Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles – Page 73

How the U.S. fell behind in lithium, the ‘white gold’ of electric vehicles – by Jeniece Pettitt (CNBC.com – January 15, 2022)

September 27, 2022

https://www.cnbc.com/

The United States has a lithium supply problem. Nearly every major automaker has announced a transition to electric vehicles, Tesla delivered almost one million cars in 2021, and a handful of new electric vehicle companies like Rivian and Lucid are rolling new models off the line.

In order to power all of these EVs, we will need batteries — lots of them. Electric vehicle growth will be responsible for more than 90% of demand for lithium by 2030, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. But lithium is also in our phones, computers, ceramics, lubricants, pharmaceuticals, and is essential for solar and wind energy storage.

‘This is a very, very big deal for Manitoba’ – by Martin Cash (Winnipeg Free Press – September 24, 2022)

September 27, 2022

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

Snow Lake Resources working with LG Energy Solution to establish lithium supply chain in province

An important first step was taken on Thursday for Manitoba to aggressively insert itself into the global supply chain for lithium ion batteries, a product that is in red hot demand from vehicle manufacturers around the world.

LG Energy Solution, the second largest battery maker in the world, signed a memorandum of understanding with Snow Lake Resources to work together to potentially build Canada’s first lithium hydroxide processing plant in Winnipeg.

Noront to be renamed Ring of Fire Metals as Wyloo pushes to build EV nickel mine in Ontario’s Far North – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – September 27, 2022)

September 27, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Wyloo Metals Pty Ltd. has renamed Noront Resources Ltd., the junior Canadian exploration company it recently acquired, to Ring of Fire Metals, as the Australian resource heavyweight moves forward in its attempt to build what could be a cornerstone mine for Ontario’s nascent electric-vehicle industry.

Perth-based private equity firm Wyloo acquired Noront this year for $617-million after winning a fierce bidding war against fellow Australia miner BHP Group Ltd. Wyloo chief executive Luca Giacovazzi said in a release that it settled on the Ring of Fire name to recognize both the minerals district in which the nickel project is located, and to pay homage to Noront’s Canadian roots.

Australian explorer aims to be Ontario’s first lithium miner and refiner – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – September 26, 2022)

September 26, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Green Tech Metals strikes strategic alliance with LIthium Americas to establish a northwestern Ontario supply chain for the automakers

An Australian lithium explorer operating in the Armstrong-area is teaming up with a Canadian multi-national to develop a lithium mining and processing business in northwestern Ontario.

Green Technology Metals (GT1) has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC) of Vancouver to start a lithium supply chain for the auto sector.

More than 300 new mines needed to meet electric vehicle demand, says analyst (CBC News Sudbury – September 25, 2022)

September 26, 2022

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/

Canada can play a big role in meeting demand for electric vehicles, analyst says

More than 300 new mines will be needed globally to meet growing demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, according to a new forecast from a mining analyst.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence estimates at least 384 new mines for graphite, lithium, nickel and cobalt will be required to meet electric vehicle demand by 2035. If battery materials can be recycled in large enough quantities, the firm says about 336 new mines would be needed.

Canadian miners eye more lithium deals after LG Energy signs three deals in 24 hours – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – September 24, 2022)

September 26, 2022

https://financialpost.com/

The deals paint a hopeful picture at a time when demand for EVs has increased and the world looks to shift away from coal

South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. announced three agreements in a span of 24 hours with Canadian miners to source materials required to make batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) as it looks to boost its focus on North America.

After announcing its three-year cobalt deal with Toronto-based Electra Battery Materials Corp. on Thursday morning, the Tesla Inc. supplier announced agreements to source lithium from Toronto-based miner Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. and Winnipeg-based Snow Lake Resources Avalon Advanced Materials Ltd., which is developing a lithium project in Manitoba.

Vale and Glencore team up on electric mining vehicle safety – by Len Gillis (Sudbury.com – September 23, 2022)

September 23, 2022

https://www.sudbury.com/

Big Sudbury miners realized safety goals could be better achieved by working together than tackling problems alone

Sudbury’s two large mining companies are working together on the transition to Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) to make it safer to operate those vehicles on surface and in underground mines.

The partnership between Vale Canada and Glencore was revealed at the Maintenance, Engineering and Mine Operators Conference in Sudbury held in Sudbury this week. This was one of several sessions that were held in the Innovation and New Technology category.

How a Quebec Lithium Mine May Help Make Electric Cars Affordable – by Jack Ewing (New York Times – September 20, 2022)

September 23, 2022

https://www.nytimes.com/

The project also illustrates how difficult it is to get lithium out of the ground and break China’s dominance in processing the metal and turning it into batteries.

About 350 miles northwest of Montreal, amid a vast pine forest, is a deep mining pit with walls of mottled rock. The pit has changed hands repeatedly and been mired in bankruptcy, but now it could help determine the future of electric vehicles.

The mine contains lithium, an indispensable ingredient in electric car batteries that is in short supply. If it opens on schedule early next year, it will be the second North American source of that metal, offering hope that badly needed raw materials can be extracted and refined close to Canadian, U.S. and Mexican auto factories, in line with Biden administration policies that aim to break China’s dominance of the battery supply chain.

Thunder Bay edges closer to building a lithium processing plant – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – September 23, 2022)

September 23, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Avalon Advanced Materials in talks to secure supply agreement with South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solutions

South Korean lithium-ion battery maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) is looking to Northern Ontario to secure its raw material supply chain.

Hours after inking a three-year cobalt deal with Electra Battery Materials to source cobalt sulfate from its Temiskaming refinery starting next spring, LGES has entered into negotiations with Kenora lithium mine developer Avalon Advanced Materials to supply them with battery-grade lithium hydroxide by 2025.

It could secure a funding partner that will help Avalon build a much anticipated lithium refinery in Thunder Bay by next year.

Talon Metals drills record nickel-copper intercept at Tamarack – by Staff (Mining.com – September 22, 2022)

September 23, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

Talon Metals (TSX: TLO) has received more encouraging results from drilling at its Tamarack nickel-copper-cobalt project in Minnesota, including assays for 17 holes drilled on the western side of the Tamarack resource area between 2021-2022 that demonstrated the continuity and thickness of the high-grade massive sulphide zone.

The new drill holes extended the resource from 320 metres from northwest to southeast. One hole (21TK0380) returned a record intercept of 23.44 metres grading 6.04% nickel and 2.85% copper in the Main zone.

Column: Low global copper stocks jar with market’s downbeat mood – by Andy Home (Reuters – September 21, 2022)

September 23, 2022September 23, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) – London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses saw 11,200 tonnes of copper arrivals on Tuesday, the largest single-day warranting since June. Inflows have totalled over 35,000 tonnes so far this month but have been largely offset by departures. Headline stocks of 118,000 tonnes are up by only 3,625 tonnes on the end of August.

LME inventory remains ultra-low by any historical yardstick, representing just two days’ worth of global usage. But this is not just an LME phenomenon. Registered inventory with both the CME and Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) is also super low and between them the three exchanges hold just 200,000 tonnes of metal.

A Great Copper Squeeze Is Coming for the Global Economy – by James Attwood (Bloomberg News – September 21, 2022)

September 22, 2022

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The price of copper — used in everything from computer chips and toasters to power systems and air conditioners — has fallen by nearly a third since March. Investors are selling on fears that a global recession will stunt demand for a metal that’s synonymous with growth and expansion.

You wouldn’t know it from looking at the market today, but some of the largest miners and metals traders are warning that in just a couple of years’ time, a massive shortfall will emerge for the world’s most critical metal — one that could itself hold back global growth, stoke inflation by raising manufacturing costs and throw global climate goals off course. The recent downturn and the under-investment that ensues only threatens to make it worse.

Indonesia’s electric vehicle batteries dream has a dirty nickel problem – by Rodrigo Castillo, Lilly Blumenthal, and Caitlin Purdy (Brookings Education – September 21, 2022)

September 22, 2022

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/

Indonesia—the world’s largest nickel miner—is making moves to become a key player in the electric vehicle supply chain. Most of Indonesia’s nickel output is currently Class 2 nickel, a low-purity type used for stainless steel.

The country’s government and the mining sector are determined to transform its nickel industry to meet the rising demand for Class 1 nickel, a crucial component for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.[1] EVs are widely viewed as a pillar of the transition toward renewable energy sources since they typically have a smaller carbon footprint over their lifespan than gasoline-powered vehicles.

Australia ‘too far behind’ to make EV batteries: lithium giant – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review – September 19, 2022)

September 20, 2022

https://www.afr.com/

Albemarle boss Kent Masters says it will be hard for Australia to make the leap from mining key ingredients to making batteries for electric vehicles.

That’s despite the company having just built one of the world’s biggest and most advanced lithium hydroxide plants – estimated to have cost more than $2 billion – at an industrial park south of Perth.

Officials saying little about Tesla-to-Sudbury reports – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – September 20, 2022)

September 20, 2022

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

An online industry publication says officials with the EV giant had scouted Sudbury as a possible site for a factory that would manufacture batteries or battery materials

If Tesla is indeed looking to set up shop in Sudbury, it seems we will have to wait a bit longer for more details. Last month, an online industry publication said officials with the EV giant had scouted Sudbury as a possible site for a factory that would manufacture batteries or battery materials.

Citing “multiple sources with knowledge of the matter,” Electric Autonomy Canada said high-level Tesla reps visited local Vale operations last month as “part of a larger location-scouting mission by Tesla in Ontario and Quebec to seek out potential manufacturing locations.”