#Australia is set to boost its dominance of the global trade in #SteelMaking #Coal, as cost cutting and better margins due to a slide in the local #Dollar stoke a rise in production and put pressure on #US rivals to cut output.
Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/21/australia-coking-idUSL3N12G1T220151021
#Australia could become a world leader in home #Battery #Storage, with the potential for #Energy stored from #SolarPanels offering the cheapest #Electricity alternative within just three years, according to a new report.
Read more at: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/21/dramatic-fall-in-price-of-battery-storage-will
While #Miners are holding off on new projects and looking to slow the completion of ones in the works as they face the worst #Commodity price collapse since 2008, research house #WoodMackenzie warns the industry could be paving the way for a major supply shortage.
In a presentation prepared for clients at #LME Week in London, the firm’s vice chairman of metals and mining research, Julian Kettle, draws together the overall outlook for #Metals, citing the challenges of lower commodity prices, pressure from shareholders to curtail investment and a new reality of lower demand growth. Wood Mackenzie concludes that if the industry fails to invest the US$150 billion required to meet future supply needs, looming supply shortages will follow.
Read more at: http://www.mining.com/miners-need-to-invest-150bn-to-avoid-looming-supply-shortages/
#Sumitomo, #Japan’s fourth-largest trading house by revenue, will likely be forced to take a loss on the #Madagascar project because #Nickel prices have dropped below the cost of production, said Akira Morimoto of #SMBC #Nikko Securities.
Read more at: http://www.wsj.com/articles/sumitomo-faces-possible-loss-on-nickel-project-1444996145
The #MoltenSaltReactor was designed and operated at #ORNL in the 1960s, testing a reactor concept and the use of molten salts — a mixture of #Lithium, #Beryllium and #Zirconium #Fluorides — that served as the reactor’s coolant and also contained the dissolved #FissionFuel (initially #U235 and later #U233).
Read more at: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/columnists/ornl-reactors-past-tied-to-nations-energy-future_13592238
The world primary #Nickel usage is expected to grow further in 2015 and 2016. The usage which had totaled 1.863 Mt in 2014 is likely to increase to 1.905 Mt in 2015 and to 1.965 Mt in 2016. The consumption in #China is estimated to remain at high levels during 2015 and 2016. As worldwide consumption increases, the supply balance is expected to turn to a state of tight supply in 2016.
According to #INSG, the major shift in economic policies by China and the potential interest rate hike by the #US Fed are likely to have huge impact on the #WorldEconomy.
Read more at: http://www.metal.com/newscontent/79401_nickel-supply-to-become-tight-in-2016-says-international-nickel-study-group
#Hydrogen #Cars are another matter. #Toyota launched its first fuel cell vehicle, the Mirai, in late 2014. To reach its 30,000 annual sales goal by 2020 it will have to increase production volume tenfold from 2017. The car, which the #EPA says has a 312-mile range, will debut in the #US market (just #California) this fall. Even if customer demand for the fuel cell vehicle tops expectations, sales will likely remain sluggish until infrastructure problems are solved. There are only 12 public #HydrogenFuelStations in the #UnitedStates, according to the #DepartmentOfEnergy. Ten of those are in California, making it the only feasible market in the U.S. for #HydrogenCars.
Read more at: http://fortune.com/2015/10/14/toyota-hydrogen-goals/
A unit of #China steel producer #Tsingshan Group is set to triple its capacity to produce #NickelPigIron in #Indonesia as soon as May, an executive said, as the #Southeast #Asian nation pushes to win more profit from its mineral wealth.
Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/14/metals-lmeweek-indonesia-nickel-idUSL8N12D0TC20151014
#RareEarthMetal demand will grow as the #Chinese government recently unveiled new policy stimulus targeting new #EnergyCar market.
| 根据机动车整车出厂合格证统计，2015年9月，我国新能源汽车生产3.28万辆，同比增长2倍。其中，纯电动乘用车生产1.33万辆，同比增长近3倍，插电式混合动力乘用车生产5641辆，同比增长138%；纯电动商用车生产1.14万辆，同比增长4倍，插电式混合动力商用车生产2429辆，同比增长22%。列入《免征车辆购置税的新能源汽车车型目录》前五批的国产新能源汽车生产3.02万辆，占9月产量的92%。
2015年1－9月，新能源汽车累计生产15.62万辆，同比增长近3倍。其中，纯电动乘用车生产6.55万辆，同比增长2倍，插电式混合动力乘用车生产3.85万辆，同比增长3倍；纯电动商用车生产3.97万辆，同比增长近7倍，插电式混合动力商用车生产1.26万辆，同比增长75%。 |
#Codelco, the world’s biggest #Copper producer, rained on all the metal bulls’ parade Tuesday, as the company said it plans to keep output targets and warned investors not to expect any dramatic changes to its $25 billion investment plan.
Read more at: http://www.mining.com/codelco-vows-not-to-cut-copper-output-even-if-prices-keep-falling/
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