Ford announced a series of initiatives for sourcing battery capacity and raw materials that light a clear path to reach its targeted annual run rate of 600,000 electric vehicles by late 2023 and more than 2 million by the end of 2026. The company detailed its global vehicle portfolio plans... Read more →

Ford Motor Company and Rio Tinto have signed a non-binding global memorandum of understanding (MOU) jointly to develop more sustainable and secure supply chains for battery and low-carbon materials to be used in Ford vehicles. The multi-materials partnership will support the transition toward a net-zero future by supplying Ford with... Read more →

The challenge of meeting Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 “will be short-circuited and remain out of reach” unless significant new copper supply comes online in a timely way, according to a new study by S&P Global that examines the growing mismatch between available copper supply and future demand resulting from the... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced the finalists in the $4-million American-Made Geothermal Lithium Extraction Prize, a competition supporting innovations that help lower the costs and reduce the environmental impacts of extracting lithium from geothermal brines. Demand for lithium—a critical material used in batteries for electric vehicles, grid-scale electricity... Read more →

The Metals Company (TMC) announced that its Australian subsidiary, The Metals Company Australia Pty Ltd., has entered into a research funding agreement with a consortium of institutions led by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to create a framework for the development of an ecosystem-based management and monitoring plan... Read more →

The Audi Environmental Foundation, a subsidiary of AUDI AG founded in 2009, has joined forces with the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology to research new ways of mining high-tech elements. As depletable resources, metallic raw materials are needed for many future technologies, including electromobility; indium and germanium, cobalt, lithium,... Read more →

A recently completed resource report has validated Galvanic Energy’s Smackover prospect as one of the largest lithium brine resources in North America, with sufficient lithium to produce enough batteries for 50 million electric vehicles. Oklahoma-based Galvanic Energy is a geoscience-driven resource exploration company that employs innovative, proprietary discovery methods to... Read more →

Glencore’s Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations (INO) has ordered a full fleet of Epiroc battery-electric equipment for use at the Onaping Depth Project in Ontario, Canada. The nickel and copper mine is located below the existing Craig mine and is being developed to start production in 2024. The order also includes... Read more →

Using naturally occurring and engineered proteins and bacteria, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and collaborators will separate and purify rare-earth elements for use in the defense sector. Under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Environmental Microbes as a BioEngineering Resource (EMBER) program (earlier post), the team was awarded... Read more →

Finland-based lithium producer Keliber has completed a four-phase pilot-scale test program and verified the behavior of the ore from the company's largest deposit, Rapasaari, at all stages of the production process. A similar pilot-scale test program has previously been carried out using ore from Syväjärvi, the mine where quarrying will... Read more →

South Africa-based mining and metals group Sibanye-Stillwater acquired an initial 30.29% shareholding in Keliber Oy as announced on 23 February 2021, by way of a phased equity investment. Keliber is a Finnish mining and battery chemical company which owns the Keliber project, an advanced lithium hydroxide project located in the... Read more →

Ford has executed a definitive binding full-form offtake agreement with Australia-based Liontown Resources for the supply of up to 150,000 dry metric tonnes (DMT) per annum of spodumene concentrate—a source of lithium essential in key EV battery chemistries. The spodumene concentrate will come from Liontown’s flagship 100%-owned Kathleen Valley Lithium... Read more →

Cummins and Komatsu, a global provider of equipment and services for the construction and mining industries, have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the development of zero-emissions haulage equipment. Building on a legacy of diesel engine partnership across a wide variety of mining and construction equipment, Cummins and... Read more →

bp will acquire a 40.5% equity stake in and to become operator of the Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH), which has the potential to be one of the largest renewables and green hydrogen hubs in the world. Based on the development of world-scale renewable power generation, AREH, in the Pilbara... Read more →

Op-ed by Brent Wilson, CEO of Galvanic Energy. The war over global dominance of the electric vehicle battery industry seems like it ended before it really got started. China is walking away as the winner and the US might as well wave the white flag because it may never catch... Read more →

Rio Tinto has delivered first ore from the Gudai-Darri iron ore mine as the company brings online its first greenfield mine in the Pilbara, Western Australia, in more than a decade. Gudai-Darri will help underpin future production of the company’s flagship Pilbara Blend product. Pilbara Blend products are known for... Read more →

Battery materials company Nano One and Rio Tinto have agreed to enter into a strategic partnership, with Rio Tinto providing iron and lithium products, collaboration and a US$10-million investment into Nano One. This partnership and funding will accelerate Nano One’s multi-cathode (multi-CAM) commercialization strategy and support cathode active materials (CAM)... Read more →

Rio Tinto and the Salzgitter Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together towards carbon-free steelmaking by studying optimization of Rio Tinto’s high-quality Canadian and Australian iron ore products for use in Salzgitter’s SALCOS (SAlzgitter Low CO2-Steelmaking) green steel project in Germany. (Earlier post.) Under the SALCOS... Read more →

Renault Group and Managem Group, a Moroccan player in the mining and hydrometallurgy sector, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at securing the supply of low-carbon and responsible cobalt sulfate for electric batteries. Under the terms of the agreement, Managem Group will supply 5,000 tonnes of cobalt sulfate per... Read more →

Canada-based dynaCERT Inc. has sold seven of its HydraGEN on-board electrolysis units ( the HG1R, 4C and 6C units) which are to be installed in Peru, Argentina and Brazil in open-pit mines on various equipment, including Caterpillar 793 and 777 Haul Trucks and a large 4.5 MW diesel generator with... Read more →

Glencore International pled guilty in the Southern District of New York to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In addition, as part of a separate resolution, Glencore Ltd., pled guilty in the District of Connecticut to a commodity price manipulation conspiracy. Together, Glencore and Glencore Ltd., both part... Read more →

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 →