Elcora Advanced Materials has begun operations on the 16 km² manganese mining concession in Morocco for which it had acquired exclusive rights earlier. (Earlier post.) The SGS-certified African Laboratory for Mining and Environment (AFRILAB) team evaluated onsite that already extracted Manganese (Mn) piles contain about 5,500 metric tonnes of manganese... Read more →

Emerging lithium producer Sayona Mining Limited reported the successful production of the first saleable spodumene (lithium) concentrate at its North American Lithium (NAL) operation in Québec, Canada. NAL is a brownfield open pit mining operation with a concentrator, with more than C$400 million having been invested in the operation by... Read more →

Altilium Metals, a UK clean energy group, plans to accelerate the development of the UK’s largest EV battery recycling plant, following completion of a six-month feasibility study, funded partly by the UK government’s Automotive Transformation Fund, and the first successful demonstration of its proprietary technology at its newly opened analytical... Read more →

Aqua Metals has successfully recovered high-purity nickel from lithium battery black mass using its proprietary Li AquaRefining process, utilizing electricity, and without a polluting smelter or the significant chemical waste typical in recycling. (Earlier post.) The company’s unique solution for recovering all valuable metals in lithium battery recycling supports a... Read more →

The European Commission (EC) unveiled two draft laws in response to the US subsidies that the Commission fears are luring European clean-tech companies to North America. The European Critical Raw Materials Act would help the bloc secure supply of the metals needed to build batteries, wind turbines and other green... Read more →

Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) (earlier post) and Fuji Electric Corp. of America (FEA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to complete multiple Equipment, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contracts for the delivery of geothermal power facilities at CTR’s Hell’s Kitchen Lithium and Power Project located in Imperial County, California. The EPC contracts... Read more →

Lamborghini’s HPEV (High Performance Electrified Vehicle) hybrid super sports car, codenamed LB744, (earlier post) is based on a new aeronautics-inspired chassis, the monofuselage. As well as a monocoque made entirely of multi-technology carbon fiber, it features a front structure in Forged Composites; a special material made of short carbon fibers... Read more →

Elcora Advanced Materials has signed, through its Ermazon SARL wholly owned subsidiary, a binding agreement with exclusive long-term mining production rights and option to purchase a 16 km² manganese mining concession in Morocco. This manganese deposit had been mined until a few years ago when COVID rules prevented further development.... Read more →

Rio Tinto has begun underground production from the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in the Gobi Desert. (Earlier post.) Oyu Tolgoi is expected to become the fourth-largest copper mine in the world by 2030, operating in the first quartile of the copper equivalent cost curve. Since the agreement between the Government... Read more →

Researchers from Nanchang Hangkong University in China have developed a direct electro-oxidation method for lithium leaching from spent ternary lithium-ion batteries (T-LIBs) (Li0.8Ni0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2). In a paper in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology they report that 95.02% of Li in the spent T-LIBs was leached under 2.5 V in... Read more →

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM), one of the largest producers of lithium carbonate in the world, reported earnings for the twelve months ended 31 December 2022 of US$3,906.3 million—almost 7x the US$585.5 million for the twelve months ended 31 December 2021. Gross profit reached US$5,736.6 million (53.6%... Read more →

The Government of Canada will award more than $344 million in funding to suport five new critical minerals programs and initiatives. The five are: Critical Minerals Technology and Innovation Program. $144.4 million for the research, development, demonstration, commercialization and adoption of new technologies and processes that support sustainable growth in... Read more →

Aluminum is a critical element used in thousands of important products, but it can often interfere with quick and effective extraction of valuable rare earth elements (REEs) from coal waste byproducts. Because aluminum interferes with the recovery of REEs from some sources, NETL researchers developed an effective, renewable, technology that... Read more →

Canadaa-based Electra Battery Materials Corporation announced an updated mineral resource estimate (2023 MRE) for its Iron Creek Cobalt-Copper Project located in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, a 34-mile-long formation containing some of the largest primary cobalt deposits in North America, that paves the way for additional exploration activities and development of... Read more →

Lithium chemicals derived from hard rock sources such as spodumene can be more than three times as carbon-intensive as that from brine sources, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s (Benchmark Minerals’) Lithium ESG Report. Hard rock sources of lithium currently make up 60% of global mined lithium supply and are forecast... Read more →

In a new roadmap launched by the International Copper Association (ICA), members have aligned on an ambition to reach net zero in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2050, and work toward the same goal for Scope 3 emissions. The Copper—The Pathway to Net Zero roadmap builds on previous... Read more →

Australia-based Lynas Rare Earths Limited has signed new agreements with Japan Australia Rare Earths B.V. (JARE). The new agreements will further strengthen the Lynas balance sheet and support funding of capital projects designed to meet accelerating global demand for rare earth materials. JARE was co-founded in 2011 by Sojitz Corporation... Read more →

ASTM International is hosting a Workshop on PFAS in Atmosphere – Sources, Sampling, and Standards, to be held 1-2 November 2023, in Washington, DC. The event is sponsored by ASTM International’s air quality committee (D22) and will be held in conjunction with the committee’s November standards development meetings. Per- and... Read more →

A newly approved standard from ASTM International’s recovered carbon black committee (D36) provides a test that will help to differentiate products and provide a quality control tool for producers and users. Recovered carbon black (rCB) is a recycled product made from end-of-life tires. Recovered carbon black can reduce the tire... Read more →

Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a conductive polymer coating—called HOS-PFM—that could enable longer lasting, more powerful lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. The advance opens up a new approach to developing EV batteries that are more affordable and easy to manufacture, said Gao Liu, a senior... Read more →

RecycLiCo Battery Materials has achieved another milestone in its demo plant testing efforts, successfully producing bulk quantities of battery-grade lithium carbonate from an industrial feed of cathode scrap. The demo plant has undergone thousands of person-hours over several months which has delivered high-quality battery materials and operational data for continued... Read more →

Prairie Lithium is receiving $1,074,000 CAD from the Critical Mineral Research Development and Demonstration (CMRDD) program from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) for further development of its direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology. The funding, along with matching funds from Prairie Lithium, will be invested into the development of the Company’s proprietary... Read more →

Canada-based battery materials company Elcora Advanced Materials has received, through its Ermazon SARL wholly owned subsidiary (purchased in December 2021), a manganese exploitation license from the Moroccan government for the Atlas Fox Deposit in the country. This license allows Elcora to mine, extract, process and sell manganese from its 16... Read more →

Cabot Corporation plans to establish a new technology center in Münster, Germany. The new technology center will focus on technical collaboration with customers in order to accelerate application innovation for Cabot’s battery materials product lines within Europe. The new EMEA Technology Center will enable Cabot to enhance its battery materials... Read more →

SLB (Schlumberger) introduced the EcoShield geopolymer cement-free system that minimizes the CO2 footprint of a well’s construction. This innovative technology eliminates up to 85% of embodied CO2 emissions compared with conventional well cementing systems, which include portland cement. The EcoShield geopolymer cement-free system matches the rheology, thickening time, and compressive... Read more →

Delegates of the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) have finalized a text to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, calling it a “breakthrough” after nearly two decades of talks. Already being referred to as the... Read more →

Australia-based Green Technology Metals Limited (GT1), a Canadian-focused multi-asset lithium business, signed a binding option agreement to purchase an 80% interest in the Junior Lake Project from Landore Resources Canada, which comprises 591 staked mineral claims on 10,856 Hectares (109km2) of tenure located adjacent to the Flagship Seymour Project (Seymour)... Read more →

Iran’s Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade recently announced that the country has discovered its first lithium reserve, in Qahavand in Hamedan province. The reserve is believed to hold 8.4 million tons of lithium; if realized, this would rank Iran behind Chile (11 millions tons) and ahead of Australia (7.9... Read more →

Vancouver-based Ultra Lithium announced the brine sampling results from a drill hole at its 100% owned Laguna Verde brine lithium project in Catamarca Province, Argentina. Drill hole LV22-04 assayed up to 417 parts per million (ppm or mg/L) lithium (Li) from two rounds of sampling completed in January – February... Read more →

Vancouver-based Ceylon Graphite (earlier post) has completed full cell testing using spherodized vein graphite materials in commercial size pouch cells following automotive standards. Ceylon Graphite’s vein graphite anode material exceeded comparable anodes made with industry-standard commercial synthetic graphite and was able to achieve excellent reproducibility in the tests carried out... Read more →

American Battery Technology Company (ABTC) (earlier post) announced results of its third-party Qualified Person (QP)-audited Inferred Resource Report that details the analysis of its lithium deposit at its Tonopah Flats Lithium Project in Nevada. The inferred resources report concludes that Tonopah Flats may hold an estimated 15.8 million tons of... Read more →

Tesla and its affiliates have signed a $2.9-billion order for high-nickel cathode materials with South Korea’s L&F Company, according to an L&F regulatory filing. The contract runs for two years, from 1 Jan 2024 through 31 December 2025. The value of the deal is calculated on the basis of L&F’s... Read more →

Stellantis announced a $155-million investment in a copper project located in Argentina, which will make a major contribution to the company’s plan to become carbon net zero by 2038. The company is acquiring a 14.2% equity stake in McEwen Copper, a subsidiary of Canadian mining company McEwen Mining, which owns... Read more →

The BMW Group’s light metal foundry in Landshut has once again been certified by an independent party for its sustainable use of aluminum—meeting the standards of the aluminum Stewardship Initiative (ASI), an international non-profit organisation supported by environmental and industrial associations, aluminum producers and processing companies. The ASI defines sustainability... Read more →

Evonik is investing in a production plant expansion for fumed aluminum oxide at its site in Yokkaichi, Japan. The facility will be the company’s first alumina plant in Asia, focusing on the production of specialty solutions for lithium-ion battery technologies, used for electric vehicles. Evonik’s AEROXIDE, an aluminum oxide for... Read more →

The Spallation Neutron Source (earlier post) at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory set a world record when its linear accelerator reached an operating power of 1.55 megawatts, which improves on the facility’s original design capability. The accelerator’s higher power provides more neutrons for researchers who use the... Read more →

The new MINI Cooper SE Convertible (combined power consumption: 17.2kWh/100 km according to WLTP) (earlier post) will be the first series model to be produced with alloy wheels that are made entirely from recycled aluminum. The first use of 100% secondary aluminum for light-alloy wheels on a series-production vehicle is... Read more →

Aqua Metals has recovered high-purity lithium hydroxide (LiOH) from lithium-ion battery black mass at the company’s Li AquaRefining recycling facility located at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRIC). (Earlier post.) The production and availability of the first recycled lithium hydroxide at scale will help close the supply chain loop for critical... Read more →

Battery and advanced materials company Talga Group (earlier post), with 100% owned graphite resources in Sweden, has received firm commitments for a placement of new fully paid ordinary Talga shares to raise A$40 million (US$27.3 million) before costs. Proceeds will be used to fund the Vittangi Anode Project early works,... Read more →

The SAFE Center for Strategic Industrial Materials (C-SIM) released the first report in a series of policy papers regarding the various issues impacting domestic primary aluminum production: The US Aluminum Industry’s Energy Problem and Energy Solution. Aluminum demand will continue to grow as the economy transitions to a more sustainable... Read more →

The BMW Group intends to source aluminum with significantly reduced CO2 emissions from Rio Tinto’s hydro-powered operations in Canada starting in 2024 and has signed a memorandum of understanding to this effect. Compared to conventionally manufactured aluminum, this approach can save around 70% of CO2 emissions. The planned supply volumes... Read more →

US-based MP Materials Corp. and Sumitomo Corporation announced an agreement to diversify and strengthen rare earth supplies in Japan. Under the agreement, SC will serve as the exclusive distributor of NdPr oxide produced by MP Materials to Japanese customers. Further, the companies will collaborate on the supply of rare earth... Read more →

Deepsea mining company TMC The Metals Company (earlier post) announced a strategic partnership with Low Carbon Royalties Inc. to finance the development and production of low-carbon fuels and energy transition metals. TMC and LCR have agreed to a purchase and sale agreementwhereby LCR has acquired a 2.0% gross overriding royalty... Read more →

Nippon Steel Corporation and Canada-based Teck Resources Limited, the second largest producer of high-quality steelmaking coal in the world, have executed an investment agreement with certain other affiliates of each of Nippon Steel and Teck, pursuant to which Nippon Steel has agreed to acquire indirectly up to 10% of common... Read more →

Specialty chemicals company Evonik has invested in battery specialist SuperC. The Chinese company is a provider of graphene materials that improve the range, robustness, charging speed, and service life of lithium-ion batteries. By investing in SuperC, we are supporting a cutting-edge technology with a promising future. High-performance batteries are a... Read more →

Australia-based Magnis Energy Technologies has entered into a binding offtake agreement with Tesla for the supply of anode active materials (AAM) beginning in February 2025 with fixed pricing. Under the agreement, Tesla will purchase a minimum of 17,500tpa starting from February 2025 with a maximum of 35,000tpa for a minimum... Read more →

The Geological Survey of India has for the first time established Lithium inferred resources (G3) of 5.9 million tonnes in Salal-Haimana area of Reasi District of Jammu & Kashmir (UT) in northern India. If realized with a higher degree of confidence, resources of that level would rank among the world’s... Read more →

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) has nationalized lithium, handing responsibility for lithium reserves over to the energy ministry. The President nationalized Mexico’s lithium deposits last April, and created LitioMX (Litio Para Mexico) to mine lithium (earlier post). Obrador’s decree also established 234,855 hectares (907 square miles) in Sonora... Read more →

Finnish Minerals Group, a mining and battery industry development and investment company, and FREYR Battery will cooperate to assess the feasibility of establishing an LFP cathode material plant in the city of Vaasa. The parties plan to establish a joint venture company upon successful completion of initial phase studies and... Read more →

Albemarle reported that its Q4 2022 lithium net sales increased $1.7 billion (+410%) to $2.1 billion due to higher pricing net of FX (+328%) related to renegotiated contracts and increased market pricing. Volume was also higher (+82%) related primarily to the La Negra III/IV expansion in Chile and higher tolling... Read more →