Category Archives: Related Inventions

#China bans export of rare earth processing tech over national security

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China, the world’s top processor of rare earths, on Thursday banned the export of technology to extract and separate the strategic metals, in a further step towards protecting its dominance in several strategic metals.

The commerce ministry sought public opinion last December on the potential move to add the technology to its “Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited and Restricted from Export”.

It also banned the export of production technology for rare earth metals and alloy materials as well as technology to prepare some rare earth magnets.

Read more at: https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/china-bans-export-rare-earths-processing-technologies-2023-12-21/

#Cobalt rich #Congo votes with crucial role in climate change

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Voters in the Democratic Republic of Congo are to decide the fate of a nation that could drive the global energy transition and help shape the fight against climate change.

Congo will soon be the world’s second-biggest copper producer and accounts for about 70% of cobalt production, two metals key to the electric vehicle and renewable-energy industries. There are rich seams of gold, and largely untouched oil and gas.

It’s also home to about two-thirds of the second-biggest tropical rainforest, which sucks in hundreds of million of tons of climate-warming carbon dioxide every year.

Read more at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-12-19/cobalt-rich-congo-votes-with-crucial-role-in-climate-change

#EU sets critical mineral goals, but faces struggle to hit them

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The European Union has set targets to dig up, recycle and refine lithium, cobalt and other metals it needs for its green transition, but a shortage of new money, crippling energy costs and local opposition could put them beyond reach.

The bloc will likely need to find ways to trim demand, find substitute materials and forge partnerships that break China’s stranglehold on mineral supplies.

The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), due to enter force in early 2024, says the bloc should mine 10%, recycle 25% and process 40% of its annual needs of 17 key raw materials by 2030.

Read more at: https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/eu-sets-critical-mineral-goals-faces-struggle-hit-them-2023-12-18/

#China likely to beat #Europe, #US in meeting battery metals demand through recycling – study

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China is the most likely candidate to first meet its entire demand for the three most important raw materials for batteries – lithium, cobalt and nickel – through recycling, new research has found.

According to a study by a team at the University of Münster, the race to achieve a complete circular economy for key battery metals will see Europe arriving in second and the US in third place.

In detail, the results show that China is expected to be able to employ recycling to meet its own demand for primary lithium for electric vehicles from 2059 onwards; in Europe and the US, this will not happen until after 2070. 

When it comes to cobalt, recycling is expected to ensure that China will be able to meet its needs after 2045, at the earliest; in Europe, this will happen in 2052 and in the US not until 2056.

Finally, for nickel, China can probably meet demand through recycling in 2046 at the earliest, with Europe following in 2058 and the US from 2064 onwards, according to the report.

Read more at: https://www.mining.com/china-likely-to-beat-europe-us-in-meeting-battery-metals-demand-through-recycling-study/

#China metals firms see #US rules unlikely to upend supply chains

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Chinese firms producing and processing battery materials see new US rules aimed at limiting Beijing’s grip on the electric-vehicle industry as less stringent than feared, allowing them to preserve a key role in the global supply chain.

Washington’s move, which seeks to cut China out of US tax credits and curb the country’s control over joint ventures, created uncertainty at the end of last week, with questions swirling around the status of Chinese-owned battery-material operations outside the mainland, and over the impact on the wider car and battery industry.

Read more at: https://www.mining.com/web/china-metals-firms-see-us-rules-unlikely-to-upend-supply-chains/

#Norway lawmakers back deep-sea mining in Arctic Ocean

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Norway has secured a parliamentary majority to go ahead with plans to open the Arctic Ocean to seabed mineral exploration, despite environmental groups and the fishing industry’s warnings that the move would risk the biodiversity of vulnerable ecosystems.

The country’s minority centre-left government and two large opposition parties backed on Tuesday a government’s proposal announced in June to position the country as a frontrunner in commercial-scale deep-sea mining.

The move by the European country, where vast oil and gas reserves have made it one of the world’s wealthiest nations, has as goal to diversify its economy away from fossil fuels.

Read more at: https://www.mining.com/norway-lawmakers-back-deep-sea-mining-in-arctic-ocean/

#Congo’s #Gecamines to push for #Copper, #Cobalt trading share

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Congo’s state mining group Gecamines said it will push to secure the rights to buy copper and cobalt at mines it has holdings in, as it attempts to build its own stocks and trade the metals.

To do so, Gecamines needs to amend some terms of its joint venture agreements in Democratic Republic of Congo, which is the world’s top supplier of battery-grade cobalt and the third largest copper producer after Peru and Chile.

Read more at: https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/congos-gecamines-push-copper-cobalt-trading-share-2023-12-01/

DOD Enters Agreement to Expand Domestic Graphite Supply Chain

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The Department of Defense announced today a $3.2 million agreement with South Star Battery Metals Corporation (South Star) to support domestic production of Coated, Spheronized, Purified Graphite (CSPG) at their BamaStar Graphite Project (BGP) in Coosa County, Alabama.

“This is another example of the critical importance of the Defense Production Act investment authorities,” said Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale, ASD(IBP).  “As one of our first awards to a Canadian company in the battery materials sector, this award exemplifies our combined commitment to strengthening our battery material supply chains and global approach to industrial base resilience.”

The agreement with South Star, entered into under Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III authorities and utilizing funds appropriated by the Inflation Reduction Act, will enable the company to perform a bankable feasibility study. The study will cover the entire process from mining to final production of CSPG, exploring both economic and environmental, social, and governance criteria. Upon successful completion of the bankable feasibility study, South Star plans to construct a downstream battery-grade processing facility in the southeast United States that would take concentrates from the BamaStar mine site and transform it into CSPG. This will be used as feedstock for domestic lithium-ion battery anode production, contributing to a more complete U.S.-based graphite anode supply chain.

Read more at: https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3600429/dod-enters-agreement-to-expand-domestic-graphite-supply-chain/

#Indonesia to Trace #Nickel in Bid for #US Critical Minerals Deal

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Indonesia plans to introduce nickel tracing and push local producers to reach global mining standards to help the country move closer to securing a critical minerals deal with the US.

Each ton of nickel ore sales will be tracked using the SIMBARA portal starting next quarter, Septian Hario Seto, a deputy at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, said in an interview. Top producers will also be encouraged to get certifications from global entities like The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, he added.

International certification will ensure the companies’ environmental, social and governance practices are recognized, said Seto, who oversees investment coordination and mining at the ministry. “It is for our own interest, regardless of the deal with the US,” he added.

Indonesia is seeking a critical minerals agreement with the US to help realize President Joko Widodo’s goal of building an entire electric-vehicle supply chain onshore by taking advantage of the country’s nickel riches. Jokowi, as the leader is known, met with US President Joe Biden earlier this week and agreed to continue efforts to potentially reach such a deal.

Read more at: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/indonesia-to-trace-nickel-in-bid-for-us-critical-minerals-deal-1.1999819

#US, #Indonesia to discuss potential for deal on EV minerals

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WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) – The United States and Indonesia on Monday will discuss how to advance a potential minerals partnership aimed a stimulating trade of the electric vehicle (EV) battery metal nickel, according to three people with direct knowledge of the conversations.

Next steps that could move the countries toward formal negotiations on the partnership will be discussed when Indonesian President Joko Widodo visits the White House for a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday, according to one of the people.

Read more at: https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/us-indonesia-discuss-potential-deal-ev-minerals-sources-2023-11-12/

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