Seamless electrified ecosystem required from rock to road to secure the North American automotive industry Battery development and production is strategically important for the transition to clean-energy economy and to remain globally competitive Sustainable lithium mining and processing is an essential component of this ecosystem Canada-based Snow Lake Lithium has... Read more →

By Brent Wilson, CEO of Galvanic Energy. America’s electric vehicle (EV) industry seems to have hit a rough patch of pavement in recent months. Lithium prices continue to rise, and no new domestic lithium sources have yet to be established. Even Tesla, despite its substantial efforts to hold the line... Read more →

The Cobalt Institute’s Cobalt Market Report 2021, prepared by CRU, confirms the role of cobalt as one the key commodities of the green future, due to the rapid growth of the lithium-ion battery market and a strong global uptake of electric vehicles. In 2021, the cobalt market showed unprecedented demand... Read more →

Using new analytical methods, the research group “CritMET: Critical Metals for Enabling Technologies” led by Michael Bau, Professor of Geochemistry at Jacobs University in Bremen has studied the distribution of germanium and gallium in iron-manganese crusts from the deep sea. The results have now been published in two journals: Geochimica... Read more →

Canada-based battery materials company Euro Manganese (EMN) reported that the first shipment of the components of its demonstration plant to be sited in Chvaletice, Czech Republic is underway from China, where the components of the plant are being assembled. The first consignment was shipped on 30 April 2022 and the... Read more →

The lithium industry needs $42 billion of investment if it is to meet 2030 demand, according to analysis by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. This works out at approximately $7 billion a year between now and 2028 if the industry is to meet lithium demand by the end of the decade. Benchmark... Read more →

EnergySource Minerals announced a new round of investment led by Schlumberger New Energy and TechMet Ltd. The Schlumberger New Energy investment includes a strategic partnership to accelerate the deployment of the ILiAD (Integrated Lithium Adsorption Desorption) lithium extraction (DLE) platform and integrate it into the front end of the process... Read more →

Canada-based Northern Graphite Corporation has closed its previously announced acquisition of the producing Lac des Iles graphite mine (LDI) in Québec from a subsidiary of Imerys SA and the Okanjande graphite deposit/Okorusu processing plant in Namibia from a subsidiary of Imerys and its joint venture partner. All deposits have high... Read more →

Livent Corporation agreed to double its ownership interest (earlier post) to 50% in Nemaska Lithium, a fully integrated lithium hydroxide development project located in Québec, Canada. Livent will issue 17,500,000 shares of its common stock to The Pallinghurst Group and its investors to acquire their half of Québec Lithium Partners... Read more →

Anglo American plc unveiled a prototype of the world’s largest hydrogen-powered mine haul truck designed to operate in everyday mining conditions at its Mogalakwena PGMs (platinum group metals) mine in South Africa. The 2MW hydrogen-battery hybrid truck, generating more power than its diesel predecessor and capable of carrying a 290-tonne... Read more →

California Assembly Bill (AB) 1832, the California Seabed Mining Prevention Act, received unanimous support on the Assembly floor on 5 May. This legislation, introduced by Assemblymember Luz Rivas and co-authored by Senators Ben Allen and Monique Limón, and Assemblymembers Sharon Stone and Bill Quirk, would protect more than 2,500 square... Read more →

Russia-based Nornickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper, has entered into a cooperation agreement with the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom (Rosatom). The parties agreed to cooperate in several areas. First, the parties intend to deliver strategic projects... Read more →

In 2021, Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen) launched a call for proposals to support R&D projects for zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) manufacturing, systems, components, and batteries in Canada. NGen has now announced $76 million in funding for 15 new industry-led consortia that will execute projects in strategic areas such as critical... Read more →

Geomega Resources Inc., a developer of clean technologies for the mining, refining, and recycling of rare earths and other critical materials, announced that Innord Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary, has signed a term sheet with Rio Tinto to enter into a development agreement for Bauxite Residues Iron Phase Product. As... Read more →

Global automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler has signed a five-year contract with Norwegian company REEtec AS for the purchase of rare earth oxides. The aim is to make electric motors for hybrid modules, hybrid transmissions and all-electric axle drives even more sustainable. Permanent magnets manufactured using rare earth metals such... Read more →

Yichun Contemporary Amperex Resources Limited, a subsidiary of China-based battery giant CATL, won the bid for the exploration rights to a lithium clay project in Yichun, east China’s Jiangxi province at a cost of 865 million yuan (about $135 million). In October 2021, CATL broke ground on a new lithium-ion... Read more →

Korea-based POSCO Holdings recently started construction of a lithium commercialization plant in Argentina. (Earlier post.) POSCO Group is the first to produce lithium hydroxide for batteries in Argentina throughout the entire process from the acquisition of mining rights to exploration, construction and operation of a production plant. Construction of the... Read more →

The global push to convert the world to electric vehicles will cause supply chain complexities that could undermine the alternative energy transition in the United States, according to a new report from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The detailed report—Need Nickel? How Electrifying Transport and Chinese Investment are... Read more →

Bolivian micro-mobility and clean energy startup MOBI has partnered with American direct lithium extraction company Energy Exploration Technologies Inc. (EnergyX) (earlier post). Both companies will work towards creating a Bolivian domestic lithium battery supply chain to develop the region’s electric mobility market. Bolivia is lithium-rich; the USGS estimates identified lithium... Read more →

In its new Rare Earth Magnet Market Outlook to 2035 report, Adamas Intelligence forecasts that global demand for NdFeB magnets will increase at a CAGR of 8.6%, bolstered by double-digit growth from electric vehicle and wind power sectors. This will translate to comparable demand growth for the rare earths elements... Read more →

Glencore and General Motors announced a multi-year sourcing agreement in which Glencore will supply GM with cobalt from its Murrin Murrin operation in Australia. Cobalt is an important metal in the production of EV batteries, and the cobalt processed from Australia will be used in GM’s Ultium battery cathodes, which... Read more →

Australia-based Mineral Resources (MinRes), one of the largest owners of hard rock lithium units, has, in response to “unprecedented global customer demand for lithium products”, agreed with its JV partners to increase production from the Wodgina and Mt Marion spodumene mines, based in Western Australia. Spodumene is a pyroxene mineral... Read more →

President Biden signed a directive authorizing the Defense Production Act for usage for the critical materials that go into large-capacity batteries. The President took this action under Title 3 of the DPA which provides for prioritizing and subsidizing the production domestically of key inputs that are critical to the national... Read more →

FPX Nickel Corp., a Vancouver-based junior nickel mining company developing the large-scale Decar Nickel District in central British Columbia, has established a new subsidiary company, CO2 Lock Corp., to pursue opportunities in large-scale, low-cost and permanent carbon capture and storage (CCS). CO2 Lock has raised $1.7 million in a seed... Read more →

Vale Canada and lithium-ion cell producer Northvolt AB announced a multi-year agreement for Vale to supply low-carbon nickel products to Northvolt, reinforcing the companies’ shared commitment to sustainability in the electric vehicle supply chain and electrification of the broader mining industry. Vale is the world’s largest producer of nickel. The... Read more →

The International Lithium Association (ILiA), the not-for-profit industry association representing the global lithium value chain, announced a wide-ranging agreement with TDi Sustainability to explore standards and environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in the lithium industry. The transition to lower-carbon transport and power will require a vast quantity of lithium... Read more →

The Volkswagen Group has joined the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), an alliance of enterprises, mining companies and non-profit organizations developing standards for responsible extraction of raw materials in mining. These standards cover a range of issues, including working health and safety and environmental protection. With its electrification strategy,... Read more →

Canada-based Rock Tech Lithium will collaborate with the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT and Circulor, the UK-based sustainable supply chain traceability provider, to achieve comprehensive CO2 transparency of Rock Tech’s lithium value chain—from the raw material, spodumene, to the end product, lithium hydroxide. Rock Tech, which... Read more →

Rio Tinto has made a non-binding proposal to the Turquoise Hill Board to acquire the approximately 49% of the issued and outstanding shares of Turquoise Hill that Rio Tinto does not currently own for approximately $2.7 billion in cash. The proposal follows the comprehensive agreement reached in January between Rio... Read more →

The European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA) will support Canadian mineral exploration and development company Mkango Resources Ltd.with securing financing for the development of a rare earth separation plant to be located in Puławy, Poland. This plant will be supplied with rare earth carbonate originating from Mkango’s Songwe Hill primary deposit... Read more →

Canada-based Rock Tech Lithium has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with the Government of Romania. The MoU provides for cooperation and support in the company’s search for a location in Romania for one of the company’s next planned lithium hydroxide converters and, in the longer term, the construction... Read more →

Keliber, a Finnish mining and battery chemical company that aims to start the sustainable production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide, has analyzed the CO2 emissions generated by its future production using two studies. Based on the work, Keliber’s lithium hydroxide will have a smaller carbon footprint than most of the competitors’... Read more →

Australia-based Queensland Pacific Metals (QPM) has entered into a binding ore supply agreement with Société Le Nickel (SLN), a subsidiary of Eramet Group, up to 1,000,000 wet metric tonnes (wmt) of nickel-containing limonite ore per annum to QPM. The approval is valid through to 2029, in line with SLN’s existing... Read more →

Australia-based Core Lithium has entered into a legally binding Term Sheet with Tesla for the supply of up to 110,000 tonnes of Li2O spodumene concentrate from the Finniss Lithium Project over a term of 4 years, with pricing referenced to the market price for spodumene concentrate, subject to a price... Read more →

by Brent Wilson, CEO of Galvanic Energy. It’s easy to get caught up in the recent marketing hype around electric vehicles. EVs are becoming more common across the United States as prices are starting to come down and choices are increasing. The wave of popularity is building, but there are... Read more →

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens to increase costs for Europe’s vehicle industry, which is already struggling with record high lithium prices and a shortage of semiconductor chips, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Prices for nickel, a key battery material, rose to their highest levels since 2011 this week following Russian... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $44 million in funding (DE-FOA-0002707) to support projects developing commercial-ready technologies that give the United States a net-zero or net negative emissions pathway toward increased domestic supplies of critical elements required for the transition to clean energy. The program—Mining Innovations for... Read more →

The BMW Group has joined the cross-sector “Responsible Lithium Partnership” project. The aim of the project is to reach a shared understanding of responsible management of natural resources with local interest groups and develop a vision for the future of the Salar de Atacama salt flat in Chile. The “Responsible... Read more →

MP Materials Corp. has been awarded a $35-million contract through the US Department of Defense (DoD) Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program to support the construction of a commercial scale processing facility for heavy rare earth elements (HREE) at Mountain Pass. MP Materials owns and operates Mountain Pass, the only... Read more →

Australia-based battery materials company Liontown Resources Limited entered into a legally binding sales and purchase term sheet with electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla for the supply of spodumene concentrate. The agreement is for the supply of up to 150,000 dry metric tonnes (DMT) per annum of spodumene concentrate to be produced... Read more →

Supply of nickel intermediate MHP from Indonesia for batteries is set to rise five-fold this year, according to Benchmark Minerals’ Nickel Forecast. That’s expected to alleviate the rising demand for nickel in electric vehicle batteries. Demand for more powerful nickel-containing batteries is set to grow by 42% this year, according... Read more →

by Michael Sivak, Sivak Applied Research This post focuses on minerals used uniquely in the manufacture of electric cars. The three questions of interest are: Which minerals are they? Is the United States self-sufficient or are we relying on imports for these minerals? If the latter, what are the source... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) released a Request for Information (RFI) (DE-FOA-0002686) on the design, construction and operation of a new facility to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of a full-scale rare earth element (REE) and critical minerals (CM) extraction and separation refinery using unconventional resources. This first-of-a-kind facility will... Read more →

The US Department of Energy has awarded $2.2 million of funding to a Rio Tinto-led team to explore carbon storage potential at the Tamarack nickel joint venture in central Minnesota. Rio Tinto has assembled a team of climate innovation and research leaders to explore new approaches in carbon mineralization technology... Read more →

Canada-based Snow Lake Lithium has outlined plans to develop the first all-electric hard-rock lithium mine in Manitoba, Canada, thereby developing a domestic supply of this critical resource to the North America electric vehicle industry. Snow Lake Lithium also plans to establish a joint venture to create a lithium hydroxide processing... Read more →

US mines produced approximately $90.4 billion in mineral commodities in 2021—a $9.7 billion increase over the 2020 revised total of $80.7 billion—according to the US Geological Survey USGS. This information comes from the 27th annual Mineral Commodity Summaries report from the USGS National Minerals Information Center. The report is a... Read more →

Tests in a Li-ion half cell at WMG, University of Warwick (UK), of Ceylon Graphite’s commercial spherodized, silicon-enhanced vein graphite materials yielded a 446 mAh/g specific discharge capacity (SDC) for the materials—13% higher than what is achieved for vein graphite on its own (393 mAh/g) under the same testing conditions.... Read more →

Rio Tinto, Turquoise Hill Resources (TRQ) and the Government of Mongolia have reached an agreement that will move the Oyu Tolgoi (OT) copper mine project (earlier post) forward, resetting the relationship between the partners and increasing the value the project delivers for Mongolia. As a result, the OT Board, comprised... Read more →

Vulcan Energy Resources Limited, the company aiming to become the world’s first integrated lithium and renewable energy producer with a net zero carbon footprint (earlier post), has been granted research permit in Italy for the Cesano area located 20 km NNW of Rome. Vulcan’s current Zero Carbon Lithium Project aims... Read more →

EV Metals Group plc (EVM) launched the Australian Lithium Alliance, a strategic initiative to partner with Australian companies to accelerate exploration, development, mining, processing and production of lithium minerals. The strategic initiative will be implemented by Australian Lithium Alliance Pty Limited (ALA), a wholly owned subsidiary of EVM, through joint... Read more →