A Blog for Browsing Mining, Mineral Processing, and Metals Info

#LAPAZ (#Reuters) — #Bolivia will manufacture and market #Lithium batteries along with #German company ACI Systems #GmbH, which will invest $1.3 billion in the project, the country’s manager of the lithium deposits told the #Bolivian state radio . Along with #Argentina and #Chile, Bolivia is part of South #America’s so-called “lithium triangle,” one of the largest global reservoirs of the key mineral for the production of car batteries.

Read more at: http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004389864

#SHANGHAI (#Reuters) – #BHP #Billiton is expanding its business as a supplier of battery minerals at its #Nickel refinery in Western #Australia, planning to start producing nickel sulphate next year and looking at #Cobalt output as well, a company executive said.

Cobalt and nickel are both critical ingredients for #Lithium ion batteries, and are expected to see a boom in demand as global automakers transition into producing electric vehicles.

Read more at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-metals-batteries-bhp/bhp-billiton-to-produce-nickel-sulphate-next-year-eyeing-cobalt-on-battery-boom-idUSKBN1HP13M

A small island in the Pacific Ocean is the site of a huge discovery that could change #Japan’s economic future. How huge? One economist called it a “game changer.” The researchers who helped find it said it had “tremendous potential.”

#Vanadium-flow batteries are robust, long-lasting, can operate in all temperatures and don’t degrade internally, said Algar, who wants to have at least 20 percent of output from his company’s Gabanintha project in Western #Australia going into the battery market.

The dominant form of energy storage is #Lithium-ion technology, but there are advantages to vanadium-flow batteries. They last longer and can be charged and discharged repeatedly without any significant drop in performance. They are also easy to recycle and good for projects where space isn’t an issue.

Read more at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-09/vanadium-batteries-need-elon-musk-moment-to-kick-start-market

#Reuters – Nervous #Asian battery makers are turning to early-stage #Cobalt projects in #Australia and #Canada to lock in supplies of the critical battery ingredient ahead of expected shortages as demand for #ElectricVehicles revs up.

Read more at: https://af.reuters.com/article/africaTech/idAFL3N1R216F

Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have developed a solution to this problem in the form of a graphene-oxide coated ‘nanosheet’ that, when placed in between the two electrodes of a lithium-metal battery, prevents uneven plating of lithium and allows the battery to safely function for hundreds of charge/discharge cycles.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-03-graphene-oxide-nanosheets-lithium-metal-batteries.html#jCp

#Samsung C&T Corp., an affiliate of the world’s biggest #Smartphone maker, is in talks for a multi-year deal to buy #Cobalt from a #Congolese miner, joining #Apple Inc. in the global rush to secure supplies of the metal at the heart of the #ElectricCar boom.

Read more at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-13/samsung-is-said-in-talks-for-multi-year-cobalt-deal-from-congo

Automaker #BMW is working with a #London-based start-up to use transaction-recording technology blockchain to prove batteries for its #ElectricVehicles will contain only clean #Cobalt, the start-up’s CEO said.

Read more at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mining-bmw-blockchain/uk-firm-pilots-using-blockchain-to-help-bmw-source-ethical-cobalt-idUSKBN1GH2UP

#Russian billionaires are feuding over control of a giant natural-resource business that dates back to the #Soviet era. So far, so #Russia. What makes the battle for MMC #Norilsk #Nickel PJSC more important than typical business maneuvering is that it will affect development of one of the largest deposits of nickel and #Cobalt, which are used in batteries for goods including #iPads and #Tesla cars.

Read more at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-06/the-billionaires-feud-that-will-affect-electric-cars-quicktake

A team of scientists  at #USDOE are using single atoms of #Nickel anchored to a sheet of #Graphene. The single atoms react perfectly to produce CO. The team is now focused on producing the catalyst in a cheap large-scale way. This could mean a lot for the world’s energy crisis.

Read more at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinanderton/2018/03/03/using-nickel-atoms-to-convert-co2-into-usable-energy-infographic/#78258f4c1156