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Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals

Psst…wanna buy some cobalt? Just don’t tell the auto guys! – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – July 5, 2017)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON – Wanna buy into one of the hottest commodities in town? No, it’s not lithium. That’s so much last year’s thing. We’re talking about cobalt. And this one’s really hot. On the London Metal Exchange (LME) the price for three-month cobalt has leapt from $32,750 per tonne at the start of January to a current $58,500.

This stellar near 80-percent price surge mirrors what happened to lithium prices a year or so ago. The linkage is both metals’ evolution from niche applications to mainstream usage in the batteries that are now powering the green technology revolution.

If a minimum $58,500 bet is a bit too much for you, some bright hedge fund guys have come up with a cheaper option. For just nine Canadian dollars you can now buy a share in Cobalt 27 Capital Corp, which made its C$200 million ($150.7 million) debut on Canada’s Venture Exchange last month.

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Russia’s Nornickel in talks to supply materials for BASF’s battery plans (Reuters U.S. – June 27, 2017)

https://www.reuters.com/

Russia’s mining giant Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) (GMKN.MM) is in talks with German chemicals firm BASF (BASFn.DE) to supply raw materials needed in the process for making lithium-ion batteries in Europe in the future, they said on Tuesday.

The talks between BASF and Nornickel, the world’s second largest nickel producer and a major cobalt producer, highlight the burgeoning market for metals needed for lithium-ion batteries production as the car industry’s push towards electric vehicles gathers pace.

Nornickel and BASF said in a joint statement the talks covered “cooperation to set the foundation to supply battery cell producers for electric vehicles in Europe with regionally produced cathode materials.”

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Canada’s Mkango aims for rare earths production from 2020 – by Barbara Lewis (Reuters Canada – June 26, 2017)

http://ca.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Canada’s Mkango Resources (MKA.V: Quote) MKA.L, one of a handful of rare earth miners outside China, aims to start production in Malawi in 2020 to catch an expected leap in demand for the metals that are used in electric vehicles and other new technologies.

Demand for rare earths, which range from neodymium used in electric motors to lanthanum used to make batteries, is increasing with the emergence of new, greener technology.

While production of coal, iron ore and other bulk commodities is dominated by major mining firms such as BHP (BHP.AX: Quote) (BLT.L: Quote) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote) (RIO.AX: Quote), rare earths are mostly produced by China and small mining firms such as Mkango.

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NEWS RELEASE: Ontario Supporting Mining Innovation in Kenora (Ministry of Northern Development and Mines – June 26, 2017)

Province Boosting Economic Growth and Creating New Jobs in the North

Ontario is diversifying the Northern economy and helping create good new jobs for people in the North by supporting innovation at a mining company near Kenora.

The province is supporting Avalon Advanced Materials as it develops an innovative new process to make lithium-ion batteries from petalite mineral deposits in the Kenora area. This support, through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC), will allow the local mining company to test and demonstrate converting lithium mineral petalite into lithium hydroxide, a key component in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, which provide a rechargeable, sustainable and low-pollution source of energy storage.

This new production process will enable Avalon Advanced Materials to further diversify the economy of the region, continue to grow its business and create and maintain 14 new local jobs.  Supporting mining innovation and good jobs in the North is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy, and help people in their everyday lives.

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Canada’s First Cobalt braves political risk to pile in to Congo – by Aaron Ross (Reuters U.S. – June 23, 2017)

https://www.reuters.com/

KINSHASA – With Western companies in Democratic Republic of Congo treading carefully in the face of political turbulence and a worsening business climate, Canada’s First Cobalt Corp is an unlikely newcomer to the central African nation’s mining scene.

Several of the Toronto-based firm’s workers are former employees of First Quantum Minerals, whose prized Kolwezi project was expropriated in 2010 in an episode that underscored the risks of investing in Congo. But for First Cobalt CEO Trent Mell, the logic of entering a country responsible for nearly two thirds of global cobalt output as the electric vehicle market booms is simple.

“The bottom line is: No DRC, no Tesla,” he said, referring to the U.S. automaker. “You can’t fill the void when you have 64 percent of production coming out of the DRC.” Demand for the metal, a key component in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric cars and mobile phones, is surging. Consultancy CRU Group say electric car and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales could quadruple to 4.4 million in 2021.

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Forget Ring of Fire: Cobalt mining camp is ready to roll – by PJ Wilson (North Bay Nugget – June 23, 2017)

http://www.nugget.ca/

COBALT – As much attention as the Ring of Fire has garnered, the expected resurgence of the Cobalt Camp is a bigger story. “The Ring of Fire . . . is too much pie in the sky,” Gino Chitaroni says. “There are too many working parts. You don’t need millions of dollars there. You need billions. There is no way in hell it will be developed anytime soon.”

Chitaroni, president and manager of PolyMet Labs in this old mining town, says political problems are delaying the Ring of Fire project in northwestern Ontario even more. It will be at least a decade – probably more – before anything comes out of it, he believes. But the Cobalt Camp, he says, is ready to roll again.

“Even with China involved directly, and they have very, very deep pockets, the infrastructure requirements there means Ring of Fire is many, many years off,” says Chitaroni, who also is president of the Northern Prospectors’ Association. “It’s sad that the government has put all its (mining) eggs in one basket when there are so many other, much better projects.”

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The Town Silver Built may have new lease on life – by PJ Wilson (North Bay Nugget – June 23, 2017)

http://www.nugget.ca/

COBALT – Renewed interest in the historic Cobalt Camp mining site is reason for “cautious optimism,” according to this small town’s mayor. But Tina Sartoretto warns against “full-throttle optimism.”

“You can easily be over zealous,” says Sartoretto, who has been mayor since 2010. Over the past few months, prospectors, surveyors, drilling crews and others have descended on the region that stretches from just across the Quebec border to as far west as Espanola. But Cobalt is at the heart of the attention.

“It’s not like the heyday,” Sartoretto admits. “We had the stock exchange, we had banks, hotels, restaurants . . .” The years have been tough on this old town. The population now, according to the 2016 national census, is 1,118 people. The stock market is long gone, as are the banks.

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“This transaction will … [create] one of the largest cobalt exploration companies in the world” – by Staff (Mining Journal – June 22, 2017)

http://www.mining-journal.com/

Australian-based Cobalt One has entered a trading halt pending an announcement on the merger proposal. The two companies signed an option agreement earlier this month whereby First Cobalt was granted an option to acquire 50% of Cobalt One’s cobalt assets in the Cobalt region of Ontario.

Cobalt One’s assets include a cobalt refinery while First Cobalt’s assets include the former producing Keeley-Frontier silver-cobalt mine in Ontario and cobalt exploration ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Under the “friendly merger” proposed by First Cobalt, Cobalt One would hold 60% of the enlarged company, with its chairman Paul Matysek, CEO Jason Bontempo and director Bob Cross to go onto the First Cobalt board.

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RENEWED DIGGING: The US coal industry’s future could be to mine rare-earth metals for wind turbines – by Akshat Rathi (Quartz.com – June 15, 2017)

https://qz.com/

In an era where every country in the world—apart from the US, Syria, and Nicaragua—is bound by commitments to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, it should be little surprise that the demand for coal is falling fast. Despite these global trends, US coal is looking for ways to revive its dying industry.

One idea is to change its product: instead of mining coal to burn as a source of fuel, it could mine coal for crucial metals found in it.Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel. Not only does it produce the most amount of carbon dioxide pollution for each unit of energy, it contains non-hydrocarbon chemicals that, when burned, release dangerous toxins into the air. These include a strategically important group called “rare-earth metals.”

These metals, such as neodymium and scandium, are used in everything from smartphones to wind turbines. They’re also used in guided missiles and other defense applications. That is what makes them a strategically important resource, and for the last decade or more, China is responsible for the production of over 90% of global rare-earth metals.

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Demand, not supply, is the great unknown for lithium and cobalt – by Andy Home (Reuters U.S. – June 15, 2017)

http://www.reuters.com/

The number of electric vehicles on roads worldwide rose to a record high of 2 million last year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). That represented a doubling from the 2015 tally but electric cars still only accounted for 0.2 percent of the global count.

How many will there be in five years’ time? Or in 10 years’ time? The answer to that question will determine the fortunes of multiple metals over the coming years.

Battery materials such as lithium and cobalt are already bubbling as supply chains which have historically evolved to meet niche applications adapt to the much bigger demands of the green technology revolution.

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Would-be miner of rare earths bets on electric cars – by Henry Sanderson (Financial Times – June 11, 2017)

https://www.ft.com/

Sale of largest US deposit of elements used in zero-emission vehicles due Wednesday

When Tom Clarke first heard about rare earths a year ago he had to look up what they were on Wikipedia. Now the coal miner is leading a bid by a consortium to reopen a California mine that is the only major US deposit of rare earths — elements that are poised to benefit from increasing demand due to their use in magnets that go into electric car motors.

“The more I got involved in rare earths, the more I realised these elements are going to be in increasing demand [in electric vehicles],” says Mr Clarke. “So our hope here is to help facilitate the re-opening of the mine. We think there is a reliable market for it.” The Mountain Pass rare earths mine, located about 50 miles south of Las Vegas, was owned by Molycorp, a US natural resources group that filed for bankruptcy in 2015.

The mine is now due to be sold at auction on Wednesday, and Mr Clarke’s ERP Strategic Minerals has teamed up with Swiss private equity firm Pala Investments and Australian rare earths exploration group Peak Resources to offer $1.2m.

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Race Is on to Mine Metal Powering Electric Vehicles – by David Stringer (Bloomberg News – June 8, 2017)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The race is on to supply more of the cobalt needed for batteries in the fast-growing market for electric vehicles — and that means fresh competition for the big players Glencore Plc and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A pipeline of projects is looming in places including Australia, the U.S. and Canada after cobalt prices more than doubled in the past year. Glencore produces almost a third of the world’s supply, mainly from the Congo, which is by far the biggest source, accounting for as much as 65 percent.

Among those backing new global developments are billionaire Anil Agarwal and mining tycoon Robert Friedland. They’re aiming to capitalize as a battery boom sends demand for cobalt soaring more than 30-fold by 2030, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

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U.S. COULD FUEL WAR IN AFRICA BY DROPPING CONFLICT MINERALS RULE ARGUE SENATORS, RIGHTS GROUPS – by Conor Gaffey (Newsweek Magazine – June 8, 2017)

http://www.newsweek.com/

The United States could fuel widespread violence and corruption in central Africa if it drops a rule requiring American companies to account for their use of conflict minerals, according to U.S. senators and rights groups.

A section of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act passed under President Barack Obama in 2010 requires U.S. companies to disclose whether any of the minerals used in their products come from Democratic Republic of Congo.

The vast central African country is rich in rare and valuable minerals. Its untapped mineral reserves are estimated to be worth up to $24 trillion, according to the United Nations.Eastern Congo, the main battleground in Africa’s deadliest war between 1998 and 2003, has huge deposits of coltan, a metallic ore that is widely used in smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices.

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Cobalt ‘moving into a global deficit’ – by Trish Saywell (Northern Miner – June 7, 2017)

http://www.northernminer.com/

Cobalt prices have nearly doubled in the first quarter of the year as demand for its use in rechargeable batteries and the electric-vehicle market, in particular, is expected to take off. The Northern Miner spoke about the dynamics of the cobalt market with Edward Spencer, a senior consultant and head cobalt market analyst at the CRU Group in London.

Spencer joined CRU in 2015 as a senior consultant to CRU’s nickel, stainless steel and special alloys group, and has also worked on outlooks for molybdenum, nickel and ferrochrome. He has a PhD in economic geology from Imperial College London, where he specialized in the decoupled mineralization of base metals.

The Northern Miner: Where have cobalt prices ranged over the last year or so?

Edward Spencer: The price of 99.8% cobalt metal started at US$10.25 per lb. in January 2016 and ended the year at US$14.15 per lb. The prices have really ramped up in the first quarter of 2017, however, increasing from US$14.15 per lb. at the start of January, to US$27.75 per lb. at the end of March — nearly doubling over the three-month period.

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Cost of Elon Musk’s Dream Much Higher Than He and Others Imagine – by Brian Rogers (Real Clear Energy – June 08, 2017)

http://www.realclearenergy.org/

Brian Rogers is the Executive Director of America Rising Squared (AR2) a conservative-based policy organization.

With Elon Musk protesting President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord by quitting a White House advisory council, and the new Model 3 rolling off the assembly line this summer, Tesla fans must be tempted to feel pretty good about themselves these days.

After all, the company’s stock price is hitting all-time highs as thousands join a two-year wait-list not only to drive Tesla’s latest vehicle, but to do something good for the planet!

But Tesla has a dirty little secret with big implications for its future. It’s what Greenpeace International co-founder Rex Weyler calls “The Tesla dream,” the false idea that Mr. Musk’s electric vehicles (EVs) are a true game-changing “clean energy” solution to global climate change.

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