Lithium – Page 30 – Republic of Mining

Musk’s tweets fuel mining industry’s hopes of a buyout by Tesla – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters – April 19, 2022)

April 20, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

Elon Musk’s recent musings that high lithium prices may force Tesla Inc to make its own supply of the electric vehicle battery metal have fueled hopes by some that the billionaire entrepreneur will instead opt for a buyout of an established mining company.

The auto giant already has supply contracts for nickel, lithium and a range of other EV metals from suppliers across the globe. But it needs more, and industry analysts say Tesla may soon realize that building a mine or processing facility from scratch is not as easy as it sounds and the automaker should instead consider a buyout.

Australia Should Be a Green Mining Superpower: Expert – by Victoria Kelly-Clark The Epoch Times – April 19, 2022)

April 19, 2022

https://www.theepochtimes.com/

Australia needs to start focusing on utilising its abundant natural advantages to take advantage of the global financial push for green energy, an expert has said. Director of Climate Energy Finance (CEF) Tim Buckley told The Epoch Times he believes that Australia has the potential to become a world leader in the green revolution that is now he says, inevitable.

However, the country is lagging behind. “Australia should be a renewable energy superpower,” Buckley said. “We should be a renewable mining industry superpower.”

GM and Ford Join Tesla in Race to Secure EV Battery Material Supplies – by Al Root (Barrons – April 13, 2022)

April 19, 2022

https://www.barrons.com/

Auto makers are trying to secure supplies of critical materials for meeting their electric-vehicle goals, particularly as prices rise . Ford Motor, General Motors, and Tesla have all made some recent strategic moves to shore up materials to produce EV batteries. On Tuesday, General Motors (ticker: GM) signed a cobalt supply deal with global mining giant Glencore (GLEN.London).

Cobalt is used along with metals such as lithium, nickel, and iron in rechargeable EV batteries. Cobalt gets more attention than other EV materials because most of the world’s cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has a reputation for poor mining practices and a weak human rights record. The cobalt GM is buying from Glencore , however, will be sourced from Australia.

Mexican president to fast-track nationalization of lithium if power reform thwarted – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – April 13, 2022)

April 19, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) is ready to send a bill to Congress next week declaring lithium a “strategic mineral” and reserving future exploration and mining for the government if lawmakers fail to pass his constitutional reform tightening state control of the electricity market.

The country’s lower house is set to vote on Sunday on a constitutional energy overhaul that includes nationalizing lithium and guaranteeing state-owned utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad, or CFE, 54% of the market.

As EV market grows, mining exec says he wants keep Northern Ontario control over lithium project – by Len Gilles (Sudbury.com – April 9, 2022)

April 11, 2022

https://www.sudbury.com/

Lithium is one of the key minerals used in the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles

A Sudbury mining executive told the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce Wednesday that he is working hard to keep managerial control of his company and its assets in Northern Ontario.

Trevor Walker, President and CEO of Frontier Lithium, was speaking at the chamber’s president’s series luncheon held in Copper Cliff. Walker said Frontier has spent more than 10 years developing an incredibly rich and significantly large lithium mineral deposit in Northwestern Ontario. Lithium is one of the key minerals used in the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).

A South American Lithium Cartel Faces Long Odds – by Thomas Graham (World Politics Review – April 11, 2022)

April 11, 2022

https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/

LA PAZ, Bolivia—With the swearing-in of Chilean President Gabriel Boric last month, the three countries of Latin America’s so-called lithium triangle—Chile, Bolivia and Argentina—all have leftist leaders who want their governments and citizens to benefit more from the extraction of their countries’ natural resources.

At first glance, this could present an opportunity for the three countries to push for the creation of an OPEC-style price-setting cartel for lithium. They are all rich in the coveted resource, and there has been speculation about them banding together to form such an organization for years.

All eyes on Sudbury’s ‘Frontier’ with new lithium project – by Ian Campbell (CTV News Northern Ontario – April 7, 2022)

April 8, 2022

https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/

It was a packed house at Bryston’s in Copper Cliff on Wednesday as members of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce came out to hear the latest on lithium. Specifically, they were there to hear from Frontier Lithium president Trevor Walker, who touched on the company’s plans to develop the Pak deposit in northwestern Ontario.

The Sudbury-based company could soon become one of the biggest lithium suppliers in North America given the value of the deposit at Pakeagama Lake. “We’re blessed to also have former Chief Bart Meekis of Sandy Lake First Nations on the board of directors,” said Walker.

Lithium exports to surge on ‘perpetual’ supply deficit – by Peter Ker and Richard Henderson (Australian Financial Review – April 5, 2022)

April 8, 2022

https://www.afr.com/

One of Australia’s biggest lithium mines will resume exports four months sooner than expected as bumper prices for the battery mineral incentivised miners to raise output and extend the life of their mines.

Mineral Resources said “unprecedented global customer demand for lithium product” had convinced it to resume exports from Western Australia’s Wodgina mine in May, rather than the September schedule it had previously given to investors.

New lithium technology can help the world go green — if it works – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters – April 7, 2022)

April 8, 2022April 8, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

April 7 (Reuters) – Rio Tinto, General Motors and even the U.S. Energy Department are investing heavily in a crop of newer technologies that could revolutionize the way lithium is produced for electric vehicle batteries. Now those technologies just have to prove they work on a commercial scale.

If they do, miners will be able to boost global lithium production with a footprint far smaller than open-pit mines and evaporation ponds, which often are the size of multiple football fields and unpopular with local communities.

Lithium-ion roadblocks drive development of US-based alternatives for grid battery storage – by Elizabeth McCarthy (Utility Dive – April 5, 2022)

April 6, 2022

https://www.utilitydive.com/

Lithium-ion batteries are the dominant technology used for energy storage today but since the start of the war in Ukraine, the price of imported lithium has gone up twofold, said MIT professor Yang Shao-Horn. It is “now the most expensive component” in lithium-ion batteries, she told conference participants. The price of other key metals has also soared.

“This sharp increase in the cost of lithium potentially can drive other [storage] technologies and move them faster,” she said, pointing to sodium-ion battery chemistries as one example. This technology is “moving rapidly,” nearly matching lithium-ion’s battery performance, with costs expected to be “substantially lower,” Shao-Horn noted.

Governments ignore mining in electrification push – by Rick Mills (Ahead of the Herd/Mining.com – April 4, 2022)

April 5, 2022

https://www.mining.com/

The supply chain for batteries, wind turbines, solar panels, electric motors, transmission lines, 5G — everything regarding electrification and decarbonization that is needed for a green economy — starts with metals and mining.

A green infrastructure and transportation spending push will mean a lot more metals will need to be mined, including lithium, nickel, and graphite for EV batteries; copper for electric vehicle wiring, charging stations and renewable energy projects; silver for solar panels; rare earths for permanent magnets that go into EV motors and wind turbines; and silver/ tin for the hundreds of millions of solder points necessary in making the new electrified economy a reality.

First Nation in Abitibi-Témiscamingue seeks independent review of potential mining project (CBC News Montreal – April 5, 2022)

April 5, 2022

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

An Anishinabeg First Nation in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region wants to lead its own environmental assessment of a lithium mining project that the company Sayona is looking to develop on ancestral land.

The Long Point First Nation, whose 800 members mostly live in Winneway, Que., is concerned about the potential impacts that the project could have on its land and its traditional way of life.

Former Algoma Steel owners sign deal to help build lithium refinery in Thunder Bay – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – April 5, 2022)

April 5, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Essar Group and Avalon Advanced Materials team up with aim of having $500-million processing plant in operation by 2025 to serve electric vehicle market

Avalon Advanced Materials has found a global financing partner from India to help build a $500-million lithium refinery in Thunder Bay.

After its first development partner backed out, Avalon, a Toronto-based junior miner, announced April 4 that it’s signed a binding letter of intent with RenJoules International, a subsidiary of the Essar Group.

Commodity prices increase as mining transitions to green energy – by Olivia Johnson (CIM Magazine – April 2022)

April 5, 2022

https://magazine.cim.org/en/

Nickel, cobalt and lithium continue to benefit from electric vehicle demand

A strong end to the year and accelerated prices in January have led to higher commodities forecasts, and metals such as copper, nickel and lithium are benefiting from “the red-hot EV market.”

In S&P Global’s State of the Market: Mining Q4-21 conference, Sean Decoff, senior analyst, metals and mining research at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said that in general, the industry is seeing positives. COVID-19 cases are dropping, many countries are completely scrapping restrictions and persistent inflation is benefiting commodity prices.

The Battery Metal Really Worrying China Is Lithium, Not Nickel -by Annie Lee (Bloomberg News – April 2022)

April 4, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Nickel has captured much of the limelight among battery metals in recent weeks, and understandably so. Wild price swings, including an unprecedented 250% advance over two trading sessions amid a short squeeze, and concerns tied to Russia’s role as a key supplier have added to longstanding worries among automakers about securing enough of the material.

Even so, it’s another metal that’s been causing concern in the world’s largest electric vehicle market. China’s government last month hauled in a whole range of market players for two days of talks focused on halting a breakneck run-up in lithium, the metal that’s vital for almost all rechargeable batteries and critical to the roll-out of emissions-free cars and clean energy.