Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals – Page 24

‘Rapid development’ of mines ‘urgently required’ – Canada’s resources minister – by Kip Keen (SPGlobal.com – June 14, 2022)

June 15, 2022

https://www.spglobal.com/

Accelerating mine development could be a pressing issue for the country’s left-leaning Liberal Party government as it looks to support the energy transition, said Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources.

Wilkinson’s call to action at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto on mine timelines is a rare example of a top Liberal official calling for the need to fast-track more Canadian mining projects, after the government has made critical minerals a priority in recent years.

PDAC 22: Canada places bets on critical minerals – by Jax Jacobsen (Mining Magazine – June 14, 2022)

June 15, 2022

https://www.miningmagazine.com/

Canada committed to building an end-to-end supply chain, says minister

The global drive towards electrification and electric vehicles places Canada in a prime position to provide critical minerals, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) on June 13.

“Canada is home to almost half of listed companies in the mining and minerals space, with a combined market cap of C$520 billion, and ranks in the top five producing countries for critical minerals,” Wilkinson said.

Canada set to ramp up protectionism against China in critical minerals amid domination by Asian superpower in key metals for clean energy transition – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – June 15, 2022)

June 15, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Canada is set to take a far more protectionist trade stance against China, as it teams up with the United States and other Western countries in a concerted effort to secure supplies of critical minerals that are key to a lower carbon future.

Since the early 2000s, China has directed its state-owned companies to invest abroad to secure long-term supplies of critical minerals and it has invested billions in Canada as part of that program.

How the “demon metal” gave Canadian mining a bad name – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – June 2, 2022)

June 4, 2022

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

The word cobalt came from kobold, a variant of the German word kobalos, a satyr and shape-shifter of Greek mythology who mocked the work of humans. By the Middle Ages, miners in the dark depths reported that touching the metal burned their fingertips, a sure sign that demons were watching them. And so the “demon metal” it became.

Cobalt – with a capital C – is synonymous with the silver rush of over a hundred years ago in northern Ontario. The town of Cobalt got its start when silver was discovered in 1903, and that mining rush outshone any gold rush in the previous 200 years.

Congo Sees Surge in Mining of Metals for Green-Energy Transition – by Michael J. Kavanagh (Financial Post/Bloomberg – June 3, 2022)

June 3, 2022

https://financialpost.com/

(Bloomberg) — Democratic Republic of Congo could see about 10 new mines for metals key to powering the green-energy transition within four years, according to the director of the country’s mining registry.

About 500 of the nation’s mining permits are in advanced development and will soon lead to new projects for lithium and cobalt — battery metals driving the electric vehicle revolution — while mines for copper, tin, tantalum and tungsten will also be built, Jean Felix Mupande told a conference in the southeast city of Lubumbashi. Congo is already the world’s No. 1 cobalt producer and Africa’s biggest copper miner.

Opinion: The Undersea Trove for Electric Vehicles – by Dennis Blair (Wall Street Journal – June 2, 2022)

June 3, 2022

https://www.wsj.com/

Mr. Blair, a retired U.S. Navy admiral, is a former director of national intelligence and commander of U.S. Pacific Command. He is chairman of SAFE, an energy-security organization.

President Biden recently invoked the Defense Production Act to boost supplies of the minerals needed to power electric vehicles and reduce America’s oil dependency. Yet, even with this welcome executive action, the U.S. can’t produce enough of some minerals, such as nickel.

America must rely on undependable, often hostile foreign-controlled sources for these key materials. There is an alternative: finding politically safe, economically viable and ecologically responsible ways to get these minerals somewhere else, including the depths of the oceans.

What coltan mining in the DRC costs people and the environment – by Oluwole Ojewale (The Conversation – May 29, 2022)

June 1, 2022

https://theconversation.com/

Oluwole Ojewale, Institute for Security Studies

For the full report: https://enact-africa.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/2022-05-03-research-paper-29-rev.pdf

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is rich in natural resources – its untapped deposits of minerals are estimated to be worth US$24 trillion. Gold, diamonds, cobalt and zinc are among them.

Another strategic mineral mined in the DRC is coltan – a name derived from “columbite-tantalite”. In 2021, the DRC’s coltan production amounted to an estimated 700 tonnes, making the Central African country the world’s largest coltan producer by far.

Sask. could be ‘major producer’ of rare earth minerals – by Tyler Barrow (CTV News Saskatoon – May 31, 2022)

May 31, 2022

https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/

Mike Crabtree hopes Saskatchewan will serve as a catalyst for the rare earth elements industry. “The actual demand for rare earths is going to hockey stick literally over the next 10 years and Saskatchewan has the opportunity to be a major producer,” said Crabtree, president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Research Council.

Crabtree made his comments at Nutrien Tower in Saskatoon on a panel for Saskatchewan Mining Week. He said all 17 rare earth elements can be found in Saskatchewan. They are used in products such as cell phones, televisions, computers, vehicles and wind turbines.

Interview: On responsible cobalt from DRC, industry needs to ‘put its money where its mouth is’ (S&P Global – May 30, 2022)

May 31, 2022

https://www.spglobal.com/

The Fair Cobalt Alliance is aiming to raise $20 million by 2025 to help develop a responsible and fair supply of artisanally-mined cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo to harness the potential of this sector, with industry needing to back up its words with financial commitment, David Sturmes, the alliance’s Corporate Engagement and Strategic Partnerships Lead, told S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The FCA was set up in August 2020 to help bring about change in the DRC’s artisan mining sector and currently has 24 members, including Glencore, Google and Tesla. In April it launched an advisory board, which will provide and publish independent feedback on its approaches and strategy, as part of the FCA’s commitment to transparency.

Sudbury miners look to fill the critical minerals demand and supply void – by Len Gillis (Northern Ontario Business – May 30, 2022)

May 30, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Looming battery electric vehicle demand has Glencore on a metals recycling kick

As much as Ontario is ready to reap the rewards of the anticipated boom in battery electric vehicles (BEV) in the next 10 years and beyond, the move to go green is not as rosy as it might seem.

That was revealed during the two-day BEV conference held at Science North in Sudbury to explore the future of the BEV industry. On the first day of the conference, it was revealed the province has a virtual treasure trove of all the right minerals — nickel, lithium, cobalt, and copper — right here in Northern Ontario.

Who needs friends with benefits? Canada does – by Heather Scoffield (Toronto Star – May 26, 2022)

May 26, 2022

https://www.thestar.com/

Move over, globalization. Step aside, on-shoring and re-shoring. Make room for friend-shoring — and its inevitable higher prices and geopolitical fallout, Heather Scoffield writes.

Move over, globalization. Step aside, on-shoring and re-shoring. Make room for friend-shoring — and its inevitable higher prices and geopolitical fallout.

The federal government’s recent decision to ban Huawei from Canada’s 5G network is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to exposing the pros and cons of realigning your economic policy to favour your friends and shun everyone else.

Experts applaud $11M move by feds toward critical minerals – by Ian Campbell (Northern Ontario CTV News – May 23, 2022)

May 25, 2022

https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/

A new call for proposals by the federal government for critical minerals development has the support of many people in the industry. It’s called the Critical Minerals Research Development and Demonstration program (CMRDD) and it’s looking to infuse another $11 million worth of funding.

It’s part of $47.7 million announced in Budget 2021 for federal research and development. It will fund applications that demonstrate the ability to reduce energy and carbon intensity. The projects will also reduce the environmental footprint of processing, increase production and provide innovative advancements.

Situation critical for Canadian minerals extraction – by Nelson Bennett (Business In Vancouver – May 20, 2022)

May 25, 2022

https://biv.com/

Global demand for energy transition resources creating huge opportunity for B.C. miners

In 2014, the Stephen Harper Conservative government rejected the New Prosperity mine project, said to be one of Canada’s largest undeveloped copper deposits.

Now, the Justin Trudeau government is so anxious to secure a domestic supply of critical minerals and metals, including copper, that it earmarked $3.8 billion in the recent federal budget to implement a new critical minerals strategy.

Global scramble for metals thrusts Africa into mining spotlight – by Helen Reid and Clara Denina (Finance Yahoo/Reuters – May 8, 2022)

May 10, 2022

https://finance.yahoo.com/

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The need to secure new sources of metals for the energy transition amid sanctions on top producer Russia has increased the Africa risk appetite for major miners, who have few alternatives to the resource-rich continent.

Companies and investors are considering projects they may have previously overlooked, while governments are also looking to Africa, anxious to ensure their countries can procure enough metals to feed an accelerating net-zero push.

South Korea’s plans to reopen tungsten mine could break China’s hold – by Ju-Min Park and Joe Brock (Business Live – May 9, 2022)

May 10, 2022

https://www.businesslive.co.za/

Facility is being revived to extract the metal that is used in technologies ranging from chips to electric vehicles

Sangdong — Blue tungsten winking from the walls of abandoned mine shafts, in a town that’s seen better days, could be a catalyst for South Korea’s bid to break China’s dominance of critical minerals and stake its claim to the raw materials of the future.

The mine in Sangdong, 180km southeast of Seoul, is being brought back from the dead to extract the rare metal that’s found fresh value in the digital age in technologies ranging from phones and chips to electric vehicles and missiles.