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Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals

Ontario launches $3.1-billion critical minerals plan – by Abdul Matin Sarfraz (Canada’s National Observer/Penticton Herald – May 22, 2025)

https://www.pentictonherald.ca/

Ontario’s new $3.1-billion plan for a critical minerals supply chain created in partnership with First Nations is raising concerns about weakened environmental protections and inadequate Indigenous consultation.

Announced Wednesday, the provincial initiative will create a “made-in-Ontario” supply chain and boost First Nations equity, according to the government. But critics say environmental protections and First Nations consultation will be sidelined in the rush to develop the Ring of Fire — a vast region about 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.

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Rare Earth Truce or Trap? China’s Grip Still Chokes Global Supply – by Sohrab Darabshaw (Metal Miner – May 22, 2025)

https://agmetalminer.com/

With the United States and China ratcheting down the tariff war (for 90 days at least), many expected that the export of rare earths and permanent magnets would soon return to pre-trade war conditions, as MetalMiner’s weekly newsletter weighed in on in the past. However, that does not seem to be happening on the ground. Now, alarm bells are going off as market insiders anticipate a major shortage in global rare earth supplies.

There is a bit of positive news: China has granted a few export licenses to some companies, including those that supply to European customers. According to a Reuters report, this includes a rare earth magnet producer that supplies automaker Volkswagen. Quoting unnamed sources, the report stated that export permits had been issued to a total of four magnet producers, the first since China curbed shipments back in April of this year.

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NEWS RELEASE: Diversification is the cornerstone of energy security, yet critical minerals are moving in the opposite direction (Internationsl Energy Agency Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025 – May 21, 2025)

For the report: https://shorturl.at/aM8Qa

Emphasising major energy and economic implications, new IEA report identifies vulnerabilities over next decade, notably for copper and other strategic minerals

While today’s critical mineral markets may appear well supplied, with prices well down from the highs seen in 2021 and 2022, a new IEA report finds that a combination of increasing supply concentration in a handful of countries and the spread of export restrictions is raising the risk of painful disruptions.

The 2025 edition of the IEA’s annual Global Critical Minerals Outlook, out today, presents the latest data and analysis on supply, demand, investment and more for key energy-related minerals, including copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and rare earth elements. It is accompanied by an updated Critical Minerals Data Explorer, an interactive online tool that allows users to explore the latest IEA projections.

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China isn’t getting rid of its controls over rare earths, despite trade truce with US – by Nectar Gan (CNN.com – May 20, 2025)

https://www.cnn.com/

Despite a 90-day truce in its trade war with the United States, China appears to be maintaining tight control over its rare earth exports – preserving a key source of leverage in future negotiations amid intensifying strategic rivalry with Washington.

As part of last week’s trade agreement in Geneva to temporarily roll back tariffs, China pledged to suspend or remove the “non-tariff” countermeasures it imposed on the US since April 2. That has left businesses scrambling to find out whether that promise applies to China’s export controls on seven rare earth minerals and associated products, which were imposed on April 4 as part of its retaliation against US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs on Chinese goods.

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Energy storage boom drives battery shift, leaving nickel, cobalt behind – by Eric Onstad (Reuters – May 21, 2025)

https://www.reuters.com/

When Fidra Energy acquired a 55-acre (22-hectare) patch of northern England countryside in 2023, its plan to transform it into a 1.45 gigawatt energy storage facility – Europe’s largest once completed – was far from a done deal.

“We were struggling to make the economics work,” Chris Elder, the Edinburgh-based company’s CEO, told Reuters. But that was before the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries being used in the project, which were already recording significant improvements in performance, roughly halved in cost in a period of just 18 months. Fidra now plans to start installing battery units for its 600-million pound ($800-million) Thorpe Marsh project next year.

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Report: World’s supply of critical minerals for clean energy is concentrated in fewer countries – by David McHugh and Alexa St. John (Associated Press – May 21, 2025)

https://apnews.com/

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The world’s sources of critical minerals are increasingly concentrated in just a few countries, most notably China, leaving the global economy vulnerable to supply cutoffs that could disrupt industry and hit consumers with higher prices, a report said Wednesday.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency’s report looked at the availability of minerals and metals that may be small in quantity — but large in impact when it comes to shifting the economy away from fossil fuels toward electricity and renewable energy.

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EU goes hunting for Central Asia’s mineral riches at Samarkand summit – by Emma Collet (Euractiv.com – April 3, 2025)

https://www.euractiv.com/

Central Asia could become something like the El Dorado of European dreams.

SAMARKAND, UZBEKISTAN – With access to rare metals and critical minerals on their minds, a number of top EU leaders are travelling to Samarkand to meet with Central Asian presidents in a glittering palace on the outskirts of this ancient crossroads city.

Central Asian leaders invited the European Union with a mix of enthusiasm and caution to gather on Thursday and Friday in Samarkand, situated along the historic Silk Road trade routes which now serves as Uzbekistan’s host city for major diplomatic meetings

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NEWS RELEASE: Province Investing $3.1 Billion to Support Indigenous Partnership in Critical Mineral Development (Ontario Government – May 21, 2025)

Made-in-Ontario critical mineral supply chain will protect workers and communities across the province

TORONTO — As part of the government’s plan to protect Ontario by building a more competitive, resilient and self-reliant economy, the province is supporting the creation of a made-in-Ontario critical minerals supply chain that includes new resources and opportunities for Indigenous equity partnerships. These measures include nearly $3.1 billion in loans, grants and scholarships that would support Indigenous participation, partnership and ownership in Ontario’s critical mineral supply chain.

“Ontario’s vast supply of critical minerals are at the heart of our plan to protect Ontario,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance. “By investing to unlock and process these minerals here in Ontario in partnership with Indigenous communities, we can make Ontario the top global hub of critical mineral development and protect our economy, workers and communities for decades to come.”

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Why the US-Ukraine Minerals Deal Matters – by Kateryna Odarchenko and Serhii Kolisnyk (CEPA.org – May 16, 2025)

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The agreement to set up a US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund reinforces security, sovereignty and strategic supply chains.

The long-awaited investment plan agreed with the US on April 30 marks a pivotal step in Kyiv’s efforts to rebuild its war-torn economy, reduce reliance on legacy industries, and assert sovereignty over its natural wealth. It also reflects growing US interest in diversifying critical mineral supply chains away from China while sending a signal to Moscow about Washington’s strategic commitment to Ukraine.

The deal serves as a framework for strengthening and formalizing cooperation between Ukraine and the US, and represents a significant opportunity for Ukraine to attract investment, accelerate post-war reconstruction, and assert greater control over its economic future. While the agreement lays a strong foundation, further clarity is needed about the allocation of the fund’s resources, which will be addressed in detail in the forthcoming Limited Partnership (LP) agreement.

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A new cold war is brewing over rare earth minerals – by Abigail Bassett (The Verge – May 15, 2025)

https://www.theverge.com/

China has implemented new export controls for rare earth minerals and magnets. The changes could upend the shift to electric vehicles.

The future of everything from smartphones, to military equipment, to electric vehicles hangs on 17 rare earth minerals and the magnets that they’re made into. And China, the world’s largest refiner and producer, is tightening its grip and threatening the US’ largest automakers.

Over the last 30 years, China has methodically cornered the market on mining and refining rare earth minerals, which are used to produce a variety of common items like passenger vehicles and everyday electronics. In the wake of US President Donald Trump’s increasingly aggressive trade war, China is leveraging its position as the world’s largest producer, at the expense of the American auto industry.

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Tungsten prices hit 12-year high as China tightens export controls – by Staff (Mining.com – May 15, 2025)

https://www.mining.com/

European tungsten prices have surged to their highest level since 2013, driven by China’s tightening grip on critical mineral exports.

The price of ammonium paratungstate (APT)—a key intermediate used in tungsten metal production—has climbed to $400 per metric ton unit (mtu) on the European spot market, marking an 18% jump since February, according to Reuters.

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China retains rare earth export controls as bargaining chip amid trade war truce with US – by Joyce ZK Lim (Asia News Network – May 16, 2025)

 Asia News Network – Bringing Asia Closer

SHENZHEN – Even as China and the US roll back tariffs and other trade salvos amid a 90-day truce, there is one powerful source of leverage that Beijing appears to be retaining: the control of its exports of critical minerals, including rare earths.

China’s Commerce Ministry said on May 12, the same day that details of the US-China agreement were announced, that strengthening export controls of strategic mineral resources was crucial to national security.

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Expert tells U.S. senators Canada is a key ally on critical minerals – by Kelly Geraldine Malone (Canadian Press – May 14, 2025)

https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/

WASHINGTON – An expert in critical minerals told U.S. senators Wednesday that Canada will be a key ally in efforts to reduce America’s reliance on Chinese supply — after President Donald Trump spent months claiming the United States doesn’t need anything from its northern neighbour.

Gracelin Baskaran, director of critical minerals security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., told the Senate finance committee that the U.S. only has 1.3 per cent of the world’s rare earths. “The uncomfortable truth is we are not going to do this alone,” she said.

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China Tightens Control of Critical Minerals in Peru and Brazil – by Maria Zuppello (Dialogo-Americas.com – May 13, 2025)

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Driven by its ambition to achieve greater control over key raw materials used in high-tech industries for its own gain and exert geopolitical influence, China has been accelerating its expansion in the critical minerals sector worldwide.

The strategy for monopoly over minerals essential for warfare technologies and military modernization has led Beijing to increase its investment and influence in Latin America, a move experts say poses global and national security concerns, as China could use critical minerals as bargaining chip in conflicts or disrupt supply chains to hinder technological advancements.

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China’s rare earth curbs have ‘changed psychology’ at US firms (Bloomberg News – May 12, 2025)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

China’s weaponization of rare earths in its trade war with the US will spark a much greater focus on American supply security for critical minerals, according to MP Materials Corp., the only US miner of the key materials used in smartphones and defense applications.

“Regardless of how trade negotiations evolve from here, the system as it existed is broken, and the rare-earth Humpty Dumpty, so to speak, is not getting put back together,” the miner’s chief executive officer, Jim Litinsky, said on an earnings call last Friday.

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