Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals – Page 26

Apple, Tesla, Intel could be using conflict minerals due to faulty scheme – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – April 26, 2022)

April 27, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

Several of the world’s largest companies including Apple, Tesla and Intel may be using conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in their products as they rely on a certification scheme accused of helping “launder” irresponsibly mined metals.

According to the latest report from Global Witness, an international non-profit that challenges power abuses, several firms that use the International Tin Association’s Tin Supply Chain Initiative (ITSCI) scheme are allegedly at fault of fueling conflict.

‘Significant day for the north’: Nechalacho’s first rare minerals shipment leaves Hay River -by Carla Ulrich (CBC News North – April 23, 2022)

April 23, 2022

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

The rare-earth concentrate is on its way to Saskatoon before moving on to Norway

Tuesday was an exciting day for Cheetah Resources and its Nechalacho mine. Their first shipment of rare-earth concentrate left Hay River and is making its way to Saskatoon.

Once there, it will be turned into mixed rare earth carbonate and then shipped to Norway for further processing. A groundbreaking day not only for the north but the rest of the country as well. This is the first rare-earth mine in Canada and only the second in North America.

FORGET GAS PRICES. THE BILLIONAIRE CLUB’S RUN ON COBALT SAYS EVERYTHING ABOUT OUR BATTERY-POWERED FUTURE – by WILLEM MARX (Vanity Fair – April 21, 2022)

April 22, 2022

https://www.vanityfair.com/

Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and other masters of the universe are betting big on Greenland as mining in the Congo gets too dirty for even Elon Musk.

As the bankers from J.P. Morgan’s London offices stepped off the two-hour private flight from Johannesburg onto the hot runway, soldiers sporting sunglasses and semiautomatics watched them closely. The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s brutal civil war had ended several years earlier, but peace remained tenuous, and the Lubumbashi airstrip was still heavily militarized.

It was the summer of 2006, the height of a period that became known as the commodities “Super Cycle,” in which a hardy vanguard of investors sought to sate industrializing China’s seemingly endless appetite for raw materials, particularly metals. Relying on low-cost financing, dealmakers at Credit Suisse, First Boston, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley scoured the world for once state-owned mining assets in need of fresh funds or those primed for privatization.

Delving into critical minerals: What Canada can learn from the Australian experience – by Andrew Pickford (MacDonald-Laurier – April 19, 2022)

April 20, 2022

Home

The emergence of “critical minerals” is forcing a rethink in foreign investment, defence strategy, industry policy and global supply chains throughout the Western world. While numerous white papers and strategy documents have been developed, national approaches vary depending on institutions, national priorities and, most importantly, natural resource endowment.

The classification of critical minerals varies in each country, but they generally fall under what has been traditionally understood as strategic commodities. Contemporary interest in critical minerals is driven by two main trends.

GM and Ford Join Tesla in Race to Secure EV Battery Material Supplies – by Al Root (Barrons – April 13, 2022)

April 19, 2022

https://www.barrons.com/

Auto makers are trying to secure supplies of critical materials for meeting their electric-vehicle goals, particularly as prices rise . Ford Motor, General Motors, and Tesla have all made some recent strategic moves to shore up materials to produce EV batteries. On Tuesday, General Motors (ticker: GM) signed a cobalt supply deal with global mining giant Glencore (GLEN.London).

Cobalt is used along with metals such as lithium, nickel, and iron in rechargeable EV batteries. Cobalt gets more attention than other EV materials because most of the world’s cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has a reputation for poor mining practices and a weak human rights record. The cobalt GM is buying from Glencore , however, will be sourced from Australia.

Canada’s decarbonization plan mum on metals and mining – by Henry Lazenby (Northern Miner – April 13, 2022)

April 19, 2022

https://www.northernminer.com/

It is said that to produce any good, what cannot be grown must be mined. By this token, governments and the general public tend to conveniently forget that the energy revolution and, by extension, the global effort to reduce anthropogenic carbon emissions depend squarely on the abundant and reliable supply of critical metals mined from the ground.

With the recent release of the Canadian federal government’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, there was a distinct lack of language and focus on addressing key issues affecting the development of new mines that will be needed to meet demand stemming from the energy revolution.

The step by step process to get a road to the Ring of Fire – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – April 14, 2022)

April 14, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Environmental assessment work for Ring of Fire road can now begin as First Nation road proponents file terms of reference

Construction hasn’t started on the road to the Ring of Fire, but the Ontario government promises the environmental assessment process is well underway.

The provincial government and two remote First Nations near the remote mineral belt are calling the filing of the terms of reference of the Northern Road Link a “historic milestone to unlocking jobs and economic opportunities in the Ring of Fire region.”

NEWS RELEASE: Ontario and First Nations Celebrate Historic Milestone for the Ring of Fire (Office of the Premier/Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry – April 14, 2022)

April 14, 2022

Project Location & Study Area (CNW Group/Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation)

First Nations announcing the next step to build the Corridor to Prosperity

TORONTO – Premier Doug Ford and Greg Rickford, Minister of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, joined Chief Bruce Achneepineskum of Marten Falls First Nation and Chief Cornelius Wabasse of Webequie First Nation to celebrate a historic milestone to unlocking jobs and economic opportunities in the Ring of Fire region.

Today, Marten Falls and Webequie First Nations announced they will be submitting a Terms of Reference for the proposed Northern Road Link Environmental Assessment. This proposed road is the final piece of critical road infrastructure needed to ensure reliable, all season road access to potential mining sites in the Ring of Fire and connect both First Nations communities to Ontario’s highway network.

How Trudeau proposes to make Canada a key supplier of critical minerals – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – April 8, 2022)

April 8, 2022

https://financialpost.com/

Billions earmarked in the federal budget to develop an industry crucial to the world’s energy transition

Few issues are as hotly debated as the costs of climate change, and the new federal budget is unlikely to cool the tenor of that discussion.

Chrystia Freeland’s second budget as finance minister proposes billions of dollars in new spending to incentivize more mining of critical minerals through investments in infrastructure, tax credits for exploration, and funding to help attract the downstream industries that turn those minerals into products such as electric vehicles and battery cells.

NEWS RELEASE: $3.8B Commitment in 2022 Budget Significantly Enhances Canadian Mining Industry’s Ability to Provide the Minerals and Metals Required to Reach Net-Zero (April 7, 2022)

April 8, 2022

Ottawa, April 7th, 2022 – The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) welcomes the government’s forward-looking vision for our sector as proposed in Budget 2022. With unprecedented support and extensive measures, Budget 2022 will position Canada’s minerals and metals industry for success as a partner in accomplishing Canada’s goal of a greener future while also enhancing greater supply chain resiliency, particularly in battery and advanced manufacturing materials.

Budget 2022 reinforces the government’s commitment to climate action and supply chain security goals by providing strategic funding and programmatic supports to Canada’s minerals and metals sector, underscoring a recognition that the world is better off on climate change when Canada wins on critical minerals. Specifically, the budget:

Rickford has some strong words for environmental groups: There’s no green economy without mining – by Len Gillis (Sudbury.com – April 5, 2022)

April 6, 2022

https://www.sudbury.com/

Northern Development minister challenges environmental groups to ‘get on board’ with Ontario mineral strategy, calling it the ‘single biggest environmental policy any jurisdiction has ever advanced the world over’

Northern Development minister Greg Rickford said environmental groups that continue to target Northern Ontario’s mining industry are missing the boat if they do not support the new Ontario critical minerals strategy.

Rickford recently made reference to Ontario environmental policy when he announced a $1.5-million grant to the Science North Go Deeper Project.

Governments ignore mining in electrification push – by Rick Mills (Ahead of the Herd/Mining.com – April 4, 2022)

April 5, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

The supply chain for batteries, wind turbines, solar panels, electric motors, transmission lines, 5G — everything regarding electrification and decarbonization that is needed for a green economy — starts with metals and mining.

A green infrastructure and transportation spending push will mean a lot more metals will need to be mined, including lithium, nickel, and graphite for EV batteries; copper for electric vehicle wiring, charging stations and renewable energy projects; silver for solar panels; rare earths for permanent magnets that go into EV motors and wind turbines; and silver/ tin for the hundreds of millions of solder points necessary in making the new electrified economy a reality.

Commodity prices increase as mining transitions to green energy – by Olivia Johnson (CIM Magazine – April 2022)

April 5, 2022

https://magazine.cim.org/en/

Nickel, cobalt and lithium continue to benefit from electric vehicle demand

A strong end to the year and accelerated prices in January have led to higher commodities forecasts, and metals such as copper, nickel and lithium are benefiting from “the red-hot EV market.”

In S&P Global’s State of the Market: Mining Q4-21 conference, Sean Decoff, senior analyst, metals and mining research at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said that in general, the industry is seeing positives. COVID-19 cases are dropping, many countries are completely scrapping restrictions and persistent inflation is benefiting commodity prices.

Exclusive: Canada to invest C$2 billion on mineral strategy for EV battery supply chain – by Steve Scherer (Reuters – April 4, 2022)

April 5, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

OTTAWA, April 4 (Reuters) – Canada’s federal budget will include an investment of at least C$2 billion ($1.6 billion) for a strategy to accelerate the production and processing of critical minerals needed for the electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chain, two senior government sources said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, which is due to release its budget on Thursday, will make the investment to ramp up the extraction of processing of critical minerals including nickel, lithium, cobalt and magnesium, said the sources who are familiar with the matter but were not authorized to speak on the record.

US looks to increase metals imports for EV batteries – by Saul Elbein (The Hill – March 29, 2022)

March 30, 2022

https://thehill.com/

The United States will likely need to massively increase its reliance on imports of foreign metals if it is to meet the Biden administration’s goal of moving the country to mainly electric vehicles.

U.S. production of the key metals needed to make EV batteries is already only a small percentage of national demand, so increasing sales of electric vehicles to 50 percent of all new car sales by 2030 will require replacing one set of trading relationships — ones built on oil — for another.