Nickel – Page 50 – Republic of Mining

Tesla Puts Nickel in Focus at Battery Day, but Details Still Needed – by Priscila Barrera (Nickel Investing News – October 8, 2020)

October 16, 2020

https://investingnews.com/

Nickel has been making headlines since Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk called for more mining of the metal over the summer, and the company’s Battery Day has reinforced interest.

Musk said at the recent event that the automaker is looking to process nickel in a more efficient way, eliminating steps and addressing the waste of water. He also reiterated his request for more nickel mining, and said the company is developing cathodes that will contain higher nickel and no cobalt.

At Battery Day, all plans unveiled by Tesla point to a reduction in battery costs, in line with the company’s goal of producing an affordable US$25,000 electric vehicle (EV) in the next three years. Tesla is also looking to ramp up battery production capacity to 100 GWh by 2022 and to 3 TWh by 2030.

BHP thinks big on nickel after Musk dangles supply contract – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review – October 13, 2020)

October 14, 2020

https://www.afr.com/

BHP fanned speculation that it is closing in on an off-take deal with Elon Musk’s Tesla after moving to boost nickel production while reducing carbon emissions in Western Australia.

Eddy Haegel, the boss of BHP’s reborn Nickel West business, said it would continue to acquire prospective nickel tenements in WA after investing in new and existing mines and boosting processing capacity.

Nickel West has also started commissioning work at its delayed nickel sulphate plant at Kwinana, south of Perth, as it doubles up on the battery metal.

Minnesota Supreme Court hears dispute over canceled PolyMet mine permits – by Jennifer Bjorhus (Minneapolis Star Tribune – October 13, 2020)

October 14, 2020

https://www.startribune.com/

The Minnesota Supreme Court will decide whether state regulators erred in issuing permits for PolyMet Mining Corp.’s copper-nickel mine without a special hearing, and could impose further review of the $1 billion project.

The state’s highest court became involved Tuesday in the landmark mine project near Hoyt Lakes — a new type of mine for the state — after an appellate court struck down three permits and sent them back to the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for a contested case hearing.

The lower court reversed PolyMet’s permit to mine and two dam safety permits in January, partly on the grounds that the DNR did not hold the contested-case hearing to vet significant objections from environmentalists and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, who live downstream from the planned mine.

Top Battery Makers Discuss $20 Billion Indonesia EV Plans – by Eko Listiyorini and Harry Suhartono (Bloomberg News – October 14, 2020)

October 14, 2020

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. and LG Chem Ltd., two of the world’s top producers of batteries for electric vehicles, have signaled they may join projects that could see $20 billion more invested in supply chains in Indonesia, according to the country’s government.

The firms signed separate heads of agreement with Aneka Tambang Tbk last month aimed at manufacturing higher value products for batteries from the state-owned miner’s nickel output, said Septian Hario Seto, deputy for investment coordination and mining at the coordinating ministry for maritime affairs and investments.

It’s a strategy that would involve development of new capacity for metals processing to battery pack assembly, according to Seto. “This is a race on technology,” he said in an interview. “LG Chem and CATL are two front-runners in lithium battery technology.”

NEWS RELEASE: VALE TO DEMOLISH STOBIE MINE HEADFRAMES & BUILDINGS (October 13, 2020)

October 13, 2020

SUDBURY, October 13, 2020 – After more than 100 years of operation, the iconic headframes and other buildings at Vale’s Stobie Mine site will be demolished over the next few months. The demolition follows Stobie Mine operations being placed on care and maintenance in 2017.

“The aging headframes are being demolished to reduce maintenance costs and pave the way for potential new development currently being studied at the Stobie Mine site,” said Patrick Boitumelo, Head of Mining & Milling for Vale’s North Atlantic Operations.

This work will be completed between mid-October and mid-December, with all three headframes at Stobie Mine demolished. Shafts Seven and Eight will be dismantled by carefully removing pieces of the headframes from the top down starting October 13th. The Nine Shaft will be safely blasted down the week of November 9th. Some buildings at the site such as the crusher plant, mill and hoist building have already been removed with a few more also scheduled for demolition.

Will it be Northern Ontario minerals going into Oakville-produced electric cars or Congolese? – by Maija Hoggett (Sudbury.com – October 12, 2020)

October 13, 2020

https://www.sudbury.com/

The North needs to ‘seize this moment,’ Timmins-James Bay MP Charllie Angus says

With the government investing in electric vehicles, Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus said the region should “seize this moment.”

At the Timmins Chamber’s town State of COVID-19 townhall Oct. 7, Angus talked about the exciting potential for the area.

The federal and provincial governments announced a combined $590-million investment on Oct. 8 for Ford Motor Company’s $1.8-million retooling of its Oakville assembly plant to start rolling electric vehicles off the line by 2025.

Nornickel eyes doubling of copper production in Kola Peninsula – by Atle Staalesen (The Barents Observer – October 12, 2020)

October 13, 2020

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/

The mining and metallurgy company is facing serious troubles with its worn-out production facilities in the Kola Peninsula.

Not only is the company about to close its highly polluting plant in Nikel, the town located on the border to Norway and Finland. It is reportedly also in the process of taking radical measures with its copper production in Monchegorsk.

According to regional Governor Andrey Chibis, about 90 billion rubles is to be invested in a major modernization of the copper processing. The company’s existing processing facilities in Monchegorsk will be subject to reconstruction, he said in a regional government session this week.

Resurgent WA nickel attracting battery and car manufacturers (Australian Mining – October 13, 2020)

October 13, 2020

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Battery manufacturers and automakers are increasingly looking to invest in nickel projects to secure supply and the resurgent West Australian sector stands to benefit, according to Mincor Resources managing director David Southam.

Talks between miner BHP and electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla over a potential nickel deal were last week reported by Bloomberg.

Both parties declined to comment but it hasn’t stopped the speculation being a key point of discussion at the annual Diggers and Dealers mining conference in Kalgoorlie.

Ford goes electric, Ontario poised to win – by Brian Lilley (Toronto Sun – October 7, 2020)

October 8, 2020

https://torontosun.com/

It’s being billed as the best news for Ontario’s automotive sector in 15 years and while it’s not a new plant, it is a new lease on life for one of the anchors of the industry.

On Thursday morning, Premier Doug Ford will stand with Ford Canada CEO Dean Stoneley and Unifor president Jerry Dias to announce a major investment in the plant.

Ford Canada will announce a $1.2 billion investment in their Oakville plant while Ford, the premier, will announce $295 million from the province. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, expected to join via video link, will announce the federal government will also put $295 million into the plant.

Tesla is in talks with top miner BHP over nickel-supply pact – by Yvonne Yue Li and David Stringer (Bloomberg News – October 6, 2020)

October 7, 2020

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Tesla Inc. is in talks with BHP Group on a nickel deal as the electric-car maker targets higher production and seeks to avoid a supply crunch, according to people familiar with the matter.

Talks are held up on pricing, and no final agreement has been reached so far between the automaker and BHP, the world’s largest miner, said one of the people, requesting anonymity because the talks are private.

The discussions come as Tesla works to raise the amount of the metal used in vehicle batteries to improve performance, and as it makes a push into in-house cell production.

Nickel supply to drop by 2025 – Macquarie – by Esmarie Iannucci (MiningWeekly.com – October 6, 2020)

October 7, 2020

https://www.miningweekly.com/

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Global financial services provider Macquarie Group has called for investment into the nickel sector, despite an anticipated oversupply in the near-term.

Speaking at the Paydirt Nickel conference, in Perth, Macquarie consultant Jim Lennon said that immediate investment in the nickel sector would be required to meet the potential “explosive” demand post 2025.

“Covid-19 has obviously had a negative impact on the supply/demand fundamentals for nickel, with the market shifting from a deficit to a surplus, and these conditions could last for a few years,” Lennon said.

Another smoggy Sunday in the town with factories owned by Russia’s richest man – by Thomas Nilsen (The Barents Observer – October 4, 2020)

October 5, 2020

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/

People driving the Kola highway have seen it before. Like in late July when kilometers and kilometers of the nature west of the nickel and copper smelters were covered by smog containing sulfur dioxide and heavy metals.

A week later, the leaves on the few still-alive trees in the lunar landscape started to brown. On Sunday, October 4th, the sulfur gasses were again blowing over the Arctic landscape, a video posted by Navalny’s office in Murmansk shows.

After Nornickel closed its nickel refining factory in Norilsk a few years ago, all refining now takes place in Monchegorsk, a two hours’ drive south of Murmansk on the Kola Peninsula.

Vale in talks with Tesla, EV sector for Canada nickel – executive (MiningWeekly.com – October 5, 2020)

October 5, 2020

https://www.miningweekly.com/

TORONTO – Brazilian miner Vale is in talks with Tesla and others in the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain about securing nickel from its Canadian operations, the head of the miner’s base metals unit said on Friday.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Tesla CEO Elon Musk in July urged miners to produce more nickel, a key ingredient in the batteries that power the company’s electric cars. Musk offered a “giant contract” if supplies could be produced in an environmentally sensitive way.

While EVs are expected to help reduce global carbon emission, environmentalists are concerned that production of EV parts and increased mining may damage the environment.

Tesla to meet with Indigenous activists as it plots future supply chain – by Jacob Holzman (SP Global – September 30, 2020)

October 1, 2020

https://www.spglobal.com/

Tesla Inc. will meet with a network of Russian Indigenous activists campaigning for the electric vehicle company to boycott nickel supplied by PJSC Norilsk Nickel Co., the world’s largest producer of high-grade nickel, according to one of the activists involved with the campaign.

Pavel Sulyandziga, president of Indigenous rights group Batani Foundation, told S&P Global Market Intelligence through an interpreter that advocates with the boycott campaign are scheduled to speak with Tesla representatives involved with corporate social responsibility on Oct. 7.

Sulyandziga said the group plans to reiterate a request made in an open letter released in early August that Tesla not engage with Norilsk Nickel, also known as NorNickel, which is facing billions in damages over major oil spills in the Arctic.

Tesla As A Mining Company. Lithium Today, Nickel Tomorrow? – by Tim Treadgold (Forbes Magazine – September 29, 2020)

September 30, 2020

https://www.forbes.com/

Lithium mining today, so why not nickel mining tomorrow? That’s a question which investors in Tesla and other electric car (EV) makers ought to consider as a raw material rush heats up.

Right now, there’s not a shortage of most metals used in EV batteries, with the possible exception of cobalt, which makes Tesla’s decision to stake a claim to its own 10,000 acre patch of lithium-rich clay in Nevada quite interesting.

A second U.S.-focused lithium deal added to the intrigue with Tesla signing a five-year contract with a small company which has plans to produce lithium in North Carolina.