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Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals

Quest for rare earth elements and critical minerals in Central Appalachia gets new boost – by Matt Busse (Cardinal News – August 7, 2023)

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A project that aims to identify Central Appalachian sources of rare earth elements and critical minerals has received $500,000 in federal funding to continue for another six months.

The 17 rare earth elements — so called not because they’re uncommon, per se, but because they typically occur in such low concentrations that easily extracted deposits are rare — include scandium, yttrium and a group of 15 elements collectively called the lanthanides. The 50 critical minerals identified as such by the U.S. Geological Survey are considered essential to the economy and have no viable substitutes; they include aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, nickel and nearly all of the rare earth elements.

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The new commodity superpowers – by Leslie Hook, Harry Dempsey and Ciara Nugent in Buenos Aires (Financial Times – August 7, 2023)

https://www.ft.com/

In the first part of a series, countries that produce the metals central to the energy transition want to rewrite the rules of mineral extraction

The red-brown landscape of Tenke-Fungurume, one of the world’s largest copper and cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is covered by tens of thousands of dusty sacks. The bags stacked up by the roadside and piled next to buildings contain a stash of cobalt hydroxide powder equivalent to almost a tenth of the world’s annual consumption — and worth about half a billion dollars.

The haphazard stockpiles of this bright green powder, a key ingredient in electric car batteries, point to how the DRC, the world’s largest producer of cobalt, is starting to flex its muscles when it comes to the metals needed for the energy transition.

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The Race for Resources: China and Russia Are Beating the West in Africa – by Heiner Hoffmann, Maximilian Popp and Fritz Schaap (Spiegel International – August 2, 2023)

https://www.spiegel.de/

This week, leaders from 17 African countries will be guests of Vladimir Putin. Alongside Russia, all the major powers are vying for influence and raw materials on the continent. The conditions are increasingly dictated by the Africans themselves, with the West often coming away empty-handed.

African leaders don’t often travel by train. But in mid-June, four heads of government from Africa boarded a train in Poland headed for Ukraine. In a group photo, the travelers look a bit lost in the imposing compartment, with only the leader of the mission, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, offering a contented smile.

The delegation traveling with Ramaphosa wanted to achieve what many large and middle powers had thus far failed to accomplish: to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. The Africans met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv and later with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

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Manitoba open for business with new critical minerals strategy, premier says (CBC News Manitoba – July 25, 2023)

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

Six-pillar strategy includes a focus on Indigenous involvement

The province is open for business in the critical mineral sector, Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said Tuesday. Manitoba’s critical minerals strategy, unveiled during a news conference, outlines ways to get new mines open faster, expand the industries associated with mining, attract new investment, advance Indigenous involvement and create jobs across the province.

“Manitoba is like the Costco of critical minerals — if you need it, we have it,” said Stefanson. “Gold, diamonds, nickel, lithium, potash, and the list goes on.” Manitoba is home to 29 of 31 minerals on Canada’s 2021 critical minerals list. These include lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, copper and rare earth elements, which are the six minerals recognized as having the greatest opportunity for economic growth, a news release from the province said.

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China’s Threat to Ban Critical Minerals Exports Is a Bluff – by Agathe Demarais (Foreign Policy – July 27, 2023)

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Embargoes have unintended consequences—and would hurt China more than the West.

Weaponizing commodities is in fashion. In September 2022, Russia cut off gas flows to Europe in a bid to weaken European economies after its invasion of Ukraine. Almost one year later, in July 2023, the Chinese government announced that exports of gallium and germanium, two niche metals used in technology manufacturing, would henceforth require licenses.

These metals share two features. First, they form part of a group of around 30 raw materials that are crucial for the green energy transition, digital hardware, and defense production. Second, as is the case for many critical raw materials, China holds a dominant position for the mining and processing of gallium and germanium, giving Beijing leverage over Western economies.

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Pentagon Seeks Supply of Chip-Mineral Gallium After China Curbs Exports – by Tony Capaccio (Bloomberg News – July 26, 2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — The Pentagon plans to issue a first-time contract to US or Canadian companies by year-end to recover gallium, a mineral used in semiconductors and military radar systems, after China curbed exports this month.

China announced the restrictions on gallium and another mineral, germanium, in a move seen as part of the country’s tit-for-tat trade war on technology with the US and Europe. The two metals are crucial to the semiconductor, telecommunications and renewable energy industries. The curbs prompted US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to voice her concern during a recent visit to Beijing.

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OPINION: NWT is rich in critical minerals, but its economy faces neglect and inadequacy – by Caroline Cochrane (Globe and Mail – July 27, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Caroline Cochrane is Premier of the Northwest Territories.

We stand at a critical juncture for the Northwest Territories. Throughout our history, the NWT has thrived on abundant mining activities, boasting a wealth of zinc, gold, diamonds and countless other valuable resources, including oil and gas. We are blessed with a land of immense potential, including being home to 23 of the 31 critical minerals essential for the green economy.

This should be cause for celebration, but instead, we are once again on the outside looking in. The race to supply allied economies with these vital minerals is under way, and unless Canada acts swiftly to invest in transportation corridors, telecommunications infrastructure and cleaner, more affordable energy in the North, the NWT and our people risk being left behind.

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The Little Known Metals Giant that Rules a Global Market – by Mark Burton (Bloomberg News – July 25, 2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — When China’s Vital Materials Co. bought up a $600 million stockpile of obscure critical minerals in early 2020, it barely raised an eyebrow outside the niche world of minor metals.

Spin forward a few years, and the influence of a company some people in the industry have still barely heard of is a timely illustration of the scale of the challenge to loosen China’s grip on what have become key raw materials.

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OPINION: How our green transition and hunger for battery metals devastate Africa and the Congo – by Siddharth Kara (Globe and Mail – July 22, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Siddharth Kara is associate professor of human trafficking and modern slavery at Nottingham University and the author of Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives.

During one of my trips to the Congo, I met Jolie in her small home of cracked brick walls and rusted roofing in the cobalt-mining town of Kolwezi. Although Jolie had invited me to her home that day to discuss her story, the moment I arrived it felt as if she regretted my presence. She did not wish to speak at length.

To prevent Jolie and everyone else I’ve interviewed from being identified and targeted for reprisal, I have used pseudonyms for them and am withholding the dates on which we met. This is also to protect my continuing research, which delves into the often unseen, yet heavy cost that the Global South pays for the First World’s ideals and conveniences.

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Critical minerals processing, manufacture, recycling to be focus of $1.5 billion in federal innovation funding – by Mehanaz Yakub (Electric Autonomy – July 19, 2023)

https://electricautonomy.ca/

Last fall, the government said it would use $1.5 billion from the Strategic Innovation Fund to accelerate investment in critical minerals projects. Last week, it unveiled its criteria for eligibility.

The federal government has revealed what types of projects are eligible for the $1.5 billion from the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) earmarked in the 2022 federal budget to accelerate investments in critical minerals projects.

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First Nations won’t be excluded from critical minerals ‘gold rush,’ say leaders – by Jason Warick (CBC News Saskatoon – July 13, 2023)

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

Sask. chief delivering message Friday in Washington to senior White House, corporate officials

Some are calling it Saskatchewan’s third “gold rush” — the frenzy to stake claims for lithium and other critical minerals. First Nations say they were pushed to the sidelines during previous waves of development and that won’t happen again. They’re set to deliver that message to a powerful international audience on Friday.

“We are willing partners, willing to do business. We aren’t the boogeyman,” Thunderchild First Nation Chief Delbert Wapass said. “But we won’t sit back. This new gold rush will not happen without us.”

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This time it’s different? The rush to mine Indigenous lands – by Mark Trahant (Alaska Beacon – July 13, 2023)

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The Aspen Institute: The mining industry has a long history of failing to respect community interests, breaking agreements, destroying sacred sites, and forcing displacements; Indigenous communities have been ‘disproportionately impacted’

WASHINGTON – This won’t be an easy conversation: Can tribal nations love mining? Or at least accept mining as a necessary step in the creation of a clean economy? And can governments and international mining companies figure out how to respect and work fairly with Indigenous communities?

The conversation is weighted by history. The mining industry, and governments, have to sell the idea that, this time it’s different. This time the industry will respect cultural and religious sites. This time the industry will clean up its own mess. This time it will reward tribal communities as owners instead of serving up resources as colonies. Why would anyone believe that? Why should a tribe expect this time to be different?

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Column: Critical minerals supply improves but many risks remain – by Andy Home (Reuters – July 14, 2023)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) – First the good news. The supply of minerals critical to the green energy transition could move close to levels needed to support climate pledges by 2030, according to the first annual review of the sector by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Investment in the critical minerals pipeline grew by 20% in 2021 and by 30% in 2022, led by lithium, copper and nickel. Exploration spending was up by 20% last year with Canada and Australia both registering year-on-year growth of over 40%, notably in hard-rock lithium plays, according to the IEA.

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NEWS RELEASE: Families Depend on Income from Child Labour in Congo’s Cobalt Mines to Stave Off Hunger

Efforts to eliminate child labour in cobalt supply chains need to address root causes or risk further jeopardizing children’s safety and well-being

OTTAWA, Canada, July 14, 2023/ — IMPACT’s (www.ImpactTransform.org) new research reveals how poverty is a driving force behind child labour in Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) artisanal cobalt mines.

Among rising costs, families are struggling to make ends meet. Many are going hungry. Children work when families get desperate, leading to a reliance on income from child labour to cover basic needs like food, clothing, or school fees.

In its latest research report, How Households Depend on Children’s Income: The Case for Improving Women’s Livelihoods to Eliminate Child Labour in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Cobalt Sector (https://apo-opa.info/3rkYTBg), IMPACT finds that families depend most on women’s income. When mothers are struggling, children step in to help. Some are encouraged by their parents, or independently follow their siblings, friends, and neighbours.

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Critical Mineral Shortages to Ease on Investment Surge, IEA Says – by Mark Burton (Bloomberg News – July 11,  2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Shortages of battery metals and other critical minerals are looking less likely to stymie the transition to a low-carbon economy, the International Energy Agency said in a new report tracking a surge of investment into the mining sector.

Investment in the industry has jumped 50% over the past two years, driven chiefly by increases in lithium projects, and a host of newly announced projects indicates that supply is catching up with an anticipated boom in demand through to the end of the decade, the agency said in the report published Tuesday.

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