The surge in commodity prices has been impressive since mid-2020, predictably resulting in calls that a new “supercycle” is underway. We have questioned that narrative, given the apparent supply-demand imbalances plaguing the globe and boosting prices in the process.
But one theme we do agree with is the long-term secular tailwinds behind a number of commodities required in the transition to a green economy in order to address climate change.
Brian Menell is the chairman and CEO of TechMet, a private industrial company that is building controlling or significant minority positions in projects across the technology metal supply chain.
As delegations convene in Glasgow for the UN COP26, there is no avoiding the fact that for climate activists, there is widespread dissatisfaction. The anger is not unreasonable. It is generally understood that major economies are failing in their pledges under the 2015 Paris Accords to halve emissions.
China’s President Xi Xingping is probably not attending, while Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has already bowed out. He has also declined to sign onto the Global Methane Pledge. President Biden is in Scotland, but the U.S. Congress still hasn’t passed two major spending bills with numerous climate provisions.
https://www.thompsoncitizen.net/
WASHINGTON — Canada needs to sell the United States on the progressive virtues of its mining industry if it wants to be an integral partner and supplier to burgeoning electric-vehicle and critical-minerals markets south of the border, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested Tuesday.
Trudeau, wrapping up two days of high-level talks that kicked off a two-week global climate summit in Glasgow, said he had “many, many interactions” with Joe Biden in recent days, most notably at the U.S. president’s own supply chain summit on the margins of G20 meetings in Rome.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
The video flashed around WhatsApp groups, Twitter and Facebook. Shot at a Chinese-owned copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it showed two men screaming and writhing on the dusty ground as soldiers kicked and whipped them, while helmeted managers watched.
It was one of many videos and photos that went viral on Congolese social media in recent months – some real, some fake – all provoking outrage at the alleged mistreatment of local workers by Chinese mining companies.
https://www.northernminer.com/
One of the unexpected repercussions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic was the impact it had on global supply chains, pushing up the price of commodities and resources across the board, including within the mining industry.
The cracks in the supply chains also highlighted broader geopolitical issues affecting world economies, including the reliance on limited sources of extracting certain minerals and refining them. And at the top of the list of commodities deemed of strategic importance are critical minerals.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/
Canada should take the lead in processing rare earth minerals as its allies seek to spread their supply chains out in order to avoid over-reliance on exports from authoritarian countries like China, said a panel of experts.
While China holds the lion’s share in providing for the global market of critical minerals and rare earths, it does not share the same environmental and labour standards as the western world, noted experts at a virtual panel discussion hosted by Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI) on Oct. 22.
https://www.northernminer.com/
ING Economics has published a new report in which its experts predict what the energy transition might bring for five key metals: copper, aluminum, nickel, cobalt, and lithium.
Taking into consideration where different regions of the world stand when it comes to moving towards a low-carbon future where global warming is limited to 2 degrees Celsius, ING’s analysts developed three scenarios that they used as a background to assess the possible performance of battery metals.
The world’s top automakers face disruption from tight global supplies of magnesium, as China’s power crisis threatens availability of the key component used to make aluminum, Germany’s association of metals producers WVM said on Tuesday.
European magnesium stocks have been particularly affected by the lack of supplies from China, which has a near monopoly on the magnesium market, the association said in a letter to the German government. The worst part of this shortage is about to come, it noted.
Laws and certification schemes aren’t protecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s most vulnerable – a fresh approach is needed.
Coltan is one of the world’s most vital minerals, and 60% of reserves globally are found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Kivu province. In 2019, 40% of the global coltan supply was produced in the DRC.
The mineral is used in cell phones, laptops and other devices because of its particular ability to store and release electrical energy. As 5G technology grows, the demand for Congolese coltan will increase. But this is not good news for everyone in the DRC.
Washington| Australian miners stand to benefit from the addition of nickel to a critical minerals list designed to help the US fix supply gaps in batteries and other energy technologies.
Australia produces 24 per cent of the world’s nickel, according to government data, and the metal’s inclusion on the list could spur development of new mines and expansion of existing sites both in the US and Australia. The metal is used to strengthen alloys found in batteries, electronics, military hardware and a range of energy technologies.
Nickel processing is dominated by China.
Washington | Australia is in pole position to benefit from a sixfold increase in demand for so-called “critical minerals” worth $US12.9 trillion ($17.6 trillion) over the next two decades, driven by the race to hit net zero emissions, according to analysis from the International Monetary Fund.
In its latest World Economic Outlook, the Washington-based multilateral lender projects that a steady 15 per cent increase in its metal price index will bolster Australia’s annual economic growth by 1 percentage point, further strengthening the government’s finances.
LONDON, Oct 8 (Reuters) – Europe is on a mission to wrest back control of its rare earth magnet supply chain from China. Permanent magnets, commonly using a neodymium-iron-boron chemistry, are one of the hidden enablers of modern technology, powering everything from robots to refrigerators to laptop speakers.
They also help power electric vehicle (EV) and wind turbine motors, placing them at the heart of the energy transition. However, as the rest of the world has come to realise, these critical minerals are also critically dependent on China, which dominates the global supply chain from rare earth processing through magnet production.
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
The upcoming construction picture for a Temiskaming-area cobalt refinery is beginning to take shape with the awarding of a major metals processing contract.
First Cobalt selected Metso Outotec for the design and manufacturing of the equipment for a new solvent extraction plant and its process controls. Metso Outotec is a leading global company in the field of sustainable mineral processing and metal refining equipment.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
David Jacobson was the U.S. ambassador to Canada from 2009-2013 and is vice chair, BMO Financial Group.
Nineteenth-century British statesman Lord Palmerston once said, “Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests.” It therefore follows that there is a natural rhythm to how and when nations choose to compete and when they choose to co-operate for the common good – even among long-time friends such as Canada and the United States.
With a new government elected in Canada, there is an opportunity to co-operate for the common good with the Biden administration on a number of key diplomatic and strategic initiatives with serious and long-term implications for both countries.
NARSAQ, Greenland — This huge, remote and barely habited island is known for frozen landscapes, remote fjords and glaciers that heave giant sheets of ice into the sea. But increasingly Greenland is known for something else: rare minerals. It’s all because of climate change and the world’s mad dash to accelerate the development of green technology.
As global warming melts the ice that covers 80 percent of the island, it has spurred demand for Greenland’s potentially abundant reserves of hard-to-find minerals with names like neodymium and dysprosium. These so-called rare earths, used in wind turbines, electric motors and many other electronic devices, are essential raw materials as the world tries to break its addiction to fossil fuels.
