacob Gu (Bloomberg News – September 10, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Chinese billionaire Xiang Guangda’s battery company is hunting for more US investment opportunities despite mounting geopolitical tension between the world’s economic juggernauts. REPT BATTERO Energy Co., a unit of Xiang’s Tsingshan Holding Group Co., this week opened an office in California, marking its first US outpost.

REPT “is surely giving full respect to the world’s second largest energy storage market,” Chairman Hui Cao said during an interview. Although a specific target hasn’t yet been set, the aim is for the US to “contribute more than 10%” to REPT’s revenue.

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Nipigon lithium explorer has ‘starting point’ to place a pit – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – September 4, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Imagine Lithium releases its first mineral resource estimate for its Jackpot Project

A Nipigon-area lithium explorer has produced its first resource estimate on a property that shows open-pit mining potential.

Vancouver’s Imagine Lithium released an 8.4-million tonne lithium oxide resource for its Jackpot Project, 40 kilometres north of the town of Nipigon and 150 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.

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