Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals – Page 38

Ontario wades into critical minerals sector but curbs enthusiasm on major investments – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – March 11, 2021)

March 11, 2021

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Ontario is taking baby steps into the critical minerals sector, but a government minister cautioned that the province’s financial commitment will be small and measured.

Greg Rickford, Ontario’s Minister of Energy, Mines, Northern Development and Indigenous Affairs, said the province is starting a public consultation period on critical minerals, with a goal of reducing red tape and attracting more investment into the sector.

The consultation will be open to a range of stakeholders, including the mining industry, Indigenous land owners and investors.

Ontario wants to be on world stage of critical minerals supply – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – March 10, 2021)

March 10, 2021

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Province invites feedback in launching supply strategy to feed electric vehicle market

The explosion in exploration and discoveries of strategic critical metals has placed Northern Ontario on the forefront of being a global supplier to the new sustainable energy and low-carbon economies.

Energy, Northern Development and Mines Minister Greg Rickford wants to boost Ontario’s status as a “leading player” in the world’s electric vehicle, stainless steel and high-tech supply chain.

In releasing a discussion paper toward establishing a Critical Mineral Strategy, Rickford said it’s time to “seize this opportunity” to showcase Ontario’s mineral opportunities, attract investment, support the global shift toward reducing greenhouse gases, and reducing the risk in supply chain disruptios of these minerals.

Commercial rare earth recovery to start in coming weeks – Energy Fuels (Mining Weekly.com – March 10, 2021)

March 10, 2021

https://www.miningweekly.com/

US-based uranium mining company Energy Fuels is on the cusp of starting commercial rare earth production in Utah.

The first shipments of natural monazite ore from Chemours have arrived at the White Mesa mill, in Blanding, marking the beginning of operations for what Energy Fuels expects will become a burgeoning supply chain.

“We believe Energy Fuels has done more to restore US rare earth production in one year than others have achieved in many years. Less than one year ago, Energy Fuels announced that we were entering the US rare earth space.

News Release: Ontario Developing First-Ever Critical Minerals Strategy (March 10, 2021)

March 10, 2021

Initiative will generate investment, create jobs and opportunities in the mining sector

For Critical Minerals Discussion Paper: https://bit.ly/3bA3Trv

TORONTO – The Ontario government is developing its first-ever Critical Minerals Strategy to help generate investment, increase the province’s competitiveness in the global market, and create jobs and opportunities in the mining sector. It will also support Ontario’s transition to a low-carbon economy both at home and abroad.

“By developing this strategy, we will strengthen Ontario’s position as one of North America’s premier jurisdictions for responsibly-sourced critical minerals, including rare earth elements,” said Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines and Minister of Indigenous Affairs.

“We are confident this will generate investment, reduce red tape, create jobs and advance Indigenous participation in the sector. Local and global markets, including Ontario-based industries, are looking for reliable, responsibly-sourced critical minerals and we are ready to capitalize on this growing market demand.”

Canada positioning for post-Covid-19 recovery with critical minerals push – O’Regan – by Donna Slater (MiningWeekly.com – March 9, 2021)

March 9, 2021

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Canada is using its measures to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic to position itself as a haven for new technology and battery minerals, boasting a wealth of such minerals found in few other places around the globe, said Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan.

He gave the keynote address at the opening of the 2021 edition of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s (PDAC’s) yearly conference on Monday.

“A year ago, we said in Toronto that PDAC matters and that mining matters, perhaps more than it ever has before.”

Prof says rare earth elements facility in Saskatoon could stabilize supply chain in North America – by Scott Larson (CBC News Saskatoon – March 4, 2021)

March 5, 2021

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

A new processing facility being built in Saskatoon could be part of the solution to a recent global shortage of computer chips and semiconductors for vehicles and electronics.

There are 17 rare earth elements: cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium, promethium, samarium, scandium, terbium, thulium, ytterbium and yttrium.

These naturally occurring minerals are key components in modern electronics. They are used in making everything from electric cars to cell phones and wind turbines.

U.S. Needs a Strong Defense Against China’s Rare-Earth Weapon – by James Stavridis (Bloomberg News – March 4, 2021)

March 5, 2021

https://www.bloomberg.com/

James Stavridis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a retired U.S. Navy admiral and former supreme allied commander of NATO, and dean emeritus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

You could be forgiven if you are confused about what’s going on with rare-earth elements. On the one hand, news reports indicate that China may increase production quotas of the minerals this quarter as a goodwill gesture to the Joe Biden administration.

But other sources say that China may ultimately ban the export of the rare earths altogether on “security concerns.” What’s really going on here?

There are 17 elements considered rare earths — lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium — and while many aren’t actually rare in terms of global deposits, extracting them is difficult and expensive.

Biden’s Hopes for Rare Earth Independence at Least a Decade Away – by Joe Deaux and Stephen Lee (Bloomberg News – February 26, 2021)

March 1, 2021

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Joe Biden’s ambition to make the U.S. less dependent on other nations for rare earths and minerals critical to the clean energy transition will take years to accomplish.

A review of the U.S. critical minerals and rare earths supply chain that the president ordered this week is likely to show that even with sweeping changes the nation is at least a decade from becoming self sufficient.
That will mean turning to countries such as Canada, which has the the largest number of rare earth projects in the world, according to Gareth Hatch, managing director of Strategic Materials Advisors Ltd.

China’s Weaponization of Rare Earths Is Bound to Backfire – by David Fickling (Bloomberg News – February 23, 2021)

February 25, 2021

https://www.bloombergquint.com/

(Bloomberg Opinion) — There was a time when China could cause the world to tremble by threatening its supply of rare earths. It’s long in the past.

That’s reason not to worry too much about news that Beijing is planning to ban exports of technology for refining the suite of minor metals. Such a move, if taken, is likely to backfire even more spectacularly than its previous attempts to weaponize the trade in rare earths itself.

In 2010, a dispute between China and Japan over which country owns a group of islands off the northeast coast of Taiwan caused Beijing to impose export restrictions on all 17 rare earths.

Will America Trade Energy Independence for China Rare Earth Extortion? – by Larry Bell (KMJ Now – February 2021)

February 23, 2021

https://www.kmjnow.com/

The Biden administration’s feckless “Build Back Better” plan to throttle back U.S. fossil energy needed to reliably power our industry, air condition our homes and fuel our transportation in exchange for literally charging forward with a transition to intermittent and unreliable “green energy” reliance upon China for vital rare earth material-dependent electronics will not end well for America.

Rare earths are 17 indispensable metals used in an endless variety of 21st Century technologies, including, the manufacturing of domestic and strategic military airplanes, computers and smart phones, electricity generation and transmission systems, advanced weapon guidance systems, and yes, “Green New Deal” priorities like solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries for utility-scale energy storage and electric vehicles (EVs).

U.S. automakers are racing to China as an opportunity to cash in on the Democrat plan to transform America’s transportation to 100% EVs.

Battery metals are critical over the next decade, Roskill says – by Carl A. Williams (Northern Miner – February 18, 2021)

February 19, 2021

https://www.northernminer.com/

The growing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is driving the increasing demand for lithium, nickel and cobalt – critical metals used as cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries in the automotive, energy and electronics industries.

According to Deloitte’s Electric Vehicle Trends, EV sales are forecast to grow from 2.5 million in 2020 to 11.2 million by 2025, and to 31.1 million by 2030. Analysts from Roskill, a commodity research firm and a leader in critical materials supply chains, provide an outlook on battery metals’ markets over the next decade.

Lithium

Global demand for lithium carbonate — one of two primary forms of lithium used in EVs — is expected to exceed one million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in 2026, according to David Merriman, an expert on EV and battery materials at Roskill.

WORLD BANK NEWS RELEASE: Mineral Production to Soar as Demand for Clean Energy Increases (May 11, 2021)

February 19, 2021

For Report: https://bit.ly/3bl6pkb

The more ambitious climate targets, the more minerals needed for a clean energy transition

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2020 — A new World Bank Group report finds that the production of minerals, such as graphite, lithium and cobalt, could increase by nearly 500% by 2050, to meet the growing demand for clean energy technologies. It estimates that over 3 billion tons of minerals and metals will be needed to deploy wind, solar and geothermal power, as well as energy storage, required for achieving a below 2°C future.

The report “Minerals for Climate Action: The Mineral Intensity of the Clean Energy Transition” also finds that even though clean energy technologies will require more minerals, the carbon footprint of their production—from extraction to end use—will account for only 6% of the greenhouse gas emissions generated by fossil fuel technologies.

The report underscores the important role that recycling and reuse of minerals will play in meeting increasing mineral demand. It also notes that even if we scale up recycling rates for minerals like copper and aluminum by 100%, recycling and reuse would still not be enough to meet the demand for renewable energy technologies and energy storage.

Legacy mine tailings present mineral recovery opportunity for junior miner – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – February 17, 2021)

February 18, 2021

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Avalon Advanced Materials acquires closed Kapuskasing mine, Matheson processing plant as part of $16-million property package deal

A lithium exploration company wants to dig into a mine waste pile to recover valuable critical minerals that are used in fertilizer applications.

Avalon Advanced Materials is picking up four industrial minerals properties in Northern Ontario, including a former phosphate mine near Kapuskasing and a processing plant in Matheson.

Toronto-based Avalon announced Feb. 17 that it has signed a binding letter of intent to acquire a privately owned numbered company, 2333382 Ontario Inc.

We need raw material diplomacy, not conflict – by Günther Maihold (IPS Journal – February 18, 2021)

February 18, 2021

https://www.ips-journal.eu/

Trade in valuable minerals often fuels violent conflicts. The EU’s new approach to raw material diplomacy could change that

While blood diamonds are certainly the most well-known ‘conflict raw material’, they are by no means the only one. The proceeds from their sale have, for example, been used to finance and prolong violent conflicts in Africa.

But if the European Commission should get its way, the banning of such raw materials would be expanded to strategic ones – through a new EU regulation on conflict minerals.

Raw materials are an indispensable part of modern economies and geopolitical competition. Naturally, that leaves them in high demand. However, mining and exploiting them is often linked to high social and environmental costs in many countries of the Global South.

China eyes rare earth export curbs for US defense – FT – by Staff (Mining.com – February 16, 2021)

February 17, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

China is looking into curbing the exports of rare earth minerals that are crucial to US defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin for the manufacture of sophisticated weaponry and F-35 fighter jets, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Industry executives said government officials had asked them how badly companies in the US and Europe would be affected if China restricted rare-earth exports during a bilateral dispute, FT reported.

China currently accounts for 70% of global production of rare earths, controlling 90% of the $4 billion global market.