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Our rapidly evolving energy future – packed with electric vehicles, massive energy storage solutions and nanotechnology requires more tech-grade #Graphite than it does #Lithium and #Cobalt.

#Tesla has a problem that may be a company killer. #ElonMusk has promised stakeholders a Model 3 run rate of 500,000 cars per year by the end of 2018, but #Panasonic’s cathode powder supply chain can’t support more than half of that volume. More importantly, expansion of Panasonic’s supply chain would be a Herculean task because its cathode powder supplier, #Sumitomo Metal Mining, already is using 100% of its #Cobalt production to satisfy Panasonic’s cathode powder requirements.

Read more at: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4115479-cobalt-cliff-will-cap-teslas-model-3-production-capacity-250000-units-per-year

Should the commercial e-plane become a reality, it would have huge benefits for the environment. Airplanes release around 500 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Read more at: http://www.financialexpress.com/industry/after-electronic-cars-how-about-battery-powered-airplanes-here-is-all-you-need-to-know/901468/

One of the world’s largest stainless steel producers says the rise of electric cars will boost demand for the alloy in auto manufacturing. The opportunity outweighs the challenge of competing for #Nickel supplies, used in many batteries and the most important raw material in making rust-free steel.

Read more at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-19/stainless-steel-giant-says-electric-cars-will-boost-metal-demand

#Jinchuan Group, #China’s top #Nickel producer, will next year start building a new project in #Guangxi that will produce raw materials for #ElectricVehicle (#EV) batteries, its chairman said, looking to tap the sector’s “explosive” demand.

Read more at: https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/10/20/business/20reuters-china-congress-jinchuan-cobalt.html

At current production levels, #Cobalt reserves are expected to last for 57 years, compared with 400 years for #Lithium. Surely more reserves will be discovered, but it’s likely that production will remain dependent on one country — the Democratic Republic of the #Congo, currently responsible, according to #Bloomberg Intelligence, for about 54 percent of mined cobalt and some 49 percent reserves.

Read more at: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-10-17/electric-car-makers-have-an-africa-problem

The #Brazilian miner is working with #Scotiabank to sell a stake in #Vale #NewCaledonia (VNC) on the remote South Pacific island of New Caledonia, according to people familiar with the process.

Read more at: https://www.ft.com/content/65b80ad8-b344-11e7-a398-73d59db9e399

#BHP #Nickel West said that potential customer visits had confirmed that the company’s entry into the nickel sulphate market had been well timed, with interest by customers significantly exceeding expectations.

Read more at: http://www.miningweekly.com/article/bhps-entry-into-nickel-sulphate-well-timed-cobalt-sulphate-may-be-next-2017-10-17

The #Graphite electrode shortage could last five years or more, investment bank Jefferies said in a report after spending time with management of #Japanese producer #TokaiCarbon.

Jefferies said 10% of needle coke output is now being directed to the #Lithium-ion sector and anode material production requires the same facilities as graphite electrode production. It also said Hurricane Harvey had taken some needle coke capacity offline.

The natural growth in electric arc furnace-based output at the expense of blast furnace production, led by a drive to reduce pollution, would trigger stronger demand for electrodes, Jefferies said.

Read more at: https://www.platts.com/latest-news/metals/liverpool/graphite-electrode-shortage-could-last-five-years-26820023

Prices for natural flake #Graphite have risen in recent weeks as the market tightens, with the largest increases seen in grades above 95% C. A new round of processing plant closures has been reported in #Shandong, which compounded already existing supply problems in the Province following drought conditions through the summer and limitations on the use of dynamite for mining. As well as affecting battery grades, the closures have resulted in higher prices for larger flake graphite used in expandable/expanded graphite and refractories.

Read more at: https://roskill.com/news/graphite-flake-prices-rising-china-higher-demand-environmental-closures/