Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals – Page 9

Navigating ‘The Valley of Death’: Why Canada’s emerging critical minerals miners are struggling to survive and what can be done about it – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 22, 2024)

November 22, 2024

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Martin Turenne, chief executive officer of FPX Nickel Corp. FPX-X is wired as an optimist. In the mining industry, you have to be, because the timelines are agonizingly long and the odds are often heavily stacked against you.

Mr. Turenne hopes to have a nickel mine and refinery in production at its Baptiste project in central British Columbia by the end of the decade. The grand plan is to supply nickel for Canada’s nascent electric vehicle battery industry. The early estimate to build what could eventually be a top 10 nickel operation globally is $2.6-billion.

Vince Beiser on the Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future – by Catherine Putz (The Diplomat – November 18, 2024)

November 18, 2024

https://thediplomat.com/

“The energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables is a crucial part of the cure for climate change. But it’s a cure with brutal side effects.”

The world, journalist Vince Beiser says, is moving into the “Electro-Digital Age” and at the heart of this new era is a set of ancient, naturally occurring minerals: metals. The critical metals necessary to run the modern world and, importantly, required to power the energy transition away from fossil fuels also produce extraordinary consequences for humanity and the planet.

In “Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future,” Beiser charts a court across the world to understand how these metals are moved from the earth to our technology, and the competition that has arisen around them.

Federal watchdog snaps at climate, Indigenous gaps in Ottawa’s critical minerals strategy – by Colin McClelland (Northern Miner – November 7, 2024)

November 8, 2024

https://www.northernminer.com/

Canada’s auditor general criticized the federal critical minerals strategy for not adequately probing the impact increased mining will have on the environment and Indigenous communities.

The government program issued in 2022 budgets $3.8 billion on critical minerals support over eight years. Yet, the strategy doesn’t properly measure results and progress on ecosystems and First Nations, the Office of the Auditor General, the government’s own watchdog, said in a report on Thursday. The matters included greenhouse gas emissions, the protection of culturally significant sites and improvements to local living conditions, it said.

US Election: what a Trump or Harris victory means for critical minerals – by Caroline Peachey (Mining Technology – November 4, 2024)

November 6, 2024

https://www.mining-technology.com/

Both candidates have pledged their support for mining and recognise the strategic importance of critical minerals for the energy transition and national security.

In the most anticipated political event of the year, the 2024 US presidential elections will see Kamala Harris and Donald Trump battle for America’s vote on 5 November. It is an extremely tight race. Polls are predicting a “knife-edge” result, with outcomes in seven swing states set to decide who will become the next US president.

Both candidates have pledged their support for mining and recognise the strategic importance of critical minerals for the energy transition and national security. Here, Mining Technology looks at how critical minerals policy could be impacted by the election outcome.

World’s biggest cobalt miner is gloomy on the EV metal’s future – by Annie Lee (Bloomberg News – November 6, 2024)

November 6, 2024

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

The world’s No. 1 cobalt miner is sounding the alarm over the shrinking role of the metal in electric vehicle batteries. Chinese company CMOC Group Ltd., which has been churning out cobalt much faster than rivals like Glencore Plc, said the importance of the raw material in the energy transition is declining rapidly.

The adoption of cobalt-free lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, batteries has gained momentum in recent years, due to them being cheaper to manufacture. The proportion of EV batteries in China containing cobalt will drop to 31% in 2024, from 44% two years ago, according to consultancy CRU Group.

Temiskaming refinery builder secures funds for construction restart – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – October 29, 2024)

October 31, 2024

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Electra Battery Materials turns to lenders to finance early construction works

Electra Battery Materials has secured US$5 million ($6.9 million) from its own lenders to spend on its unfinished Temiskaming cobalt refinery.

In an Oct. 25 news release, the aspiring mineral processor announced it has a non-binding term sheet from the holders of secured notes issued by the company to raise financing that will be earmarked for “early works and winter preparations” at its refinery project in northeastern Ontario and other corporate purposes.

How Beijing Tamed a Lawless Industry and Gained Global Influence – by Keith Bradsher (New York Times – October 28, 2024)

October 28, 2024

https://www.nytimes.com/

State-controlled companies now run an industry once known for its acid pits, radioactive waste and smugglers.

As recently as 2010, few industries were as lawless, and yet as central to the global economy, as China’s production of rare earth metals.

Consignments of rare earths frequently changed hands for sacks of Chinese currency: The rule of thumb was that a cubic foot of tightly packed 100-renminbi bills was worth $350,000. At a warehouse in Guangzhou, near Hong Kong, acid was used illegally to extract rare earths, and the residue, faintly radioactive, was dumped into the municipal sewage. The gang operating the warehouse brought in foreign buyers in the trunks of cars to keep its location a secret.

China Tightens Its Hold on Minerals Needed to Make Computer Chips – by Keith Bradsher (New York Times – October 26, 2024)

October 28, 2024

https://www.nytimes.com/

Already the dominant producer of rare minerals, Beijing is using export restrictions and its power over state-owned companies to further control access.

The vise-tight grip that China wields over the mining and refining of rare minerals, crucial ingredients of today’s most advanced technologies, is about to become even stronger.

In a series of steps made in recent weeks, the Chinese government has made it considerably harder for foreign companies, particularly semiconductor manufacturers, to purchase the many rare earth metals and other minerals mined and refined mainly in China.

Teck CEO Says Canada Must Spend More to Erode China’s Critical Minerals Dominance – by Erik Hertzberg (Bloomberg News – October 10, 2024)

October 11, 2024

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Teck Resources Ltd.’s chief executive officer warned the Canadian government that it isn’t doing enough to foster development in the critical minerals sector.

Speaking Thursday at an event in Ottawa, Jonathan Price said that while both the US and Canada have focused on developing the electric-vehicle and battery manufacturing sectors on the continent, support for mines and mineral processing continues to lag.

Ottawa announces nearly $25M in federal investments for critical mineral projects in northern Ontario – by Jonathan Migneault (CBC News Sudbury – October 10, 2024)

October 11, 2024

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

Around $8.4M in conditional funding to be available to projects in the northeast

Ottawa continues to invest heavily in the critical minerals sector in northern Ontario. Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson announced nearly $25 million in federal funding for critical mineral projects during visits in Thunder Bay and Sudbury this week.

“There are enormous opportunities in Ontario for critical minerals,” Wilkinson told CBC News. In the northeast, those investments included $8.4 million in conditionally approved funding provided through the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund (CMIF) for several companies.

China’s critical minerals dominance ‘material risk’ to national security, Teck Resources CEO warns – by Jordan Gowling (Financial Post – October 11, 2024)

October 11, 2024

https://financialpost.com/

Stronger private investment crucial, says U.S. Ambassador to Canada

Teck Resources Ltd. chief executive Jonathan Price is sounding the alarm over China’s control of the critical minerals sector, warning that North America needs to invest more to catch up.

“China controls in the range of 40 to over 90 per cent of global processing capacity for many critical minerals, from copper to cobalt,” Price said during an event hosted by the Business Council of Canada and the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada in Ottawa Thursday. “With the increasing necessity of metals, it is clear that diversifying supply chains is now critical to both our economy and national security.”

Saskatchewan faces major obstacles as it aims to compete with China in processing rare earth minerals – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – September 3, 2024)

October 3, 2024

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Saskatchewan Research Council is attempting to go head-to-head with China and prove the case for private investment in rare earth minerals by building North America’s first rare earths processing plant.

Rare earths are mined in vanishingly small quantities worldwide, but owing to their magnetic, fluorescent and conductive qualities, they have crucial uses in tech, robotics, low-carbon power and military applications.

India, US likely to sign pact on critical minerals -by Shivangi Acharya, Neha Arora and David Lawder(Reuters – September 30, 2024)

September 30, 2024

https://www.reuters.com/

India and the United States are likely to sign an initial pact for cooperation on critical minerals this week, two Indian government sources said, as the two countries try to bolster trade ties despite diplomatic hiccups.

They are expected to sign an agreement to partner and cooperate in the area of critical minerals during Indian trade minister Piyush Goyal’s visit to Washington, the sources said.

Miners, investors see scope in energy transition but struggle with choices: Russell – by Clyde Russell (Reuters – September 25, 2024)

September 25, 2024

https://www.reuters.com/

SINGAPORE, Sept 25 (Reuters) – Mining investment conferences have a great track record of pointing to the next growth area for commodities, as they bring together early stage investors and junior miners seeking to get projects off the ground.

A decade ago lithium was the popular metal, five years ago it was the turn of gold and more recently copper has been the flavour of the month at these events across Asia. But at the 121 Mining and Energy Investment conference this week in Singapore there was no clear choice, and no real consensus on where the best opportunities lie.

Metals security of supply depends on junior resource companies – by Rick Mills (Ahead of the Herd/Mining.com – September 19, 2024)

September 24, 2024

https://www.mining.com/

A junior resource company’s place in the food chain is to acquire projects, make discoveries and hopefully advance them to the point when a larger mining company takes it over. Discoveries won’t be made if juniors don’t have boots on the ground, if they aren’t out in the bush poking around and breaking rocks.

Few exploration companies have the money or technical expertise to “go mining”. For many, the goal is to find a deposit that’s good enough to attract a major who will acquire the asset. Another pathway is for the junior to partner with a larger company. An option or joint venture (JV) agreement is a way for juniors to gain access to the financial and technical resources needed to build the mine.