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Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals

China goes all out to secure lithium, cobalt supplies – key to dominating the world electric car market – by Eric Ng (South China Morning Post – June 4, 2018)

http://www.scmp.com/

Cobalt, however, faces bigger challenges than lithium, which has seen bigger price gains over the past two years amid lack of certainty over new supplies, stockpiling and traders taking speculative positions

The emergence of electric vehicles has seen Chinese companies go on a global hunt to secure lithium resources. Now they are rapidly clinching deals to get hold of cobalt whose supply is even more concentrated geographically.

Cobalt, a hard, shiny, greyish metal, a by-product of copper and nickel mining, has seen the biggest price increase among various metals used to make electric vehicle batteries after a demand boom began two years ago, according to Ciaran Roe, global manager of metals pricing at S&P Global Platts.

“Unlike manganese, lithium and nickel, cobalt is limited in supply not just in terms of tonnage but also origin,” he said. “I can’t think of another commodity where supply is so reliant on one origin nation than cobalt.”

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Electric vehicles seen driving cobalt crunch by mid-2020s – by Salvador Rodriguez (Reuters U.S. – May 24, 2018)

https://www.reuters.com/

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – The increasing popularity of electric vehicles may create a crunch for supplies of cobalt in the early-to-mid 2020s, miners and analysts say, adding that small operators trying to start up mines outside Africa could play a bigger role over time in satisfying demand for the metal used in rechargeable batteries.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) produces nearly two-thirds of the world’s cobalt as a by-product of its copper mines and is taking an increasingly confrontational stance toward foreign mining companies, including a new mining code that hikes royalties and taxes.

Human rights groups have said some cobalt from the Central African country could come from mines using child labor, raising additional concerns about sourcing within the industry and among buyers of the metal.

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Uranium makes feds’ list of minerals ‘critical’ to national security, setting off a debate in Utah and beyond – by Brian Maffly (The Salt Lake Tribune – May 23, 2018)

https://www.sltrib.com/

The Interior Department has identified 35 “nonfuel” mineral commodities that are essential to national security, including uranium and several others found in Utah.

Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey helped compile the list under an executive order President Donald Trump issued in December, calling for a national strategy for reducing reliance on critical minerals and promoting access to domestic supplies.

The appearance of uranium on the list, published Friday in the Federal Register, has spurred controversy among those who contend uranium does not qualify as either nonfuel or critical. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., sent a letter Monday to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke demanding an explanation.

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Cobalt 27 announces first-ever streaming deal for battery metals – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – May 23, 2018)

http://business.financialpost.com/

‘It brings immediate free cash flow into the business’ — to the tune of about $30M a year from Ramu’s cobalt and nickel

Toronto-based Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. on Tuesday announced it will pay $145 million for the right to the cobalt and nickel from the Ramu mine in Papua New Guinea, in what marks the first streaming deal of its kind in the battery metals space.

The company, which announced an US$80-million credit facility earlier this month and US$185 million in equity financing in March, said it will not take on any new debt for the deal — a sign of the market interest for companies with exposure to battery metals as automakers prepare to increase electric vehicle manufacturing.

“This completely transforms our company because it brings immediate free cash flow into the business,” said Anthony Milewski, chairman of Cobalt 27.

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Threat of Cobalt Supply Shock Is Top Risk for Electric Vehicles – by David Stringer and Martin Ritchie (Bloomberg News – May 21, 2018)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

A burgeoning risk of a supply crunch in cobalt — a key battery metal that’s more than tripled in price in two years — poses one of the biggest threats to forecasts for rising electric vehicle adoption.

Major investment in mines is required to avoid price spikes that could see cost reductions for lithium-ion batteries stall, Bloomberg New Energy Finance analysts said Monday in a report.

Shortages of cobalt are likely earlier than previously forecast and the issue poses a potential challenge to EV sales over the coming five to seven years, according to the report.

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Cobalt price: Congo ebola outbreak compounds acute supply fears – by Frik Els (Mining.com – May 20, 2018)

http://www.mining.com/

The price of cobalt has been drifting after hitting near 10-year peaks in March to exchange hands for $91,000 a tonne on Friday. Cobalt is still up nearly fourfold since hitting multi-year lows at the beginning of 2016 as worries about supply of the metal, a crucial element in batteries, combine with expectations of booming demand from the electric vehicle sector.

Supply risks for cobalt are centred on the Democratic Republic of the Congo which is responsible for nearly two-thirds of world output. And the country’s share will only increase over the next five years (see chart).

Fears of disruption from the conflict ridden central African country has intensified after an outbreak of the deadly ebola disease and the possibility of a return to civil war in the run up to long-postponed national election now set for December.

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The Energy 202: Trump talks a lot about coal. But his administration just named 35 ‘critical minerals’ – by Dino Grandoni (Washington Post – May 21, 2018)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/

During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump spoke often about the need to mine more coal as he courted voters in swing states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio. After his election, his administration swiftly took steps to repeal Obama-era emissions rules on coal-fired power plants.

But with less fanfare, the Trump administration is also trying to ease the way for more mining of all forms, arguing that access to certain ores is critical to national and economic security.

On Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey published a list of 35 “critical minerals,” paving the way for the Trump administration to potentially ease environmental review requirements for the mining of titanium, graphite and other commodities.

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Electric vehicle rush fuels optimism at LME Asia Week – by Melanie Burton and Tom Daly (Reuters U.S.- May 18, 2018)

https://www.reuters.com/

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Rising demand for battery materials cobalt and lithium infused some optimism into an otherwise cautious London Metal Exchange (LME) Asia Week, amid a backdrop of slowing growth in China and escalating trade tensions between it and the United States.

In the event’s first ever session on battery materials in Hong Kong, Chinese cobalt producers such as Jinchuan Group International Resources and Wanbao Mining said they were ramping up production to sate an anticipated demand boom from electric vehicles (EVs).

That is a market that the LME hopes to tap with the launch of cash-settled cobalt and lithium contracts, slated for late this year or early next year.

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Meteoric landing for Australian cobalt hunter: Junior miner does the groundwork to go drilling in the Cobalt camp – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – May 9, 2018)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Meteoric Resources, a western Australian cobalt explorer, is gaining ground in the cobalt country of northeastern Ontario.

The Perth-headquartered outfit has been on a staking binge this spring to enlarge its holdings and fast-track its exploration efforts. In early May, Meteoric grabbed more than 33-square-kilometres of prospective ground, about 40 kilometres northwest of the Town of Cobalt.

Dubbed the Beauchamp Cobalt Project, the company said the property “has all the right rock types combined with great geological structure, and we look forward to fast-tracking exploration at the property.”

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Why Congo could stop the charge of electric vehicles – by Anthony King (Irish Times – May 10, 2018)

https://www.irishtimes.com/

Car makers and tech firms rely on cobalt mined in Katanga, the unstable province where Irish soldiers were attacked in 1961

The Congo. September 1961. Irish soldiers in Jadotville are attacked by separatist Katangan forces led by Belgian mercenaries. Jadotville is a copper-mining town in Katanga, a province in south-east Congo that is rich in minerals. The events in Jadotville feature in a popular film on Netflix starring Jamie Doran as Irish commander Pat Quinlan.

Mineral wealth drove the Katangan conflict. Katanga is back in the news. The copper mines again are involved. Car company execs are hearing “Katanga” and fretting about the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The reason: it mines most of the world’s cobalt – a sought-after ingredient for electric vehicles (EVs).

Odds are you own Congo cobalt, since each smartphone batteries contains 10 to 20 grams. Electric cars are hungrier for it, packing between six and 15 kilos. Car makers depend on big DRC mines for the metal – not ideal given its predilection for corruption, political instability and war.

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[Namibia Mining] Prospects of Nam’s mining sector glows (The Southern Times – May 6, 2018)

https://southerntimesafrica.com/

Windhoek – Namibia is positioning itself to become the mining hub of the continent on the back of improving commodity markets, an increase in the number of projects and discovery of new minerals.

Interest in the sector is at an all-time high, as several new players have entered the scene targeting a larger array of minerals. According to the Chamber of Mines of Namibia (CMN), this is expected to widen opportunities for investment and job creation in the Southern African country of some 2.5 million people.

In 2017, Namibia Rare Earths acquired a host of portfolio high-tech commodities, which include heavy rare earths, cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, nickel, niobium, tantalum and zinc.

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Are Electric Cars Doomed To Be Just A Niche Market? – by Jean-Marc Vittori (WorldCrunch.com – May 4, 2018)

https://www.worldcrunch.com/

PARIS — The car of the future will be electric. That is now a certainty. Or rather a consensus. Unless it’s an illusion?

Let’s start at the beginning. A symbol of the industrial revolution of the 20th century, the automobile has nonetheless one flaw: it pollutes. And in fact, it has now become the symbol of pollution, even if the one billion cars in use around the world emit less carbon dioxide than agriculture or coal-fired power stations.

Under pressure from voters, governments are imposing ever lower emission ceilings. The movement has grown with the “dieselgate” scandal and the Paris Conference on Climate Change. France and the United Kingdom have announced their intention to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2040. The City of Paris is banning old diesel vehicles starting next year.

China, the world’s largest market, goes further. It turns emission standards into a tool for industrial reconquest.

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Tesla delivers bad news for cobalt price, boost for rare earths – by Frik Els (Mining.com – May 3, 2018)

http://www.mining.com/

Wall Street is aghast at Elon Musk’s dismissive attitude toward analysts’ probing following a quarter of record (but less than expected) losses for Tesla, but the electric vehicle maker did provide some answers to questions that’s been vexing the mining industry.

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a provider of price information and research on battery supply chains, parsed the numbers after Tesla gave a rare indication of the relative proportions of raw materials used in its latest lithium-ion battery for its Model 3.

At first blush it’s not good news for miners of cobalt, a crucial ingredient in batteries used in electric vehicles and cellphones that’s been trading near decade highs above $90,000 a tonne.

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Glencore’s Congo mining conundrum – by Barbara Lewis and Aaron Ross (Reuters U.K. – May 3, 2018)

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON/DAKAR (Reuters) – Miner and commodities trader Glencore (GLEN.L) is embroiled in a legal tangle over its copper and cobalt operations in Democratic Republic of Congo, where conflict and changes to regulations have deterred many mining firms.

U.S. sanctions on Glencore’s former Israeli partner in Congo have been a trigger for litigation. At the same time, relations with the Congolese authorities are under strain from a dispute with the government over a new mining code.

Investors are watching closely, particularly for any impact on supplies of cobalt from Congo, which is by far the world’s biggest producer of the metal whose uses include making alloys for jet engines and batteries for electric cars and mobile phones.

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Glencore Is Said to Take Congo Rift With Gertler to London Court – by Thomas Wilson (Bloomberg News – May 2, 2018)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Glencore Plc’s clash with former partner Dan Gertler over unpaid royalties at a key Congolese copper mine deepened as the legal battle spread to a London court.

The Swiss miner was on Tuesday granted a temporary injunction against the Israeli billionaire after petitioning the London court to rule against a Congolese judge’s decision last week to freeze assets at its Kamoto Copper project, people familiar with the matter said.

Gertler is claiming $2.28 billion in damages and unpaid royalties, which Glencore stopped paying after he was sanctioned by the U.S. in December.

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