Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals – Page 51

Cobalt ‘Bubble’ Will Burst, Ivanhoe Executive in Congo Says – by Michael J. Kavanagh (Bloomberg News – June 14, 2021)

June 15, 2021

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — The demand for cobalt is a bubble that will burst as new battery technology reduces the need for the metal, according to the head of the chamber of mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Congo holds more than half the world’s cobalt reserves, but the market’s negative perception of the central African nation’s business climate means companies will soon find alternative ways to create the power needed for the green energy revolution, Louis Watum of the Federation des Entreprises du Congo told a virtual conference on Monday.

“I’m not a fan of cobalt,” said Watum, who is also an executive at Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. and previously ran their Congo operations. “Cobalt is a bubble that is going to burst.”

Canada, EU form raw materials pact to cut reliance on China – by John Follain (Financial Post/Bloomberg – June 15, 2021)

June 15, 2021

https://financialpost.com/

Canada and the European Union launched a new partnership to secure supply chains for critical minerals and reduce dependence on China in a push for jobs and to counter climate change.

“With EU partners, we talked about what we can do to build a cleaner economy for years to come,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Tuesday after meeting with EU chiefs in Brussels.

“To begin with, in order to continue creating good, green jobs for the middle class, we must secure supply chains for critical minerals and metals that are essential for things like electric car batteries.”

Biden Administration Moves to Unkink Supply Chain Bottlenecks – by Katie Rogers and Brad Plumer (New York Times – June 8, 2021)

June 8, 2021

https://www.nytimes.com/

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Tuesday planned to issue a swath of actions and recommendations meant to address supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic and decrease reliance on other countries for crucial goods by increasing domestic production capacity.

In a call on Monday evening detailing the plan to reporters, White House officials said the administration had created a task force that would “tackle near-term bottlenecks” in construction, transportation, semiconductor production and agriculture.

The officials also outlined steps that had been taken to address an executive order from President Biden that required a review of critical supply chains in four product areas where the United States relies on imports: semiconductors, high-capacity batteries, pharmaceuticals and their active ingredients, and critical minerals and strategic materials, like rare earths.

China’s Journey To The Center Of The Earth – For Rare Minerals – by Ariel Cohen (Forbes Magazine – June 2, 2021)

June 4, 2021

https://www.forbes.com/

The recent $3 billion sale of Chile’s Compañía General de Electricidad to China’s State Grid Corporation brought total Chinese control of electricity transmission in Chile up to 57%.

Similar PRC acquisitions and projects are currently being advanced in Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Honduras, Peru, and Columbia, where corporations are building hydropower, wind, and solar power stations. But China’s energy push into Latin America is not limited to infrastructure.

This is fast becoming a multi-pronged approach that also includes the securing of critical minerals, particularly rare earth elements (REEs). The United States, meanwhile, is mum.

Championing a Green Energy Revolution through High-Grade Cu-Ni-Co-Zn Projects in the World’s Best Mining Jurisdictions – by Stephen Mlot, P.Eng (June 2, 2021)

June 2, 2021

Murchison Minerals Limited (TSXV: MUR) is a company founded by industry veterans and following a plan for discovering and building resources for the Green Energy Revolution through high-grade Cu-Zn and Ni-Co projects in Canada’s best mining jurisdictions.

Murchison is operating in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Quebec, based on those provinces’ rich variety of metal deposits, as well as the positive fiscal and operational environment for mineral exploration and development. In its 2020 Annual Survey of Mining Companies the Fraser Institute ranks those jurisdictions as the top two in Canada and in the top ten globally.

The Green Energy future is not just about electric vehicles and battery power. Clean energy goes beyond this to include Wind, Solar, Hydrogen Energy Cells, Geothermal and even Nuclear. Other drivers of the future will be the electrification of everything, the 5G interconnection of devices (managed by AI systems), and energy-efficient systems.

What on earth are rare earths and where can you find them? An explainer – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – May 28, 2021)

May 31, 2021

https://financialpost.com/

Used in everything from electric vehicles to solar panels and headphones, rare earths are all around us, but the path to get them into products is complex

In one of his first acts after taking office earlier this year, U.S. President Joe Biden ordered a review of the rare earth supply chain, a group of 17 elements that are increasingly important to modern technology.

Used in electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines, military defence programs such as missile guidance systems, headphones, motors and many other advanced technologies, nearly all politicians have come round to the idea that they’re critical to the future economy and security.

“I don’t think the average person realizes how deeply rare earths have seeped into the fabric of daily life,” said Ryan Castilloux, an analyst at Adamas Intelligence, a research firm, in Ontario. “They’re all around us.”

Column: The human bottleneck in critical minerals supply chains – by Andy Home (Reuters – May 27, 2021)

May 31, 2021

https://www.reuters.com/

The road to decarbonisation will be paved with copper. As well as lithium, nickel, cobalt and a host of other minerals, all critical for electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels and wind farms.

Securing enough of these metals has become an overriding concern for many Western countries now looking to invest in green technology industries as a driver of broader pandemic recovery.

The European Union currently imports all of the refined lithium, platinum and silicon it needs to produce EVs, clean hydrogen and solar panels respectively. It also gets 98% of its rare earths from one supplier – China.

Only through a Secure Supply of EV Metals (Rare Earths) can a Hegemony Be. – by Jack Lifton (Investor Intel – May 26, 2021)

May 28, 2021

https://investorintel.com/

It has been reported today that the Biden administration is looking to allied nations as primary sources of critical mined raw materials, and that it, the administration, will focus on supporting the domestic American processing of such imported ores into useful products focused on domestic production of EVs, their batteries, and components.

This is an example of a complete disregard by the Biden administration for America’s competitive advantage, safety, and, ironically, its economy to placate a loud anti-mining luddism that pervades the American left.

It is in two words, hypocritical and stupid. It’s hypocritical because it assumes that out-of-sight, out-of-mind, will placate the left’s “greens” into thinking that pollution in Australia, Canada, or Brazil and its attendant costs doesn’t exist. It’s stupid, because it makes no economic sense.

A Viable Alternative to Chinese Minerals Hegemony – by Duggan Flanakin (Townhall.com – May 26, 2021)

May 26, 2021

https://townhall.com/

Prompted by a worldwide chip shortage already impacting automobile production, President Biden in February signed an executive order directing a 100-day broad review of supply chains for critical materials for semiconductors and large-capacity batteries, including rare-earth elements. It builds on analyses, reports and executive orders initiated several years ago by the Trump Administration.

The stark truth that this review should highlight is that the U.S. and its Western allies have been left behind at the starting gate in a race only China seems to have realized was taking place.

The Chinese began building their now-dominant supply chain decades ago. The U.S. has been 100% net import reliant on rare-earth elements, with 80 percent of those imports sourced from China.

Canada has “right ingredients” to be EV battery leader – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – May 19, 2021)

May 19, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

Canada has a “once-in-generation” opportunity to establish itself as a major player in the global battery sector, but it needs to act fast to seize the opportunity, a new report reflecting the views of stakeholders across the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain shows.

Clean Energy Canada’s study, compiling opinions of major actors in the sector, such as General Motors Canada, Lion Electric, the Mining Association of Canada (MAC), the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association and Unifor, concludes the country has the right ingredients for a successful battery sector.

Canada is rich in lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, aluminum and manganese, key ingredients for advanced battery manufacturing and storage technology.

Will The US Mine For Rare Earth And Exotic Minerals? – OpEd – by Todd Royal (Eurasia Review – May 14, 2021)

May 18, 2021

https://www.eurasiareview.com/

A conservative cost put the clean energy transition at $1.7 trillion needed for mining of copper, cobalt, lithium and other rare earth and exotic metals and minerals.

This transition will supposedly fuel electric vehicles (EVs) being cheaper than gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2027, and electric SUVs cheaper by 2026, according to BloombergNEF.

Additionally, the International Energy Agency (IEA) in a new report found renewable installations for energy to electricity “soared to 280 GW globally in 2020, up 45% from 2019,” with “renewables (solar and wind) accounting for 90% of global electric capacity installations in 2021 and 2022.”

Sanctioned Israeli Billionaire Cost Congo $2 Billion, Group Says – by Michael J. Kavanagh (Bloomberg News – May 12, 2021)

May 13, 2021

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — The Democratic Republic of Congo lost out on nearly $2 billion in revenue by selling mining and oil assets to Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, according to a coalition of Congolese and international organizations that urged the government to review the deals.

Companies owned by Gertler, who is under U.S. sanctions for alleged corruption in Congo, stand to gain a further $1.76 billion in the next 20 years from copper and cobalt projects in the country, said the coalition known as Congo Is Not For Sale. Gertler, who is close friends with former Congolese President Joseph Kabila, denies all wrongdoing and has never been charged with a crime.

“The coalition calls on Congolese authorities to end their silence on this matter and take urgent measures to ensure that Congo’s mineral wealth benefits the DRC Treasury and its people,” the group said in a report Wednesday.

COLUMN-Cobalt, Congo and a mass artisanal mining experiment – by Andy Home (Nasdaq/Reuters – May 13, 2021)

May 13, 2021

https://www.nasdaq.com/

Cobalt epitomises the minerals conundrum at the heart of the green technology revolution.

It’s a key ingredient in the chemistry that powers electric vehicles and, along with other battery materials such as lithium, is facing a sustained demand surge as the world decarbonises.

But the world’s largest cobalt supplier is Democratic Republic of Congo, where up to a fifth of production is generated by artisanal miners working in squalid and dangerous conditions with little if any pricing power for their hard-won ore.

Ocean mining frenzy drives $2.9 billion merger – by Nelson Bennett (Business In Vancouver – May 11, 2021)

May 12, 2021

https://biv.com/

Littering the abyssal plain of the Pacific Ocean are an estimated 21 billion tonnes worth of polymetallic nodules containing high grades of manganese, nickel, copper and cobalt – the so-called “battery metals” that Tesla (Nasdaq:TSLA) has warned may soon be in short supply.

They sit on top of the sea floor just waiting to be hoovered up, and several companies, including one from Vancouver, DeepGreen Metals, is in the race to begin harvesting them.

Getting the 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 that U.S. President Joe Biden has committed to will require a massive shift to renewable energy and electric cars.

Glencore boss warns of future China dominance in electric vehicles – by Neil Hume (Financial Times – May 12, 2021)

May 12, 2021

https://www.ft.com/

US and Europe risk being left behind unless they secure cobalt supplies for batteries, says Ivan Glasenberg

The car industry in the US and Europe risks being left behind by their Chinese rivals unless they secure supplies of cobalt, according to the world’s biggest producer of the key battery metal.

Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg told the FT Future of the Car Summit on Wednesday that western carmakers would be naive to think they could always rely on China to supply the batteries for electric vehicle fleets.

Glasenberg said Chinese companies had been quick to realise the vulnerability of their supply chains and “tied up” lots of cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cobalt is a metal needed in the lithium-ion batteries used in longer-range electric vehicles.