How a Quebec graphite mine is dividing a community’s support for the EV revolution – by Neal Rockwell (Globe and Mail – October 9, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Matawinie mine is part of a larger plan to make Canada into a manufacturing hub for lithium ion batteries. But some worry the project isn’t as clean as it claims to be

The Matawinie graphite mine, located about two hours north of Montreal, is a small part of an ambitious government plan to make Canada into a manufacturing hub for lithium ion batteries. Electric cars can’t function without somewhere to store electricity, the thinking goes, meaning this country needs battery supply chains if it hopes to stay relevant in a future without fossil fuels.

But the mine has not yet begun producing graphite at commercial scale. It is still in the early phases of construction and – like many Canadian resource projects – it is riven with controversy.

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JV Article: Lomiko Metals aims to be a regional hub to supply the graphite essential to lithium-ion battery manufacturers – by Mining.com/Lomiko Metals (Mining.com – June 15, 2022)

https://www.mining.com/

Canadian explorer Lomiko Metals (TSXV: LMR; US-OTC: LMRMF) is looking for graphite and lithium — critical ingredients for the anode and cathode of lithium-ion batteries driving the global push towards decarbonization.

The junior miner is advancing its wholly-owned flagship La Loutre graphite project in the Grenville graphite belt of southern Quebec, approximately 180 km northwest of Montreal.

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The Geopolitics of the Rare-Metals Race – by Guillaume Pitron (The Washington Quarterly – April 25, 2022)

The Washington Quarterly

The 20th century was the era of black gold; the 21st will
undoubtedly be the era of metals

In 2010, a team of Pentagon officials and American geologists uncovered Afghanistan’s best kept secret: a plethora of mining resources such as lithium, copper, cobalt—including 1.4 million metric tons of rare-earth elements, estimated to be worth more than $1 trillion, all of them essential to modern industry.

After this development, Afghanistan, according to The New York Times, rapidly became heralded as a country which could “be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world.” More than a decade later, however, US forces filing out of Afghanistan were leaving these resources untapped, attracting the interest of neighboring nations.

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Carmakers dream of clean, green, mean electric machines – by Nick Carey and Barbara Lewis (Reuters – April 4, 2022)

https://www.reuters.com/

WASHINGTON, England, April 4 (Reuters) – An electric car is a clean car, right? If only it were so simple. From motor magnets with toxic histories to batteries made using copious fossil-fuel power, many challenges face carmakers seeking to purge dirtier materials from their supply chains to satisfy regulators and investors.

These obstacles represent opportunities for a growing group of companies in the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem that bet they can capitalise on that demand. They include Advanced Electric Machines (AEM) in northern England, which is working with Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) luxury brand Bentley and others in the auto industry to develop recyclable electric motors free of rare earth metals, which are often produced using polluting chemicals.

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Global graphite production up in 2021 as China cements its top producer status – by Vladimir Basov (Kitco News – February 8, 2022)

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in 2021, global production of natural graphite was estimated to have increased by 4% to 1,000,000 tonnes from 2020 production of 966,000 tonnes.

With 820,000 tonnes of natural graphite mined in 2021, China was the world’s leading graphite producer, producing an estimated 82% of total world output.

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Northern Ontario plays integral part in auto supply chain – Fedeli – by Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles (North Bay Nugget – November 19, 2021)

https://www.nugget.ca/

Northern Ontario has become an integral part of the auto supply chain, says Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli. The industry, mostly centralized in southern Ontario, is moving north thanks to the increase in production of electric cars.

The provincial government released the next phase of its auto strategy Wednesday that is expected to secure production mandates for hybrid and electric vehicles, to create a domestic battery ecosystem, and position Ontario as a North American automotive innovation hub.

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These green economy commodities are beating the best runs of the China supercycle – by David Rosenberg and Marius Jongstra (Financial Post – 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.

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Pentagon adds graphite to stockpile list – by Shane Lasley(North of 60 Mining News – October 8, 2021)

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/

As another signal foreshadowing the growing demand for graphite, the Pentagon has added this lithium-ion battery ingredient to its newest National Defense Stockpile Acquisitions List.

Published by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency on Oct. 4, this list calls for DLA’s strategic materials department to acquire up to 900 metric tons of graphite to store in government stockpiles over the coming year.

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Local History: ‘Broad envelopes’ of undeveloped graphite ore – by Susanna McLeod (Kingston Whig Standard – September 21, 2021)

https://www.thewhig.com/

Carbon in the form of flake graphite may have a lustre ranging from dull to metallic. In gradations of black to grey, the flat plates with hexagonal edges seem more drab than eye-catching.

The non-metallic element has vast applications and potential, from the common pencil lead to industrial and aerospace purposes, and beyond. Located in the Precambrian Grenville Province, eastern Ontario seemed to be a prime area for a graphite mine. About 70 kilometres from Kingston, the Portland Graphite Mine drew the interest of resource companies since the mid-1900s. Then the attention quietly vanished.

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The dangers of understating the magnitude of the battery material supply/demand imbalance – by Matt Fernley (Kitco News – August 20, 2021)

https://www.kitco.com/

Matt Fernley is Head of Research, Volta Fund; MD of Battery Materials Review.

I wanted to talk about the Nature article on battery raw materials that’s been doing the rounds this week. The article, Electric Cars: The Battery Challenge (Nature, 19 August 2021), is an otherwise excellent discussion of a lot of the issues with sourcing materials for electric cars. Unfortunately there’s a big “but”. And that “but” is in its treatment of primary battery raw materials.

While the author, Davide Castelvecchi, has clearly spoken to a lot of experts on batteries, recycling and other elements of the supply chain, maybe he hasn’t known exactly which questions to ask, because we get a discussion almost entirely on ternary batteries with little to no mention of LFPs (and their ability to lower demand for Nickel, Cobalt and Manganese) and we also get only three paragraphs on the impact of extractive industries on the battery industry.

All the “analysis” on raw materials is effectively based on BNEF’s Long-Term Electric Vehicle Outlook for 2021 and the general conclusion, based on a quote from the BNEF analyst, is that “temporary shortages [of battery raw materials] and dramatic price swings… [will] work themselves out”.

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Pallinghurst makes billion-dollar bet on Quebec as global battery hub – by Nicolas Van Praet (Globe and Mail – July 5, 2021)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

European private equity investor Pallinghurst Group is making a billion-dollar bet that Quebec will recover from its early blunders in battery materials and become a dependable pillar for supply in North America, as the global shift to electric transportation accelerates in the years ahead.

London-based Pallinghurst has invested more than US$500-million to date in two key battery-mining and material-processing projects in the province, with plans for more.

The company scooped up mining company Nemaska Lithium Inc. out of bankruptcy protection in a partnership with the Quebec government’s investment arm and built up a 15-per-cent position in another supplier, Nouveau Monde Graphite.

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CHART: Study predicts over 400% increase in copper, lithium, nickel battery demand – by Editor (Mining.com – June 30, 2021)

https://www.mining.com/

BloombergNEF has upped its predictions for annual demand for lithium-ion batteries by more than a third from its previous forecast on the back of expectations for rapid growth in the passenger vehicle segment.

BNEF predicts annual demand for lithium-ion batteries will pass 2.7 terawatt-hours per year by 2030 – a 35% increase from the analytics company’s forecast made last year. Passenger vehicles will represent 72% of the overall market as sales race to 14 million by 2025 from just over 3 million last year.

BNEF expects China to extend its lead in the battery supply chain — particularly processing and refining. The country accounts for almost half of new lithium hydroxide projects coming online this year and has 55% of the world’s nickel sulfate market and 80% of the global market for cobalt sulfate, according to the report.

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The U.S. has grand ambitions to conquer the global EV market — it can’t win without Canada – – by Ryan Castilloux (Financial Post – June 16, 2021)

https://financialpost.com/

Ryan Castilloux is managing director of Adamas Intelligence, which provides research on strategic materials and minerals.

A US$174-billion U.S. plan to spur domestic production and sales of U.S.-made electric vehicles while bolstering domestic supply chains, from raw materials to parts, dovetails with allies Canada and Australia’s ambitions to become leading suppliers of raw materials to parts.

The plan is part of the massive US$2-trillion spending plan unveiled by U.S. President Joe Biden in March, that aims at creating millions of “good jobs,” rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure, and positioning the U.S. to “out-compete China.”

From a raw materials perspective, there are four main facets of interest for the Canadian auto sector in the U.S.’s grand ambition to win the EV market.

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Battery metals are critical over the next decade, Roskill says – by Carl A. Williams (Northern Miner – February 18, 2021)

Global mining news

The growing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is driving the increasing demand for lithium, nickel and cobalt – critical metals used as cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries in the automotive, energy and electronics industries.

According to Deloitte’s Electric Vehicle Trends, EV sales are forecast to grow from 2.5 million in 2020 to 11.2 million by 2025, and to 31.1 million by 2030. Analysts from Roskill, a commodity research firm and a leader in critical materials supply chains, provide an outlook on battery metals’ markets over the next decade.

Lithium

Global demand for lithium carbonate — one of two primary forms of lithium used in EVs — is expected to exceed one million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in 2026, according to David Merriman, an expert on EV and battery materials at Roskill.

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US government gives high priority status to Graphite One’s Alaskan project – Daniel Sekulich (Northern Miner – February 3, 2021)

Global mining news

In mid-January Graphite One’s (TSX: GPH; US-OTC: GPHOF) Graphite Creek project in Alaska was designated as a High-Priority Infrastructure Project (HPIP) by the U.S. government’s Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Committee (FPISC). The approval comes after the project was originally nominated for HPIP designation by Alaskan governor Mike Dunleavy in October, 2019.

In his 2019 nomination letter to the FPISC, Governor Dunleavy wrote that designating Graphite Creek as a High-Priority Infrastructure Project “will send a strong signal that the U.S. intends to end the days of our 100% import-dependency for this increasingly critical mineral.”

The Vancouver-based company says that Graphite Creek, which is located in Alaska’s Seward Peninsula, about 55 km north of the city of Nome, is the highest grade and largest known large flake graphite deposit in the U.S. The site is adjacent to the Imuruk Basin, which opens into the Bering Strait that separates Alaska from Siberian Russia.

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