Archive | Nickel

Huge demand for copper, cobalt, lithium and nickel in the offing as EV uptake increases – by Tracy Hancock (MiningWeekly.com – March 15, 2019)

March 15, 2019 in Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles, Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals, Copper, International Media Resource Articles, Lithium, Metals and Manufacturing, Nickel

http://m.miningweekly.com/

Metals of the Future

Investors focused on the mining sector may not fully appreciate how quickly the electric vehicle (EV) is being adopted globally, in light of the world pursuing a low-carbon emissions future, says battery metals investment vehicle Cobalt 27 Capital chairperson and CEO Anthony Milewski, who warns of a potential deficit in the supply of the metals critical to achieving this future.

Global management consultancy firm McKinsey & Company says 2017 marked the first time EV sales passed the one- million mark, noting in May 2018 that, by 2020, EV producers could be moving 4.5- million units, about 5% of the overall global light-vehicle market.

Even with South Africa’s electricity supply woes, automotive company Jaguar Land Rover South Africa forecast in January that South Africa could have 145 000 EVs on its roads, expecting yearly sales of new EVs to reach 43 000 units in the next six years. Continue Reading →

Column: Nickel rally fades, electric vehicle buzz doesn’t – by Andy Home (Reuters U.K. – February 12, 2019)

February 12, 2019 in Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles, International Media Resource Articles, Latin America Mining, Nickel, Nickel Laterites, Vale

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Was it another false dawn for the nickel market? Last week’s rally to a five-month high of $13,350 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange has gone into sharp reverse. Nickel was trading back at $12,385 on Tuesday.

The trigger for the price surge was concern that Brazilian producer Vale’s nickel operations would suffer some sort of knock-on effect from the devastating tailings collapse at the company’s Brumadinho iron ore mine.

Such fears have proved unfounded. So far. There may still be ramifications for Vale’s Onca Puma ferronickel operations in the state of Para. But nickel’s ability to rally at all in the current gloomy macroeconomic environment is testament to continued investor interest in the metal’s potential demand boost from the electric vehicle (EV) revolution. Continue Reading →

Blast may have triggered quake in Sudbury: Vale – by Donald Macdonald (Sudbury Star – February 8, 2019)

February 8, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Glencore, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin, Vale

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

No serious damage to Garson Mine or nearby Nickel Rim Mine, companies say.

Work is proceeding at Garson Mine after an earthquake Wednesday that originated at the Vale site but was felt by people residing more than 10 kilometres away.

Vale spokesperson Angie Robson said the company experienced a 2.9 magnitude seismic event at the 5,200 level of the mine shortly after 5 p.m. Fortunately, “no employees were injured as a result of this event,” she noted, and “work is continuing as normal, except in restricted areas of the mine.”

Robson said there was no damage to mobile equipment, “although there is some displaced rock that needs to be addressed, as well as some repair work to infrastructure in the affected area of the mine.” Continue Reading →

Nornickel promises halt in death clouds – by Atle Staalesen (The Barents Observer – February 7, 2019)

February 7, 2019 in Europe Mining, International Media Resource Articles, Nickel

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/

Poisonous air on 25th January rolled over the border and into the Norwegian settlement of Svanvik where local authorities quickly recommended people to stay indoor. It was another day with heavy emissions from the melters in Nikel, the nearby company town of mining and metallurgy giant Norilsk Nickel.

The company that same evening decided to temporary reduce production in a bid to curb emissions.

«After we got the information about the unfavourable weather conditions we introduced limitations in the technological regime of the melter in Nikel, even down to a halt in the feeding of raw materials to the furnaces,» says Yevgeny Bozenko, general director of Kola MMC, the regional subsidiary of Nornickel. Continue Reading →

U.S. Loosing Global Battery Arms Race that is Critically Dependent on Nickel, Cobalt and Lithium – by Simon Moores (Benchmark Mineral Intelligence – February 5, 2019)

February 6, 2019 in Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles, Cobalt, Critical, Strategic and Rare Earth Minerals and Metals, Graphite Mining, Lithium, Nickel, Nickel Laterites
  • Written Testimony of Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
  • For: US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Committee
  • Hearing: Tuesday, February 5 2019, at 10:00a.m. Room 366, Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.
  • Subject: Outlook for energy and minerals markets in the 116th Congress.

We are in the midst of a global battery arms race in which the US is presently a bystander.

Since my last testimony only 14 months ago, we have reached a new gear in this energy storage revolution which is now having a profound impact on supply chains and the raw materials that fuel it.

The advent of electric vehicles (EVs) and the emergence of battery energy storage has sparked a wave of lithium ion battery megafactories being built. Continue Reading →

Ford engages the mining sector on the road to more EVs – by Kim Cloete (MiningWeekly.com – February 5, 2019)

February 5, 2019 in International Media Resource Articles, Metals and Manufacturing, Nickel

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/

Ford is quickening its pace towards the mass production of electric vehicles (EVs) and is researching how the mining industry can help it achieve its goals.

“There are tremendous investments taking place at every level to achieve this radical revolution in the automotive industry,” Ford energy storage, strategy and research senior manager Ted Miller told delegates at the Investing in African Mining Indaba, in Cape Town.

He added that Ford and its competitors had made significant investments and expected suppliers to do the same. Continue Reading →

Eye on Mining: Exclusive interview with PolyMet CEO and President – by Staff (CBS 3 Duluth – January 29, 2019)

January 30, 2019 in International Media Resource Articles, Minnesota Duluth Complex and Iron Range, Nickel

CBS 3 Duluth.com

HOYT LAKES, MN — After nearly 15 years and thousands of public comments PolyMet is making preparations to start construction on Minnesota’s first copper-nickel mine.

“During this upcoming construction season we’ll be in a position to be ready to begin the project,” said Jon Cherry, President and CEO of PolyMet. “2019 should be when we break ground and get going.”

Cherry has been at the forefront of this project for the last six and a half years and he said it hasn’t been without obstacles. “The challenge has been the length of time that it’s taken to get to this point.” PolyMet began the initial environmental review back in 2004. Continue Reading →

Nickel prices must rise to meet battery demand: AABC (Argus Media.com – January 28, 2019)

January 30, 2019 in Battery Technology Innovation/Electric Vehicles, International Media Resource Articles, Nickel, Nickel Laterites

https://www.argusmedia.com/en/

Higher nickel prices are required to incentivise supply of nickel sulphate for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, particularly given lower cobalt prices, delegates heard today at the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference (AABC) in Strasbourg, France.

Supply of nickel increased by 7pc last year to about 2.19mn t, but demand increased by 8pc to 2.33mn t, increasing the deficit to 147,000t, from 131,000t in 2017, said Denis Sharypin, head of market research at Russian producer Norilsk Nickel.

The battery sector accounted for 124,000t of consumption last year, and while overall nickel demand is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5pc to 2025, demand from the battery sector is estimated to climb at a CAGR of 18pc over the same period. Continue Reading →

Rickford promises progress in the Ring of Fire – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 24, 2018)

January 25, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Chromium/Platinum Group Metals, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Indigenous communities to reap the rewards, benefits of natural resource development

Provincial cabinet minister Greg Rickford offered a stay-tuned response to the government’s plans to advance the construction of an access corridor to the Ring of Fire.

The minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, and Indigenous Affairs was in Sudbury to reaffirm the Ford government’s commitment to opening up the mineral deposits in the remote James Bay region.

In his Jan. 23 remarks at the Procurement, Employment, Partnerships Conference in Sudbury, Rickford referred to the James Bay mineral belt as a “region of prosperity” that’s been “complicated and overburdened with bureaucracy.” Continue Reading →

Access to Ring of Fire top priority for Noront; work continues on assessing Sault and Timmins – by Elaine Della-Mattia (Sault Star/Sudbury Star – January 24, 2019)

January 24, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Chromium/Platinum Group Metals, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Without a road, Noront Resources cannot access the minerals found in the Ring of Fire. And that means moving forward too quickly on a processing facility is also not necessary.

So, the silence surrounding any decision by Noront Resources as to whether Sault Ste. Marie or Timmins will be the eventual host of a ferrochrome processing facility is nothing to panic about.

Mayor Christian Provenzano says he, along with Tom Vair, the city’s deputy CEO of community development and enterprise and EDC’s Dan Hollingsworth, met with Noront Resources officials in Toronto last Friday to get an update and offer any assistance. Continue Reading →

Ford clears the way for mine development, minister tells Sudbury audience – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – January 24, 2019)

January 24, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Chromium/Platinum Group Metals, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Mining projects in the region will now go forward with fewer hurdles and costs, a provincial cabinet minister assured participants of a resource development conference Wednesday.

“I want the industries in Ontario to know that they have an ally and a partner in this government,” said Greg Rickford, MPP for Kenora-Rainy River and minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, as well as minister of Indigenous Affairs. “That we’re committed to supporting and protecting and launching mining projects across Ontario.”

That includes expediting development in the Ring of Fire, which Rickford said is long-overdue. “In southern Ontario there are folks who still think there are active mine sites up there,” he said. “But despite the decade of talk and more than $20 million invested in this region, there are still disappointingly no shovels in the ground.” Continue Reading →

Miners waiting for higher nickel, metals prices – by Harold Carmichael (Sudbury Star – January 18, 2019)

January 18, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Europe Mining, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Stan Sudol Columns/Media References and Appearances

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

The prices of nickel and other metals prices will recover, especially when more electric vehicles are built, mining analysts say. When they do, work at Levack Mine’s Morrison deposit will resume. Until then, KGHM Sudbury will keep the deposit in a care and maintenance mode, company officials say.

“It was very difficult,” Steve Dunlop, KGHM Sudbury general manager, said about meetings with employees held Wednesday to break the news. “Our concern is certainly with our employees. We are a fairly tight family. All of our workers have 10-plus years and the staff (members) have also been with us for quite a long time. It was very difficult.”

Slumping world nickel prices have prompted KGHM Sudbury to halt production at its Morrison deposit, putting an estimated 120 employees out of work as of late March when the mine goes into care and maintenance mode. A total of 87 of the affected 120 employees are members of United Steelworkers Local 2020. Continue Reading →

KGHM to shutter Sudbury-area mine – by Staff (Sudbury Star – January 17, 2019)

January 17, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Europe Mining, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Blaming a long slump in metals prices, mining company KGHM on Wednesday announced it was shuttering its Levack Mine’s Morrison Deposit, throwing more than 100 people out of work.

“This is not an easy situation for the employees and families impacted,” general manager Steve Dunlop said in a release. “We are a small company and we all know each other quite well. This announcement hasn’t been a surprise for many of our people as this is a cyclical industry and we have been openly working with them on solutions to our financial challenges at Morrison — but that certainly doesn’t make this any easier.

“We were really hoping the mining sector would have recovered by now.” KGHM, a Polish-owned company, said the commodities market has been struggling and slow to recover, which is putting immense financial pressures on resource-based companies around the world and locally — as witnessed by cutbacks with other local operators in the past year. Continue Reading →

Commentary: Flash LME nickel squeeze may be a taste of things to come – by Andy Home (Reuters U.K. – January 16, 2019)

January 16, 2019 in International Media Resource Articles, Nickel, Nickel Laterites

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Nickel bears have been sent running for cover by this week’s ferocious squeeze on the London Metal Exchange (LME). Short-dated time-spreads have flexed out to levels not seen in many years as a long-running decline in LME nickel stocks translates into cash-date tightness.

The resulting bear rout has halted a six-month downtrend in the outright nickel price. Bulls, however, should not get overly excited. There is as yet scant evidence this was anything other than a flash squeeze rather than a signal for higher prices.

But that is not to say there won’t be more such spread tension in the nickel market going forward. That nickel should be squeezed this week is no accident. Today is the LME’s “third-Wednesday” prime prompt date, the monthly clear-out of outstanding positions. Continue Reading →

Sudbury sees spike in international delegations: Mining innovation drawing business travellers to community – by Karen McKinley (Northern Ontario Business – January 15, 2019)

January 15, 2019 in Canadian Regional Media and Web Publications, Nickel, Ontario Mining, Sudbury Basin

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

The City of Greater Sudbury’s long history in mining is starting to have an effect on travel numbers, according to the city’s development corporation.

Over the past year more delegates have been coming to the city to not just meet and speak with companies and executives, but look at how the region has tackled mining as a whole, from prospecting and technology, to remediation and knowledge gathering.

“The numbers are increasing because Sudbury has a global reputation for being a mining innovation centre,” said Scott Rennie, project manager for Northern Ontario exports, Greater Sudbury Development Corporation in an interview. Continue Reading →