Nickel – Page 52 – Republic of Mining

Saami Council urges Tesla to refrain from buying NorNickel metals – by Thomas Nilsen (The Barents Observer – Septmeber 8, 2020)

September 9, 2020

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/

“Dear Mr. Elon Musk,” starts the letter from the indigenous peoples in northern Russia.

“We are respectfully requesting that you DO NOT BUY nickel, copper and other products from the Russian mining company NorNickel until the following is implemented,” the letter continues and then lists a number of environmental requirements to be fulfilled on the Taimyr- and Kola Peninsulas.

The campaign that started in northern Russia is now spreading in social media by other indigenous peoples communities globally under the hashtag #AnswerUsElonMusk.

The Saami Council this week voiced a strong support to the campaign.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS MOUNT OVER USE OF NICKEL IN EVS – by Kieran Ahuja (Sunday Times Driving – September 7, 2020)

September 8, 2020

Home

OF COURSE, as something that has been widely touted as a more environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, the green credentials of pure-electric vehicles have often been called into question.

A large amount of the conversation around this has revolved around the use of cobalt, which is used to aid conductivity and structural stability in lithium-ion batteries, enabling them to last for as long as they do.

However, production of cobalt is sometimes conducted in territories where a blind eye is turned to ethical mining practices, in places such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which produces around 60% of the world supply.

BHP maps out priorities in quest for ‘future-facing’ commodities – by Nick Toscano (Brisbane Times – August 31, 2020)

August 31, 2020

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/

The head of Australian mining giant BHP says new plans to boost exposure to the “future-facing” commodities nickel and copper will focus first on exploring for new deposits and finding ways to extract more from existing assets, rather than looking for acquisitions.

As BHP embarks on a clean-up of its portfolio by seeking to sell several coal mines, quit thermal coal and exit the Bass Strait oil and gas fields, it has also laid out plans to lift exposure to commodities that chief executive Mike Henry believes will be increasingly required to meet the world’s evolving needs, such as the manufacture of clean energy technologies.

Asked whether BHP would seek acquisitions to secure more options in commodities like nickel, copper and potash, Mr Henry said “maybe”, but only if the right opportunities presented.

Falling production, increasing demand push nickel prices to a nine-month high – by Darren MacDonald (CTV News Northern Ontario – August 27, 2020)

August 28, 2020

https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/

SUDBURY — Following Telsa’s Elon Musk recent call for the world to produce more nickel, prices for the metal reached US$6.85 a pound this week, up from US$5 in March and their highest level since November 2019.

In addition to expected demand for nickel as more electric cars are built, a story on the website Mining.com said nickel production has been falling, adding pressure to prices.

“The Lisbon-based International Nickel Study Group reports global mined nickel fell 7.7 per cent in June compared to the same month last year, which still counts as something of an improvement from the sharp falls in April and May,” the story said.

Sudbury base metal explorer lands a big-shot Toronto partner: Sudbury Platinum Corp raises $2.1 million for exploration in Sudbury Basin (Northern Ontario Business – August 25, 2020)

August 25, 2020

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

A top mining investment firm is backstopping an emerging nickel player in the Sudbury Basin.

Toronto’s Dundee Goodman Merchant Partners (DGMP) has formed a “strategic relationship” with Sudbury Platinum Corporation to grow the exploration company and get it publicly listed by year’s end.

Sudbury Platinum (also known as SPC Metals) is a spinoff company of Transition Metals, a Sudbury-based exploration company overseeing more than 25 base and precious metals projects in Northern Ontario, the Maritimes and Western Canada.

According To Tesla CEO Elon Musk, This Metal Is The New Gold – by Charles Morris(Inside EVs – August 24, 2020)

August 25, 2020

https://insideevs.com/

In the popular imagination, lithium is the element that powers EVs. However, as Elon Musk has pointed out, the term “lithium-ion batteries” is something of a misnomer, because they don’t really contain that much lithium.

“Although [they’re] called lithium-ion, the actual percentage of lithium in a lithium-ion cell is approximately 2%,” Musk explained at Tesla’s 2016 shareholder meeting. “Technically, our cells should be called nickel-graphite, because the primary constituent in the cell as a whole is nickel.”

More recently, Musk reiterated the importance of nickel, and made what sounded to some like an urgent plea for more of the stuff. “I’d just like to re-emphasise, any mining companies out there, please mine more nickel,” said Musk during Tesla’s latest quarterly conference call.

BHP to fund Canada’s Midland nickel exploration – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – August 24, 2020)

August 24, 2020

https://www.mining.com/

Canadian junior Midland Exploration (TSX-V: MD) said on Monday it had struck a new funding deal with a subsidiary of BHP (ASX, LON, NYSE: BHP) for nickel exploration activities in the northern part of Quebec.

BHP’s unit Rio Algom Limited will fund 100% of Midland’s exploration for the battery metal within the Nunavik territory up to C$1.4 million ($1.06 million), on an annual basis, for a minimum of two years.

The objective, the junior said, is to identify, test and develop high-quality exploration targets towards the discovery of new significant nickel deposits within the targeted area.

Elon Musk Is Going To Have a Hard Time Finding Clean Nickel – by Mark Burton, Libby Cherry and David Stringer (Bloomberg News – August 21, 2020)

August 24, 2020

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Elon Musk promises a “giant contract” with the miner that can supply nickel for Tesla Inc. batteries at low cost with minimal environmental impact, yet the industry’s messy track record may make that deal difficult to clinch.

Recent accidents such as a diesel spill in Arctic Russia and a burst waste pipeline in Papua New Guinea suggest the industry will struggle to meet Musk’s request for a large quantity of the metal produced in an “efficient” and “environmentally sensitive” way.

As the world’s most-valuable carmaker extends manufacturing arms to China and Germany, its billionaire owner may have to rely increasingly on the biggest supplier of nickel: Indonesia.

Noront CEO expects no delays in Ring of Fire road construction and mine start – by Ian Ross – Northern Ontario Business – August 13, 2020)

August 13, 2020

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Federal regional review of Far North mineral development will have no bearing on pace of progress, says Alan Coutts

Ottawa’s new region-wide approach to Far North development shouldn’t interfere with Noront Resources’ timetable to put the first mine in the Ring of Fire into production by the middle of 2025, said the company CEO.

Alan Coutts said he has no reason to believe that the federal Regional Assessment process will delay the start of operations at the Eagle’s Nest Mine based on his conversation with Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan.

“In talking to Minister O’Regan, we’re being led to believe this could get done over a two-year period.”

Russian indigenous peoples call on Elon Musk not to buy battery metals from Nornickel – by Thomas Nilsen (The Baren Observer – August 7, 2020)

August 7, 2020

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/

The company that recently made international headlines for causing environmental disasters on the Taimyr Peninsula by spilling 20,000 tons of diesel fuel into a river in the fragile Arctic ecosystems is under increased pressure.

In a letter to Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, the Aborigen Forum urge him not to buy nickel, copper and other products from Nornickel until the company conducts a full and independent assessment of the environmental damage caused by its production.

This week, The Barents Observer could tell the story about dying tree leaves caused by massive air-pollution over a several square kilometers large area near Nornickel’s smelters in Monchegorsk on the Kola Peninsula.

Noront to resume exploration in the Ring of Fire – by Darren MacDonald (CTV News Northern Ontario – August 6, 2020)

August 6, 2020

https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/

SUDBURY — Noront Resources Ltd. Announced Thursday it is reopening its Esker Site and mobilizing its team to resume exploration activities in the Ring of Fire.

The company’s Esker Site, which is located in the James Bay Lowlands, closed in April because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It normally has about 20 workers, the majority of whom are from the remote local First Nation communities of Marten Falls and Webequie.

“We are initiating a late summer field program that will require 12-15 people, during which we’ll employ soil sampling to explore for gold and airborne geophysical surveys to explore for nickel,” Noront president and CEO Alan Coutts said in a news release.

Column: Elon Musk should invest in Sudbury – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – July 28, 2020)

July 31, 2020

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Elon Musk is practically begging nickel miners to boost production as potential future shortages would severely impact his ability to manufacture electric vehicles as the metal is a key component for the batteries on which Tesla Inc. depends.

Historically, nickel has always been a boom/bust metal due to the fact the world only produces about 2.1 million metric tonnes of the material a year as opposed to a more commonly used metal like copper at 20 million metric tonnes. And roughly only half of nickel production is of the Class-1 type that is used in batteries that run electric vehicles.

Currently, the cost of nickel is nearing a cyclical bottom, hence the reluctance of nickel miners to invest the possible near billion dollars it takes to bring on a new mine.

Musk is a multi-billionaire and his company stock is at an all-time high. Instead of whining to the mineral industry to invest “their shareholder money” in new nickel production at a time of low returns here are some suggestions to calm his fear of future shortages:

Column: Elon Musk should invest in Sudbury – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – July 28, 2020)

July 28, 2020

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Currently, the cost of nickel is nearing a cyclical bottom, hence the reluctance of nickel miners to invest the possible near billion dollars it takes to bring on a new mine.

Timmins mine developer heeds Elon Musk’s call – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – July 27, 2020)

July 28, 2020

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Elon Musk’s plea for mining companies to “mine more nickel” had an apparent effect on Canada Nickel Company.

The Toronto-based exploration company is pitching its future mine project, north of Timmins, as a zero-emissions operation.

The Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur and electric vehicle maker promised a whopper of a Tesla contract for those producers that mine nickel “efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way” as lithium-ion battery demand starts to pick up.

NEWS RELEASE: VALE COMPLETES TIE-INS OF NEW STACKS (July 28, 2020)

July 28, 2020

Signals Completion of Superstack Being Taken Out of Service

SUDBURY, July 28, 2020 – Vale has completed the final tie-in of the flue systems to the new 450’ (137 metre) Stacks and took its Copper Stack out of service at the Copper Cliff Smelter Complex during its planned maintenance period this month. With these project milestones achieved, Vale can complete the process of taking the Superstack out of service.

“Completing this process of taking the Superstack completely out of service is symbolic of Vale’s evolution towards reducing our environmental footprint with innovative and more sustainable Smelter operations ” said Dino Otranto, Chief Operating Officer for Vale’s North Atlantic Operations and Asian Refineries.

The two smaller and more efficient stacks will require far less energy to operate than the Superstack, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Vale’s Copper Cliff Smelter by approximately 40%. At the same time, Vale’s Clean AER Project will reduce particulate emissions by 40% and dramatically reduce SO2 emissions by 85%.