Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng

Author Archives: Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng

#BMW and #Mercedes Battery Partner Sees Big #Nickel Supply Risk

Posted on October 20, 2023 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

The High-CO2 Nickel Conundrum

There’s been no shortage of metals industry turmoil in the early years of the electric-car age, from ups in lithium prices that Elon Musk described as insane, to downs for cobalt springing from battery-chemistry shifts.

One of the world leaders in battery materials that will be supplying the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Stellantis sees potential for more tumult ahead, unless a serious CO2 problem is resolved in the country home to far and away the most mined and refined nickel.

Indonesia’s nickel industry is highly carbon-intensive, with one of its major industrial parks alone relying on roughly as much coal-fire energy capacity as all of Mexico. Mathias Miedreich, chief executive officer of Belgium’s Umicore, believes Chinese companies that are active in the space still lack sensitivity as to how much polluting is taking place within this part of the supply chain.

Canada Nickel aims to build world’s second largest #Nickel mine in #Timmins

Posted on October 13, 2023 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

If Canada Nickel Company’s Crawford Mine Project becomes a reality by 2027, Timmins will have the second largest nickel mine in the world.

“Crawford is the world’s largest sulphide discovery in many, many decades,” said Selby, in an Oct. 12 conference call with mining analysts.

“We are unlocking, what we think is, a world-class, potentially the largest nickel sulphide district, globally.

With an average grade of 0.22 per cent nickel, Crawford will be a low-grade, big tonnage open-pit operation that will ramp up production in three phases and physically expand twice over four decades.

The company is a third of the way through the regulatory permitting process and a financing plan to be put in place for the US$1.7-billion project.

Selby said they are less than 21 months away from making a final construction decision.

DOE Eyes Historic $1 Billion Loan To Kickstart U.S. #Lithium Boom

Posted on October 6, 2023 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

The North American lithium industry is likely about to get a $1 billion injection. The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is currently in talks with Canadian mining company Lithium Americas over a massive round of funding for its Nevada project. If the deal – the terms of which are currently being finalized – is inked, it would fund over half and as much as 75% of construction costs for the massive Thacker Pass project, thereby kickstarting the United States’ lithium era in earnest.

Why the electric-vehicle industry is talking about ‘black mass’

Posted on August 30, 2023 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

The latest buzzword in battery materials sounds like a concept borrowed from astrophysics.

But “black mass” is just a very literal description of the intermediate product from recycling either spent electric-vehicle batteries or scrap from battery plants. It’s a dark, powdery cocktail of metals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel that’s emerging as a commodity in its own right.

There’s growing interest in battery recycling as the global electric-vehicle industry expands, and as carmakers and Western governments aim to build supply chains that bypass China.

Mentions of black mass in company earnings have grown — including recent instances from commodities trader Glencore and chemicals giant BASF. Three market researchers — Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, Fastmarkets and S&P Global — have launched regular price assessments of the material since April.

Miners face ‘considerable challenges’ meeting demand from #US climate law -study

Posted on August 15, 2023 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Aug 15 (Reuters) – The mining industry faces “considerable challenges” meeting larger-than-expected demand for copper, nickel and other electric vehicle metals fueled by a U.S. climate law, S&P Global said in a report on Tuesday, ahead of the legislation’s one-year anniversary.

The landmark U.S. Inflation Reduction Act offers tax breaks for EVs, solar panels and other renewable energy products made from metals extracted in the United States or countries with U.S. free trade deals. Metals from “foreign entities of concern” including China, Russia, North Korea and Iran will be banned in 2025. That has sparked a race among manufacturers to lock down supply.

Demand forecasts for various EV metals have increased 12% to 15% since U.S. President Joe Biden signed the IRA last August, the report said.

“The energy transition is really heating up the pressures on mineral supplies, and the IRA is adding a lot to those challenges,” Dan Yergin, S&P Global’s vice chairman and a co-author of the report, said in an interview.