Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals – Page 47

Why the U.S. doesn’t take us seriously – by John Ivison (National Post – November 18, 2021)

November 18, 2021November 18, 2021

One early December morning in 2016, Joe Biden got up, inquired into President Barack Obama’s health, and set off for a snowy Ottawa.

The lame duck vice-president was feted at a ritzy state dinner in the capital, where he called on Justin Trudeau to be a defender of the international “rules of the road” during the period of deep uncertainty he predicted would follow Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th president of the United States.

“We’re more like family even than allies. I mean that sincerely,” he said – repeatedly.

Greenland bans uranium mining, blocking vast rare earths project – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – November 10, 2021)

November 10, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

Greenland’s parliament has passed a bill to ban uranium mining and exploration in the Danish territory, effectively blocking the development of the vast Kvanefjeld rare earths project, one of the world’s biggest.

The project was being developed by Australia’s Greenland Minerals (ASX: GGG). It was granted preliminary approval in 2020 and was on track to gain the previous government’s final endorsement.

Temiskaming could be the North American refining hub to feed the electric vehicle market – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – November 9, 2021)

November 10, 2021

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

First Cobalt unveils ambitious expansion plans to create battery metals industrial park in northeastern Ontario

For Trent Mell, it makes little sense to mine the metals needed to power the coming electrical vehicle (EV) revolution here, ship it overseas to Asia refiners to make into battery-grade material, and then send it back to North America to use in car production.

If the president-CEO of First Cobalt has his way, the Temiskaming district will be this continent’s centre of production to deliver many of those key ingredients, shorten the logistics journey, and help create a secure home-grown supply chain for EV makers for the first time ever.

NEWS RELEASE: USGS Seeks Public Comment on Draft List of 50 Minerals Deemed Critical to US National Security and the Economy (November 8, 2021)

November 10, 2021

https://www.usgs.gov/news/

List includes minerals key to all sectors of economy including tech and defense

RESTON, Va. – The U.S. Geological Survey announced today it is seeking public comment by Dec. 9, on a draft revised list of critical minerals.

“The USGS’s critical minerals list provides vital information for industry, policymakers, economists and scientists on the most important minerals when it comes to U.S. supply chains,” said Tanya Trujillo, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science.

“The statistics and information are crucial to understanding America’s vulnerability to disruptions in the supply of critical minerals, including data on the worldwide supply and demand for minerals and materials essential to the U.S. economy and national security.”

First Cobalt wants to go big on a battery metals processing park for Temiskaming – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 8, 2021)

November 10, 2021

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Refinery developer wants to supply battery-grade metals for North American car market

The Toronto company behind the refurbishment of a mothballed Temiskaming hydrometallurgical refinery said it’s going all in on creating a “battery park” to feed refined cobalt and nickel to the electric vehicle market.

First Cobalt announced it’s making a name change and other strategic moves toward providing North American automakers with a domestic source of raw material with a proposed industrial park outside the town of Cobalt in northeastern Ontario.

OPINIONS: Canada must seize opportunity for critical minerals, EVs – by Mark Travers and Pierre Gratton (iPolitics.ca – November 9, 2021)

November 10, 2021

https://ipolitics.ca/

Mark Travers is executive vice-president of Vale Base Metals. Pierre Gratton is president and CEO of the Mining Association of Canada.

While the federal election is behind us, the global race to develop an integrated electric-vehicle supply chain is gathering momentum. Canada has a generational opportunity to leverage the country’s collective fight against the pandemic to build a strong, vibrant, and green economic recovery.

But we won’t get there without agility, hard work, partnership — and a sense of urgency. Issues that animated the recent federal election demand a comprehensive and pragmatic policy agenda, be they climate change or reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

Building Supply Chain Resiliency of Critical Minerals – by Brendan Marshall (Canadian Global Affairs Institute – November 2021)

November 8, 2021

https://www.cgai.ca/

Increasing geopolitical uncertainty has magnified the precariousness of existing sources of critical minerals. These minerals are vital in aerospace, defence, health care, telecommunications, computing and in clean technologies such as solar panels, nuclear energy and electric vehicle (EV) batteries and motors.

Governments globally have started assessing the vulnerability of their economies to supply shocks for critical minerals that they cannot sufficiently source (or at all) inside their own borders, but on which the proper functioning of their economies (and sovereign responsibilities) depends.

New road paves the way for Canada’s first primary cobalt mine – by Staff (Mining.com – November 7, 2021)

November 8, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

Fortune Minerals (TSX: FT) (OTCQX: FTMDF), the company behind what could become Canada’s first primary cobalt mine, said this week that its NICO project will greatly benefit from the about-to-be-open Tlicho all-season road, linking the community of Whati to the national highway system.

The Tlicho Highway is a 97-kilometre, two-lane gravel all-season road to Whati constructed by North Star Infrastructure under a 28-year, $400-million design-build-operate-maintain contract with the Government of the Northwest Territories. The capital costs include up to $53 million in federal government contributions through the Canada Infrastructure Fund.

ESG-friendly supply chain will ‘open up’ capital – by Max Schwerdtfeger (Mining Magazine – November 8, 2021)

November 8, 2021

https://www.miningmagazine.com/

The traceability of critical minerals is vital in helping the mining industry access investment and improve its reputation, say technology and supply chain experts. Speaking during the Critical Minerals Association (CMA) webinar titled ‘ESG: Track, Trace and Provenance,’ Jeff Townsend, the CMA’s chief operating officer, said traceability can “open up” new opportunities for positive publicity and investment for the mining industry.

The issue of traceability has become more prominent in the mining industry as stakeholders look to cut carbon emissions in supply chains and abide by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) regulations.

These green economy commodities are beating the best runs of the China supercycle – by David Rosenberg and Marius Jongstra (Financial Post – November 5, 2021)

November 5, 2021

https://financialpost.com/

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.

Green energy can’t become a reality without critical minerals – by Brian Menell (Fortune Magazine – November 3, 2021)

November 4, 2021

https://fortune.com/

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.

U.S. must learn more about Canada’s potential as a critical-minerals partner: report – by James McCarten (Thompson Citizen/Canadian Press – November 3, 2021)

November 3, 2021

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.

China wants to dominate the global electric vehicle market – and it’s using Congolese minerals to do it – by James Griffiths and Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – November 1, 2021)

November 1, 2021

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.

BMO Financial Group’s David Jacobson warns of a potential critical minerals crisis – by Daniel Sekulich (Northern Miner – October 28, 2021)

October 29, 2021

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.

Canada Should Take the Lead in Global Critical Minerals Development: Panel – by Andrew Chen (The Epoch Times – October 27, 2021)

October 28, 2021

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.