LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) – Global nickel usage surged by an extraordinary 16.2% last year on the back of booming demand from both the dominant stainless steel and fast-growing battery end-use sectors.
The result was a supply shortfall of 168,000 tonnes, the largest production deficit in at least a decade, according to the International Nickel Study Group’s latest statistical snapshot on the market.
https://www.thesudburystar.com/
Green candidate says new jobs will come from supply and services, and research, not mineral extraction
With the PC rep absent there was plenty the remaining mainstream Sudbury candidates could agree upon, although the three did clash from time to time — particularly on the question of how much mineral extraction drives the local economy.
Both Jamie West, the NDP incumbent, and David Farrow, running for the Liberals, took exception to Green candidate David Robinson’s assessment of how significant the city’s signature industry is to its future prosperity.
A Minnesota project has to overcome tribal and environmental concerns. But the U.S. needs its own source of nickel, which is key to electric-vehicle expansion.
The future of US-made electric-vehicle batteries might be found in a modest white shed in Tamarack, Minnesota, population 104.
Beneath bright fluorescent lights, foot-long cylindrical pieces of rock are laid out in cardboard boxes, where they sparkle with grains found in the millions of pounds of nickel that Tesla Inc. committed to buy on Jan. 11. That commitment has the potential to turn into a savvy buy for the electric carmaker.
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
The global nickel squeeze should turn the world’s critical mineral attention on this region, says mining columnist Stan Sudol
The big splash agreement that Elon Musk and his Tesla car company made last week with Brazilian miner Vale should have a ripple effect in the nickel-rich Sudbury basin and across Northern Ontario, according to a Toronto-based mining columnist.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to highlight the enormous potential of the Sudbury basin for clean, low-carbon nickel,” said Stan Sudol, owner of the Republic of Mining website, who heaped praise on the Tesla CEO.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has dealt a fresh blow to PolyMet Mining’s (TSX: POM) plans to build an open pit copper-nickel mine in Minnesota, by recommending the US Army Corps of Engineers not re-issue a key water-related permit.
The agency said this week the $1 billion NorthMet project, the first large-scale project to be permitted within the Duluth Complex in northeastern Minnesota, risked increasing levels of mercury and other pollutants in the St. Louis River downstream from the proposed mine.
Tesla has agreed a long-term deal to buy nickel from global miner Vale as the carmaker looks to secure the raw materials needed for its batteries. Nickel is needed for the most powerful lithium-ion cells used in electric vehicles and the supply agreement with the Brazilian group marks the latest move by Elon Musk’s group to lock down non-Chinese supplies.
Analysts estimate more than 80 per cent of the world’s nickel processing is based in China and 60 per cent of the world’s nickel mines are Chinese owned.
(Bloomberg) — BHP Group’s unsuccessful attempt to buy a junior Canadian nickel miner last year should be seen as “almost the tip of the iceberg” for its ambitions in the resource-rich country, says one of the company’s top executives.
The world’s biggest mining company sees nickel as one of three “future-facing commodities” — along with copper and potash — and has set up its exploration and business development team in Canada, partly to scour for opportunities in Ontario’s highly prospective Ring of Fire region.
May 4 (Reuters) – So far, at least, “Nickel King” Vladimir Potanin is Russia’s ultimate survivor. Unlike many of Russia’s notable oligarchs, he has not been sanctioned by the United States or the European Union for his closeness to President Vladimir Putin.
And as Western companies quit Russia because of those sanctions, imposed as retaliation for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, he has snapped up assets to expand his own banking business. On Monday, Potanin’s Interros holding company said it had bought United Card Services, the Russian unit of U.S.-listed Global Payments, for an undisclosed sum.
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
Wyloo Metals preparing to puts its stamp on James Bay mineral projects
Expect 2028 to be the year when the first truckloads of nickel concentrate will be rumbling out of the James Bay lowlands to market.That was the best educated guess from Noront Resources CEO Alan Coutts on an approximate date when the Eagle’s Nest nickel mine in the Ring of Fire will go into production.
During a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce webinar on May 3, Coutts delivered an update to an online audience on the latest goings-on with the company and a basic primer on how Noront’s new Australian owners, Wyloo Metals, intend to approach development in Ontario’s Far North. Wyloo’s $616.9-million acquisition of Noront was finalized in early April.
https://www.thesudburystar.com/
Fifteen years without material progress has made Northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire mining project the source of much talk and scrutiny. But Noront Resources CEO Alan Coutts said Tuesday that the company’s recent acquisition by Australian company Wyloo Metal Ltd. may be the kick-start the project needs.
Coutts made the comments during an address hosted by the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commons. His goal was to provide details of the tumultuous last few months, where a bidding war for control of Noront raised questions about the Ring of Fire’s future. Due to its prevalance in the mining industry, Sudbury has always had a particular interest in the project.
On the eve of Ontario’s June 2 election call, Chrysler and Dodge factories in Brampton and Windsor are getting a $1-billion infusion from the federal and provincial governments to build the next generation of hybrid and electric vehicles.
On the eve of Ontario’s June 2 election call, Chrysler and Dodge factories in Brampton and Windsor are getting a $1-billion infusion from the federal and provincial governments to build the next generation of hybrid and electric vehicles.
The money for the automakers’ parent company, Stellantis, goes toward flexible vehicle assembly lines as the 3,000-employee Brampton plant was preparing to lose production of muscle cars like the V-8 Dodge Challenger to a factory in Illinois, where new electric versions will be made.
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
SPC Nickel emerging as new nickel player in the Sudbury basin in seeking to resurrect former nickel mine
A new nickel player in the Sudbury mining camp expects great results toward resurrecting a former mine, while two other junior miners pursue palladium and gold at the opposite ends of the basin.
SPC Nickel cashed up over the winter with more than $3 million to go exploring for nickel, copper and platinum group metals (PGM) on its three properties in the Sudbury area.
Doug Ford’s government said the economic recovery plan could eliminate Ontario’s deficit two years earlier than projected
In a budget delivered just over a month before voters head to the polls, in what amounts to an election platform, the Ontario government is promising to invest billions of dollars during the next three to five years to shore up infrastructure, boost the supply of critical minerals and commercialize promising technologies.
Despite the spending, the government said the economic recovery plan laid out Thursday could eliminate Ontario’s deficit two years earlier than projected in the 2021 budget.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/
Steve LeVine says the world only produces enough nickel to meet half the demand for EVs
It’s unlikely automakers will be able to meet their projections for electric vehicles (EV) as demand for the critical minerals that make up the batteries for them continues to rise, according to a noted business journalist.
Steve LeVine is editor of The Electric, a publication that focuses on electric vehicles and the lithium ion batteries that power them. LeVine, who’s based in Washington, said the world’s mines only produce around half of the critical minerals necessary to meet the auto industry’s EV goals.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Canada’s battery metals sector is showing signs of life, but impediments remain to this country gaining meaningful global market share in an industry dominated by China. Over the past few months, Canada has landed its first electric-car battery plant, and a new deep-pocketed owner has taken possession of Ontario’s Ring of Fire mining assets, which the province is hoping will supply battery-grade nickel.
The federal government delivered another potential boost to the battery sector when it said in its 2022 budget that it is prepared to spend $3.8-billion to fund the critical minerals industry over the next eight years.
