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Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals

Optimism for metals clashes with reality for juniors ahead of PDAC – by Alisha Hiyate (Mining.com – February 18, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Increasing funding for battery metal and uranium projects versus gold brings home the global energy transition but big financing deals for preproduction companies have almost disappeared, new figures show ahead of the country’s largest mining showcase.

The data, from the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) which holds its 92nd annual convention Mar. 3-6 in Toronto, shows just how much junior miners are struggling, despite a growing international recognition of mining’s importance.

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The Boom in Battery Metals for EVs Is Turning to Bust – by Rhiannon Hoyle (MSN.com/Wall Street Journal – February 19, 2024)

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/

When the world’s most valuable lithium company last year announced plans for a $1.3 billion plant in South Carolina, local officials hailed it as transformative for the Palmetto State.

The high-tech project from Charlotte, N.C.-based Albemarle was designed to process different sources of lithium, including from recycled batteries, and serve as a supplier of the critical mineral for South Carolina’s burgeoning electric-vehicle industry.

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Mines Minister calls for economic support for critical minerals – by Len Gillis (Sudbury.com – February 17, 2024)

https://www.sudbury.com/

George Pirie said investment and support of exploration and development of critical minerals mining is essential for the future economy of Northern Ontario

When it comes to critical minerals for the battery electric vehicle industry, Ontario Mines Minister George Pirie is telling people to stay away from Chinese-financed nickel, to stay away from cobalt from the Congo and to buy Canadian products. Pirie said he is taking that same message to Washington, D.C. when he visits the U.S. in April.

He was in Sudbury on Thursday at the Workplace Safety North forum on the safety of battery electric vehicles in mining. Pirie spoke at Cambrian College on the importance of the supply chain of Canadian minerals for the manufacture of batteries.

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Why the world’s mining companies are so stingy (The Economist – February 18, 2024)

https://www.economist.com/

The energy transition requires vast quantities of metals. But miners are reluctant to invest

Mining companies have spent much of the past decade in investors’ bad books. Throughout the 2000s and early 2010s the industry, betting that the surge in commodity prices brought on by China’s economic rise would persist, splurged on investments and racked up hefty debts in the process.

At the height of the frenzy in 2013 the combined capital expenditure of the world’s 40 largest mining firms by market value reached $130bn, according to pwc, an advisory firm, nearly four-fifths of their earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda). That spending spree left mining bosses red-faced as economic growth in China slowed, causing commodity prices—and the industry’s profits—to plummet.

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US Moves to Restore Stockpiling ‘Panic Button’ in EV Metals Fight with China – by Mark Burton, Joe Deaux, Michael J Kavanagh, Jennifer A Dlouhy and Annie Lee (Bloomberg News – 19, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Insiders liken it to a “panic button.” And for more than 80 years, the primary job of the National Defense Stockpile has been to keep the US military supplied with essential raw materials and protect against supply shocks.

So when China surprised the markets by restricting exports of two niche industrial metals last year, top-level officials in the Pentagon-controlled agency—and the White House—faced an uncomfortable reality: Its panic button no longer worked. The realization triggered a different kind of alarm in Washington.

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Critical minerals sector is ‘not healthy,’ says head of global gold giant – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – February 18, 2024)

https://financialpost.com/

‘Just look at the so-called critical minerals industry today, lithium’s a bust, so is nickel’ — Barrick chief

The critical mineral industry required to power the energy transition away from fossil fuels is in an unhealthy state and running ahead of itself, says Barrick Gold Corp.’s chief executive Mark Bristow, who heads the world’s second-largest gold company.

Bristow said the mining sector is entering an era dominated by the demand for metals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt, but the projects containing these critical minerals are often led by promoters more focused on the short-term benefits rather than by “responsible miners” that are in it for the long run.

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West challenges China’s critical minerals hold on Africa – by Andy Home (Reuters – February 16, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) – China’s CMOC Group overtook Glencore to become the world’s largest producer of cobalt last year as it ramped up its new Kisanfu mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company’s production leapt by 174% year-on-year to 55,526 metric tons, accounting for over a quarter of global demand of 213,000 tons.

Kisanfu, in which Chinese battery giant CATL owns a minority stake, has flooded the cobalt market. The Cobalt Institute estimates global production exceeded demand by 12,500 tons in 2023, making it one of the “biggest surpluses in recent years”.

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Investing in commodities has become nightmarishly difficult (The Economist – February 15, 2024)

https://www.economist.com/

What happened to that “supercycle”?

Only a few years ago, analysts and investors were aflutter with talk of a new “supercycle” in commodities. Some believed the world was about to repeat a surge in raw-material prices that began in the early 2000s, and lasted until the global financial crisis of 2007-09.

This time the prompt was meant to be a mixture of a fast economic recovery, as the West emerged from covid-19 lockdowns, combined with a shift to green energy. Today the thesis looks far less certain. Prices of lithium and nickel, which are vital for electric-vehicle (ev) batteries, exploded in 2021 and 2022, but have since collapsed.

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Heather Exner-Pirot: Why critical minerals are key to Canada’s global influence – by Heather Exner-Pirot (The Hub – February 12, 2024)

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It’s time to establish strategic reserves for critical minerals

From the acquisition of a rare earths stockpile from a mine in the Northwest Territories to the purchasing of stakes in Canadian miners Solaris Resources and First Quantum, a recent spate of Chinese investment in Canadian mining projects has rightly sparked concerns. In the past three years, many Western nations including Canada have put out critical minerals strategies to promote friendly sources of supply and mitigate Chinese dominance in the sector. Yet we are still falling behind.

At the same time, one empathizes with Canadian miners looking to China for investment; they are not finding it anywhere else. Junior and mid-sized miners are starved for capital even as Western politicians are proclaiming their commitment to the sector. Thankfully, there is a solution to the challenge of both reducing dependence on Chinese-controlled exports and boosting Western investment in our own supply. It is time to establish strategic reserves for critical minerals.

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Feds invest $5 million in Temiskaming cobalt processing plant – Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – February 9, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Refinery developer optimistic more government, private funding will arrive to finish construction

Ottawa is weighing into the processing of critical minerals with a $5-million investment in Electra Battery Materials’ cobalt refinery in Temiskaming, the first dedicated plant of its kind in North America.

The funding will go toward a restart of a construction project that was mothballed in 2023 and for other preparatory technical and processing work. In an interview with Northern Ontario Business, Electra CEO Trent Mell called today’s funding announcement “great news, but it is only a first step.”

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Can royalties help Australia’s critical minerals lift off? – by Clyde Russell (Reuters – February 12, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Feb 12 (Reuters) – A consistent contradiction in Australia’s mining sector is that while there is a pressing need for new mines to be developed to provide raw materials for the energy transition, the capital to do so is hard to find.

The relatively easy part is getting an exploration permit, doing some initial drilling and proving up a resource. The hard part is then raising the finance to develop the mine from exploration to production.

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Canada’s dream of becoming a critical minerals powerhouse runs into crashing metals prices, delaying mine development – by Tim Kiladze (Globe and Mail – February 7, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Plummeting prices for metals such as lithium and nickel are dashing Canada’s dream of becoming a global juggernaut for critical minerals, with a market capitulation making it even more challenging to raise the money needed to build new mines.

The situation is growing so dire that some miners have started calling for heavy-handed government intervention, including the possibility of Ottawa directly funding new projects, because they worry that Canada will lose the race to produce these minerals to rivals such as China for good.

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INTERVIEW: Let’s get real about EVs’ environmental impact, rare metal expert says – by Sei Matsumoto (Nikkei Asia – February 2, 2024)

https://asia.nikkei.com

Decades needed to find cost-effective clean energy tech: Tokyo University’s Toru Okabe

TOKYO — As the world embraces electric vehicles as a solution to carbon dioxide emissions, there is too little discussion of the environmental harm associated with the metals needed to build them, says one of Japan’s foremost researchers in the field.

“EVs are supposed to be environmentally friendly, but they are causing environmental problems, and that is a reality that is probably difficult for companies to say if they are aware of it,” Toru Okabe, a professor and the director of the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Industrial Science, told Nikkei.

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Vietnam should seize a ‘rare’ opportunity to take on China – by Tim Culpan (Japan Times/Bloomberg – February 6, 2024)

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/

Vietnam’s hopes of becoming a production hub to rival China are showing momentum. A big boost will come as the nation leans into its untapped reserves of rare earths, even as it struggles to find traction in new sectors such as electric vehicles.

Over the past decade, the country has built a beachhead in manufacturing, ranging from cars to electronics. Computers and accessories are now the largest export, surpassing textiles and footwear. The expansion of foreign assemblers like Foxconn Technology Group, GoerTek and Luxshare Precision Industry mean that Apple products like Macs and AirPods are made locally.

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Battleground Africa: In a world thirsting for its critical minerals, respect is the new currency – by Frank Giustra (Toronto Star – February 2, 2024)

https://www.thestar.com/

Nations desperate for Africa’s minerals, writes Frank Giustra, should find a way to compete with China’s investments in the continent.

“The new scramble for resources on the continent offers an opportunity for Africa to reset its relations with more powerful external actors. Africa’s wealth of critical minerals will be essential to help the world achieve its energy transition. In return, African leaders should negotiate smart deals that ensure the continent draws just recompense for the minerals on its soil — and ensure those benefits are spread evenly to its citizens.”

Dr. Comfort Ero, president and CEO, the International Crisis Group

… The world is already facing an enormous deficit in minerals for our future needs, but with the transition to clean energy, the projected deficit will be almost impossible to fulfil.

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