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Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals

Seeking Access to Congo’s Metals, White House Aims to Ease Sanctions – by Eric Lipton (New York Times – May 16, 2024)

https://www.nytimes.com/

A deal to allow the Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler to cash out his mining positions in the Democratic Republic of Congo has enraged human rights activists and some government officials.

Three years after Biden administration officials tightened sanctions on a billionaire Israeli mining executive for corrupt business practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they have reversed themselves and are offering the executive a deal they hope will bolster the supply of a metal vital to electric vehicles.

The plan would allow the executive, Dan Gertler, to sell off his remaining stakes in three giant copper and cobalt mining operations in Congo. Once Mr. Gertler sells his positions, the Biden administration hopes Western-leaning companies will be more willing to invest in Congo, perhaps delivering a greater supply of cobalt to the United States as automakers race to increase domestic production of batteries.

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US Blames China’s CMOC for Predatory Tactics Behind Cobalt Glut – by Michael J. Kavanagh (Bloomberg News – May 14, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — China’s CMOC Group Ltd. is being accused by a top US official of using “predatory” tactics to depress prices of a key battery metal by flooding the market with cobalt from Democratic Republic of Congo mines.

“What we’re seeing now, I feel, is a variation of predatory pricing,” Jose Fernandez, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, said Monday at a conference in New York sponsored by the Cobalt Institute industry group.

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The Titanium Supply Chain For The Aerospace Industry Goes Through Russia – by Willy Shih (Forbes Magazine – March 6, 2022)

https://www.forbes.com/

The terrible war in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions placed on many Russian organizations have raised questions about potential supply chain vulnerabilities. While Russia is mostly an exporter of resources like oil, gas, and metals, one market where it is a dominant player is for titanium and titanium forgings. Many people are waking up to the potential consequences of a longer-term stoppage in the flow of these critical materials.

Titanium and titanium alloys have unique properties: they are lightweight and have a very high ratio of strength to weight. Their density is typically around 60% that of steel. They withstand high temperatures, and have a high resistance to corrosion.

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Militaries, Metals, and Mining – by Fabian Villalobos & Morgan Bazilian (New Security Beat – April 17, 2023)

https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/

In the early 1960s, Soviet fulfillment officers at the Berezniki and Zaporozh’ye ilmenite mines must have noticed an uptick in worldwide demand for titanium. Orders for titanium sponge were increasing around the globe, and the Soviet Union reacted by increasing production rapidly.

Yet some of these deliveries resulting from this boost in production were not reaching their intended customers. In fact, some of their customers didn’t even exist. Little did the Soviet producers know that it was actually the CIA on the receiving end of these shipments.

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Ukraine’s Titanium Can Armor the West – by Stephen Blank (CEPA.org – September 14, 2022)

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Support for Ukraine has been driven by strategic concerns and moral-political values. But long-term Western help should also be based on solid material interests.

Ukraine is blessed with many natural resources and an abundant agricultural sector, as Andrew Michta, Dean of the College of International Studies at the Marshall Center, has reminded us. Supporting it now, and throughout its postwar reconstruction, makes eminent good sense and could help drive the regeneration of Eastern European economies, while also cementing Ukraine’s integration into Europe. This is a vital US and allied interest.

Also consider Ukraine’s substantial titanium deposits, a good example of a key resource critical to the West. The metal is integral to many defense systems (aircraft parts, missiles, armor plating, and naval vessels) as well as surgical procedures. Its strength-to-weight ratio and resistance to corrosion allow the manufacture of lightweight and durable equipment which works even in extreme conditions.

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CRMA: Rare earth elements a potential blindspot for EU policymakers and industry – report – by Amanda Stutt (Mining.com – May 13, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

When the European Union passed the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) into law it was a landmark accomplishment that will strengthen critical raw materials supply chains – but not without some foreseeable challenges, according to a new report published by Adamas Intelligence.

While the EU published its first list of Critical Raw Materials in 2011 (there were originally 14 inclusions), it took over a decade to conceive, rally political support for, and ultimately announce the CRMA in September 2022, Adamas notes.

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Two years after start of Ukraine war, Russian titanium keeps flowing to West – by Adam Taylor (Washington Post/Yahoo News – March 22, 2024)

https://www.yahoo.com/

Western firms bought hundreds of millions of dollars of titanium metal from a Russian company with deep ties to the country’s defense industry after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to a review of Russian export data.

The purchases illustrate how the West remains dependent on Russia for certain products despite pledges to break economic ties with Moscow. In the case of titanium, that dependence raises security concerns, industry and defense analysts say, as the metal is vital in the manufacturing of both commercial and military airplanes.

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B.C. mining is having a moment, thanks to energy transition – Nelson Bennett (Business In Vancouver – May 9, 2024)

https://www.biv.com/

Value of 17 critical mineral mine proposals in B.C. are ‘eye popping’ says mining association president
Mining has never been viewed as exactly environmentally friendly. Mines and miners have often been the target of NGOs for the impacts mining can have on water, land and Indigenous communities.

But because mining plays such an important role in the energy transition needed to address climate change, there is increasing support for mining by governments, First Nations and the general public. The need for critical minerals to supply the energy transition poses a huge opportunity for B.C., said Michael Goehring, president of the Mining Association of BC (MABC).

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The Tiny Nation at the Vanguard of Mining the Ocean Floor – by Pete McKenzie (New York Times – May 9, 2024)

https://www.nytimes.com/

Below the waters of the Cook Islands, population 15,000, lie minerals used to power electric cars. Extracting them could bring riches, but many say it’s a bad idea.

Two ships arrived in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific in March of last year. One was a familiar sight: a massive cruise ship, bringing hundreds of tourists to the pristine shores of this nation of 15,000 people. The other, a neon-orange vessel hauling complex scientific equipment, was more unusual.

On a nearby wharf, Prime Minister Mark Brown and many other prominent citizens had gathered to celebrate the smaller boat’s arrival. To Mr. Brown, the cruise ship represented his country’s troubling dependence on tourism. He described the other vessel, owned by an international mining company, as a harbinger of incredible wealth.

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For mining critical minerals, Ontario can do it right, says minister – by Len Gillis (Northern Ontario Business – May 8, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Mines Minister George Pirie lauds Ontario’s mineral deposits, environmental standards, expertise in search for critical minerals

Ontario Mines Minister George Pirie said this week securing a supply of critical minerals in Canada is being done for the right reasons: to improve the country’s environmental status.

Speaking on May 6 as part of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities conference at the Holiday Inn and again at Dynamic Earth, Pirie commented on his recent trip to Washington, D.C., where he met with government representatives at the Energy Transition Metals Summit. Pirie was one of the featured speakers at that event.

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Ontario beefs up supply chain funding for critical minerals – by Len Gillis (Sudbury.com – May 6, 2024)

https://www.sudbury.com/

Mines Minister George Pirie confirms additional funding will be added to the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund over the next three years to boost research into sustainable extraction of new metals required to support the battery electric vehicle industry

Ontario Mines Minister George Pirie said today Ontario is committed to strengthening the province’s critical minerals strategy in the global race to ensure there is a stable supply chain for battery electric vehicles by spending millions in new science and technology to help do that. He said the effort is already underway in Sudbury to develop new ways to procure more critical minerals.

Pirie said the Ontario government will be spending $15 million over the next three years to expand the Ontario Critical Minerals Innovation Fund (CMIF), which is a re-announcement of the funding increase that was announced as part of the Ontario budget earlier this year.

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Meeting the metals mining shortfall – by Wilson Monteiro (Canadian Mining Journal – May 3, 2024)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

Moving away from fossil fuels to meet essential global carbon reduction targets means mining for metals and minerals will need to increase significantly over the coming years. Electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, and overall electrification are all areas of increased demand, meaning metals like copper, iron, and zinc will be continuously required.

How the need for more metals will be met with our current infrastructure is uncertain. Taking copper as an example, production is predicted to reach a crisis point by 2030 with an annual deficit of five million tonnes. Stemming from a surge in demand driven by the exponential growth in electric vehicles and a myriad of other electrification applications, surpassing current production capacity, this is an alarming prognosis that would ultimately impede global sustainability goals.

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Underwater power play for metals in full swing – by Alisha Hiyate (Northern Miner – May 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Despite its stranglehold on mining and processing, there’s one arena of critical minerals that China doesn’t control – underwater resources. No one does, as deep sea mining has yet to begin. But it’s not the sci-fi fantasy it once may have seemed.

The International Seabed Authority (ISA), which next meets in July, is hashing out the world’s first underwater mining code. Deep sea mining could technically begin as soon as July, even in the absence of rules which the ISA aims to have in place by 2025.

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‘Blood minerals’: What are the hidden costs of the EU-Rwanda supply deal? – by Lorraine Mallinder (Al Jazeera – May 2, 2024)

https://www.aljazeera.com/

EU plans to secure supplies for green revolution from Rwanda are likely to support smuggling of conflict minerals from DR Congo.

As the green revolution revs up, the European Union has signed a deal with Rwanda that will ensure a supply of precious minerals needed to build clean tech like solar panels and electric vehicles. What’s not to like? As the European Commission described it, after inking a Memorandum of Understanding back in February, the deal will “nurture sustainable and resilient value chains for critical raw materials”.

But all is not as it seems. It turns out that Rwanda is a country that exports more than it mines. Vast amounts of minerals like coltan and gold are smuggled from the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of the Congo to Rwanda, where they enter global supply chains.

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Congo M23 rebels claim control of smartphone mineral mining town – by Sonia Rolley, Erikas Mwisi Kambale and Ange Kasongo (Reuters/CNBC Africa – May 2, 2024)

https://www.cnbcafrica.com/

M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have taken control of Rubaya, a key mining town for the smartphone mineral coltan, following days of intense fighting, a rebel spokesman said.

Congo’s east has been plagued by violence since the 1990s, killing millions as struggles over national identity, ethnicity, and resources saw neighbouring countries invade and a myriad of armed groups spring up.

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