Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles – Page 84

OPINION: Canada has a strategy for a critical minerals. But there are some critical issues – The Editorial Board (Globe and Mail – January 25, 2022)

January 25, 2022January 25, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Canada has big ambitions in clean technology – to become “a world leader” in critical minerals and batteries, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in December. The goal, however, exists mostly on paper. Canada is barely out of the starting blocks. There’s ambition, but it doesn’t always jibe with actions.

An important agreement was struck between Canada and the United States in early 2020. The U.S. had a list of 35 minerals it deemed “critical to economic and national security.”

Political instability in the DRC may affect global battery supply chain – report – by Staff (Mining.com – January 20, 2022)

January 21, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

A new report by Fitch Solutions states that the increased risk of instability between the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s cabinet and parliament could add pressure to the global battery supply chain over the next few quarters.

The African country is responsible for the lion’s share of the global cobalt output, which added up to around 68% of global cobalt production in 2020.

No national security issue in Chinese takeover of Canadian lithium company: Liberals – by Joan Bryden (Canadian Press/Sask Today – January 20, 2022)

January 21, 2022

https://www.sasktoday.ca/

OTTAWA — The pending takeover of a Canadian lithium mining company by a Chinese state-owned company raises no national security concerns, federal Liberals argued Thursday.

Liberal MP Andy Fillmore, parliamentary secretary to Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, told a House of Commons committee that the Industry Department reviewed last fall the proposed takeover of Neo Lithium Corp. by China’s Zijin Mining Group Ltd.

What a Tesla Deal Might Mean for the Tamarack Mining Project in Northern Minnesota – by Walker Orenstein (Twin Cities Business – January 20, 2022)

January 21, 2022

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One of the selling points for several proposed copper and nickel mines in Minnesota has been that the metal can help power green technology like solar panels, electric vehicles and windmills. But that possibility has always been somewhat hypothetical, or at least hard to quantify for the controversial projects.

PolyMet Mining says metal from its proposed mine near Hoyt Lakes would be a commodity sold on a world market. But while there is high demand for things like EV batteries, there is no guarantee how much, if any, of the product would be used for domestic green technology.

EV Makers’ Next Headache: Scarce Battery Chemicals, Made in China – by Jacky Wong (Wall Street Journal – January 21, 2022)

January 21, 2022

https://www.wsj.com/

Lithium used to make electric-vehicle batteries is getting dear; that is only leading edge of supply-chain problem

Last year was the year of electric vehicles—global sales are likely to have hit a record, in turn pushing up battery demand. Now too much of a good thing is causing problems: Many key battery materials, including but not limited to processed lithium itself, are in short supply and prices are rising sharply.

Adding to the geopolitical risks for global auto makers is the supply chain concentrated in a country determined to make itself the EV capital of the world: China.

Serbia revokes Rio Tinto lithium project licences amid protests – by Ivana Sekularac (Reuters – January 20, 2022)

January 21, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

BELGRADE, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Serbia revoked Rio Tinto’s (RIO.L) lithium exploration licences on Thursday, bowing to protesters who opposed the development of the project by the Anglo-Australian mining giant on environmental grounds.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said the government’s decision came after requests by various green groups to halt the$2.4 billion Jadar lithium project which, if completed, would help make Rio a top 10 lithium producer.

Is A Lithium Cartel Inevitable? – by Robert Rapier (Forbes Magazine – January 20, 2022)

January 21, 2022

https://www.forbes.com/

The more people I speak with about lithium, the bigger this story gets. Following my previous article — How The U.S. Is Losing The Lithium Industry To China — several readers told me that this battle is already lost. And, I have to admit that the trajectory we are currently on gives little reason to believe that China’s dominance will be threatened any time soon.

In today’s article, I want to reiterate two threats to U.S. national security based on the current trajectory. Then, I want to revisit why China jumped ahead of the U.S. Finally, I want to talk about steps that are aimed at addressing this.

Serbia Drops Plans For Controversial Lithium Mine (Radio Free Europe – January 20, 2022)

January 20, 2022

https://www.rferl.org/

The Serbian government has dropped its plans to build a massive lithium mine following weeks of public protest over the $2 billion project’s environmental impact.

The Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto had been tapped to develop the mine in western Serbia in an effort to attract foreign investment and boost economic growth. The lithium mine, which was slated to be one of the world’s largest, was seen as a way to capitalize on rising global demand for the element, which is widely used in the batteries that power electronics and electric vehicles.

US needs to develop its own copper resources, says Pebble owner – by Mariaan Webb (MiningWeekly.com – January 20, 2022)

January 20, 2022

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Northern Dynasty, the owner of the contentious Pebble copper/gold mine, in south-west Alaska, says that the US must develop its own copper resources to ensure a successful energy transition to a zero-carbon economy.

Citing forecasts from major banks about a looming deficit and higher copper prices, CEO Ron Thiessen says that the “only realistic way to meet demand is to increase production”.

Ottawa looks on as China buys Canadian lithium operations – by Jeff Kucharski (Toronto Star – January 20, 2022)

January 20, 2022

https://www.thestar.com/

Given Canada’s own critical minerals list, and what we already know about China’s determination to achieve global high-tech dominance, there were clear reasons for reviewing the Neo Lithium purchase.

Efforts to strengthen Canada’s supply chains for critical minerals were undermined last week when our own government decided not to conduct a national security review into the purchase of a Canadian lithium producer by a Chinese state-owned enterprise.

The decision is bizarre. Lithium, which is on a list of 31 minerals that Ottawa says are critical to Canada’s economy, is imperative to modern manufacturing, including large-scale battery storage needed for clean energy transition and, significantly, batteries for the flourishing electric vehicle (EV) industry. Now the Zijin Mining Group Ltd is cleared to buy Toronto-based Neo Lithium Corp.

MPs want Chinese purchase of lithium-mining company reviewed – by Jeff Labine (iPolitics.ca – January 18, 2022)

January 20, 2022

https://ipolitics.ca/

Conservative and New Democrat MPs are demanding an emergency committee meeting to review the sale of a Chinese business takeover of a Canadian lithium mining company.

In October, China-based Zijin Mining Group announced plans to purchase Toronto-based Neo Lithium, which was approved by shareholders in December. The sale price was reported to be $960-million by the Globe and Mail.

How to seize Canada’s clean growth opportunity – by Don Lindsay (Financial Post – January 18, 2022)

January 18, 2022

https://financialpost.com/

The “big picture” economy can seem overwhelmingly large and complex. It’s easier to watch it unfold, letting it happen to us, rather than taking action to shape it. But that isn’t Canada’s story of Canada. Canada became a prosperous nation because people took action to make it that way: the Transcontinental railway; the St. Lawrence Seaway 75 years later; and just over 30 years ago, the establishment of the first free trade agreement with the United States.

These were nation-building moments where Canadians took control of our economic destiny. We are at a crossroads in history today that is crying out for that same leadership. The decisions we make now will be critical for laying the economic foundation for the next 30 years or more.

Biden’s green agenda requires batteries, but building them is dirty business – by Jordan Wolman (Politico.com – January 18, 2022)

January 18, 2022

https://www.politico.com/

To win the war on global warming and triumph in an economic showdown with China, President Joe Biden needs an essential weapon — lithium. But before he can count on vast U.S. reserves of the critical metal, he has to win multiple smaller fights on his home turf.

In Nevada, conservationists and Indigenous activists are camped at the site of a proposed open-pit lithium mine as the project is challenged in court. A rare wildflower has a second mine in the state at a standstill. Maine’s mining laws, some of the strictest in the nation, will make it nearly impossible to extract lithium from a large deposit there without changes by the legislature.

Nickel market caught up in fresh squeeze – by Mark Burton (Bloomberg News – January 18, 2022)

January 18, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

The nickel market is facing its biggest squeeze in more than a decade as buyers are forced to pay huge premiums for immediate supplies with exchange inventories plunging.

Cash contracts on the London Metal Exchange reached a $90-a-ton premium to those expiring a day later, the highest since 2010 and nearing levels seen in 2007 during a historic squeeze. It’s more evidence of acute supply stress in metals, following turmoil in copper and tin markets last year.

Stelco Will Recycle EV Batteries At Its Ontario Factory – by Johnna Crider (Clean Technica.com – January 16, 2022)

January 18, 2022

https://cleantechnica.com/

Stelco, a Canadian steel company, has announced plans to recycle end-of-life EV and lithium-ion batteries at its factory in Ontario. Stelco will be using proprietary technology from a joint venture of German and Australian metal companies Primobius GmbH and Neometels Ltd.

Stelco negotiated binding licenses and option agreements with the two companies. Neometelrs currentl