Nickel – Page 40 – Republic of Mining

BHP and Forrest may be better together on nickel play (Australian Financial Review – July 28, 2021)

July 28, 2021

https://www.afr.com/

BHP might have trumped Andrew Forrest’s bid for a Canadian nickel miner, but there’s no reason the pair can’t form a partnership on this project.

The prospect of iron ore titans Andrew Forrest and BHP duking it out over a Canadian nickel junior is obviously delicious. But the rational move is for the old foes to get into bed together on what both clearly see as a great opportunity amid a broader rush for battery minerals.

BHP announced on Tuesday night a $C325 million ($351 million) bid for Noront, which has a highly rated nickel project called Eagle’s Nest in Ontario’s Ring of Fire region (how Game of Thrones is that?) some 1200 kilometres north of Toronto.

The Big Australian’s bid, which has the support of the Noront executive team (which owns 9.9 per cent of the company), is pitched at a 75 per cent premium to the takeover bid by Forrest’s Wyloo Metals in May.

Fight over nickel assets heats up with BHP’s $258m Noront bid – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 27, 2021)

July 28, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

BHP (ASX, LON, NYSE: BHP) has offered C$325 million ($258.45 million) for Canadian nickel miner Noront Resources (TSX-V: NOT), trumping a bid by Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo Metals, as top miners race to secure supplies of battery metals.

The world’s largest miner is offering C$0.55 per share of Noront, representing a premium of 129% to the firm’s closing price on May 21, a day before Wyloo’s proposal.

Noront is recommending that shareholders accept the bid, which comes through BHP Lonsdale, a subsidiary that already owns 3.7% of the Canadian nickel producer.

BHP strikes friendly deal to buy Ring of Fire explorer Noront for $325-million – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – July 28, 2021)

July 28, 2021

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

BHP Group Ltd. has reached a friendly agreement to acquire Ring of Fire explorer Noront Resources Ltd. for $325-million, trumping an earlier unsolicited approach from Australian private equity firm Wyloo Metals Pty Ltd.

Melbourne-based BHP said it intends to pay 55 cents a share in cash for Toronto-based Noront, 69-per-cent higher than the company’s closing price on the TSX Venture Exchange on Monday. The offer is also significantly higher than the $0.315-a-share proposal made by Wyloo, currently Noront’s largest shareholder, in May.

The Ring of Fire, situated 550 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay in the James Bay Lowlands in Ontario’s Far North, has had an almost mythical hold on the Canadian mining industry for more than a decade, but so far no company has succeeded in building any mines in the region.

Australian company BHP makes takeover bid for Canada’s Noront Resources (CBC Thunder Bay – July 27, 2021)

July 28, 2021

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/

Another Australian company is moving forward with a takeover bid for Noront Resources, with a cash offer for all outstanding and issued shares of the Canadian company.

Noront’s board of directors is recommending shareholders accept the offer from BHP, which would pay 55 cents cash for each share.

This is the second Noront takeover bid by an Australian company this year. In May, Wyloo Metals offered 31.5 cents cash for Noront shares.

BHP beats Forrest in takeover battle for prized nickel project – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review – July 27, 2021)

July 28, 2021July 28, 2021

https://www.afr.com/

BHP has made a sensational bid to snatch a high-grade nickel project in Canada from the clutches of Andrew Forrest in another sign of how determined it is to secure a future in battery metals.

The BHP bid for Noront Resources unveiled on Tuesday night trumps a takeover offer lobbed by Dr Forrest’s privately-owned Wyloo Metals in May.

How Dr Forrest will react to the BHP raising the takeover stakes by a substantial premium remains unclear, with Wyloo controlling about 37 per cent of Noront stock.

NEWS RELEASE: BHP makes recommended all-cash offer of C$0.55 per share for Noront (July 27, 2021)

July 27, 2021

Noront Board recommends shareholders accept the offer

Consideration of C$0.55 per share represents a 129% premium to Noront’s unaffected closing price on May 21, 2021 and a 69% premium to Noront’s closing price on July 26, 2021, the last trading day prior to announcing this transaction.
The members of the Noront Board who voted on the matter unanimously recommend shareholders accept the offer.
Noront directors and senior management and a major shareholder holding an aggregate of 9.9% of the Noront shares on a fully diluted basis1 have agreed to tender all of their Noront shares to the offer.
Noront represents a growth opportunity in a prospective nickel basin capable of delivering a scalable, new nickel-sulphide district and provides the BHP group with more growth options in future facing commodities.
With proven expertise and capabilities in both exploration and bringing complex base metals projects into production, the BHP group is well positioned to advance Noront’s Ring of Fire projects through the next stages of development.
To tender your shares contact your broker or Kingsdale Advisors. Contact information is included below.

Analysts expect global shortage of precious metals in years to come – by Eugene Gerden (Resource World – July 22, 2021)

July 23, 2021

https://resourceworld.com/

The increase of demand for clean energy sources and the ever growing popularity of electric vehicles and energy storage systems in the world may lead to a shortage of metals in the global market followed by a sharp increase in prices for them in years to come, according to recent statements, made by producers and analysts in the field of mining.

According to recent estimates of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the demand for lithium will grow more than 40 times by 2040, while for cobalt and nickel by 20 times within the next two decades. The same situation is expected to be observed in the case of other precious metals.

Igor Sechin, Chief Executive Officer of Rosneft, Russia’s largest state-owned oil producer, believes such as growth of demand may lead to the shortage of this and other metals in the global market, as the current investments in their exploration and development remains insufficient to ensure their stable supplies to global market.

BHP to supply greener Australian nickel to Tesla (Reuters – July 22, 2021)

July 23, 2021

https://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE July 22 (Reuters) – Global miner BHP Group (BHP.AX) said on Thursday it signed a nickel supply agreement with Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and will work with the electric carmaker on lowering carbon emissions in the battery supply chain.

Tesla said in June it expects to spend more than $1 billion a year on battery raw materials from Australia given the country’s reliable mining industry and responsible production practices. read more

Western automakers are also seeking to diversify supply chains to lessen their dependence on China, in line with a U.S. policy to rely on allies to supply metals for electric vehicles.

Nickel Deposits in Canada: A Quick Overview (Investing News Network – July 20, 2021)

July 21, 2021

https://investingnews.com/

Commodity prices have seen drastic increases over the past several months as demand for materials increases in a post-lockdown world. Nickel is amongst many other metals that have seen increases in demand and prices as manufacturing scales up across the globe.

Nickel has traditionally been highly sought after for its use in the production of stainless steel. More recently, nickel has also become an increasingly important element in electric vehicle (EV) production, as the material allows for producers to create lighter, smaller and higher density batteries.

And as more and more countries around the world continue to push towards the adoption of EVs, demand for nickel has continued to increase. Analysts expect this rapidly expanding market to continue growing, with an estimated compound annual growth rate of 26.8 percent by 2031.

Stainless steel strength and supply hits reinforce nickel – by Andy Home (Mining.com/Reuters – July 21, 2021)

July 21, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

Nickel is making a comeback. A strong pandemic recovery rally was rudely interrupted in March, when China’s Tsingshan Group said it intended to produce battery-grade nickel at its Indonesian operations.

Converting what is currently a process stream for Tsingshan’s stainless steel production to an input for electric vehicle cathode chemistry would undermine nickel’s bull narrative of a looming shortfall of battery-quality metal.

The London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month nickel price slumped from a seven-year high of $20,110 per tonne to $15,665 over the first half of March. It has since clawed its way back to a current $18,400 with ripples of tightness appearing across nearby time-spreads against a backdrop of falling LME inventory.

EV Metal Index quadruples year-on-year as lithium, nickel prices rally – by Editor (Mining.com – July 19, 2021)

July 20, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

MINING.COM’s EV Metal Index quadrupled from May 2020 and added nearly 18% in value from the previous month, racking up the third best monthly total on record.

The EV Metal Index, which tracks the value of battery metals in newly registered passenger EVs (including hybrids) around the world, came in at $477 million in April, an increase of 326% over the same month last year and bringing the year-to-date total to $2.03 billion.

Total battery capacity of EVs sold during the month tripled year on year to 19.2 GWh, according to Adamas Intelligence, which tracks demand for EV batteries by chemistry, cell supplier and capacity in over 100 countries.

It’s not just mining. Refining holds U.S. back on minerals – by James Marshall (E&E News – Greenwire – July 14, 2021)

July 15, 2021

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Republicans are sensing a vulnerability in the White House’s avowed allegiance to renewable energy, questioning whether the Biden administration will embrace mining projects to ramp up the United States’ access to the minerals vital to building electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels.

They have taken aim at a Biden administration decision to delay a land swap that would facilitate copper mining on sacred Apache land and another to postpone orders to open Alaskan land to mineral development (E&E Daily, April 29).

But experts say mining expansion isn’t a silver bullet in the United States’ quest to become competitive with China on critical minerals during the energy transition. Instead, they argue that the key problem the Biden administration must swiftly address is farther up the supply chain: the dearth of U.S. mineral processing plants and refineries.

Manitoba needs to up its mining game – by Joseph Quesnel (Winnipeg Sun – July 9, 2021)

July 13, 2021

https://winnipegsun.com/

Joseph Quesnel is a senior research associate with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

There is some good news for mining in Manitoba, but the province needs to reform its mining policies for the sector to thrive. Despite some progress over the years, this province still has a hostile climate for investment and this needs to change.

Vale recently announced it is making a $150 million investment to extend current nickel mining activities in Thompson, Man., by a decade. At the same time, the company will be engaging in some aggressive exploration drilling of known ore bodies to extend the life of the mine even further.

This is good news because a few years ago, the mining operation in Northern Manitoba was set to shut down. This announcement provides a welcome injection of new capital into northern Manitoba.

Bigger than Voisey’s: Canada Nickel files PEA for Crawford mine in Ontario – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 12, 2021)

July 13, 2021

https://www.mining.com/

Canada Nickel Company (TSX-V: CNC) announced on Monday it had filed a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the Crawford nickel sulphide project in Ontario, almost a year after exploration drilling began at the asset.

The PEA envisions a conventional open pit mine and mill that will produce both nickel and magnetite concentrates over a mine life of 25 years.

The operation is set to generate 2.05 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of nickel-equivalent production in the period — 93% lower than the industry average of 29 tonnes of CO2.

Vale, Steel to head back to table with facilitator – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – July 13, 2021)

July 13, 2021

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Sudbury members have been on strike since June 1; two sides looking for compromise

With a strike by Vale workers now entering its seventh week, the company and union have agreed to bring in an outside party to help them find common ground.

“Over the past few days Vale and the United Steelworkers Local 6500 bargaining committees have been exploring a path forward to the resumption of negotiations,” said Danica Pagnutti, corporate affairs specialist with Vale, in a message to The Star.

“On that front, we will be returning to the negotiation table on July 19 and utilizing a third-party facilitator that was jointly selected by Vale and the USW to assist in these conversations.”