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Ardea – Western #Australian #Nickel project grabs #Japanese – #US attention

Posted on March 23, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

A silhouette of Australia filled with an industrial landscape featuring mining activity, overlaid with the flags of the United Kingdom, United States, and Japan, symbolizing international relationships.

Ardea Resources’ Kalgoorlie nickel project (KNP) has received a shout-out in the Japan-US Critical Minerals Joint Fact Sheet, a call-to-action to shore up critical mineral supply chains between the two powerful nations and other Western markets.

The company’s nickel-cobalt project, about 70 kilometres north of the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in Western Australia, comprises its bulk-scale KNP – Goongarrie Hub and hosts a mammoth 854 million tonnes grading 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt for a whopping 6.1 million tonnes of contained nickel and 386,000 tonnes of cobalt.Ardea Resources’ Kalgoorlie nickel project (KNP) has received a shout-out in the Japan-US Critical Minerals Joint Fact Sheet, a call-to-action to shore up critical mineral supply chains between the two powerful nations and other Western markets.

#China spent $120B to lock down #CriticalMinerals overseas

Posted on March 22, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Graphic illustrating China's $120 billion investment in critical minerals, featuring a map of China, construction machinery, renewable energy elements, and various mineral resources.

China has invested more than $120 billion in overseas mining and upstream processing since 2023, accelerating a state-backed push to secure the raw materials underpinning the global energy transition, says Australian think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF).

A study published last week reveals that China’s spending targeted a wide range of commodities — including lithium, copper, nickel, rare earths and bauxite — that are essential for electric vehicles, renewable power and industrial decarbonization.

Vertical integration at scale

The CEF research also finds that China’s outbound investment in mining is only one piece of a much larger industrial strategy.

Since early 2023, Chinese firms have also deployed more than $220 billion into downstream sectors such as battery manufacturing, electric vehicles, grids, solar and wind infrastructure, creating what researchers describe as a vertically integrated global cleantech expansion.

#India to invite bids for Rs 7,280 crore #RareEarthMagnet manufacturing scheme on March 20

Posted on March 20, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

A graphic representation of India featuring industrial workers, military equipment, and aircraft, symbolizing the country's manufacturing and defense sectors, alongside the Indian flag.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries is likely to call for bids under the Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPM) Friday. Officials said the Rs 7,280 crore scheme will promote domestic manufacturing of 6,000 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of magnets, strengthening supply chains for the automotive, defense, and aerospace sectors.

BASF announces $27M #Saskatoon innovative #Canola breeding facility expansion

Posted on March 18, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Burlington startup #NthCycle scores billion-dollar metal recycling deal with #Trafigura

Posted on March 18, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

An industrial scene featuring a processing facility within a silhouette of the United States, showcasing logos of Nth Cycle and Trafigura, with materials representing nickel and lithium in the foreground.

Metal recycling startup Nth Cycle of Burlington says it’s struck a deal with Singapore-based metals trading company Trafigura to deliver $1.1 billion in recycled nickel and lithium over the next decade.

Nth Cycle, which operates a recycling plant in Ohio, plans to add capacity by building facilities in South Carolina and the Netherlands. The deal was announced at an energy security forum in Tokyo co-hosted by the Japanese and US governments, in an effort to reduce the two nations’ dependence on China for access to critical metals.

Nth Cycle is the second local recycling company to team up with Trafigura, which is scrambling to meet surging global demand for lithium, cobalt, nickel, and other scarce metals that are vital in high-tech manufacturing.

#China’s supply chain meets the wall of #African resource nationalism

Posted on March 16, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

A conceptual image of Africa shaped by industrial elements, featuring the flags of China and a country in Africa, with containers labeled 'Made in China' and 'Export'. In the foreground, piles of lithium and cobalt minerals are labeled, set against a background of mining machinery and a cloudy sky.

Resource-rich African nations are increasingly asserting control over critical minerals to maximise domestic returns, sending global prices soaring and exerting pressure on Chinese supply chains.

One price crunch started last month when Zimbabwe, Africa’s biggest lithium producer, abruptly suspended exports of raw lithium minerals and concentrates.

Chinese battery producers, which rely on Zimbabwe for about 15 per cent of their total lithium concentrate supply, were hit particularly hard.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has also sought to extract higher returns from its mineral sales, imposing cobalt export controls last year following a sharp decline in global prices. The embargo was eventually replaced in October by a quota system to rebalance the market, with Kinshasa setting limits of 96,600 tonnes this year.

Although China dominates the processing of cobalt, an essential metal used in batteries for electric vehicles and other electronics, it depends heavily on the DR Congo for raw materials.

Namibia prohibited unprocessed mineral exports in 2023, while Tanzania and Malawi issued mandates for in-country refining and raw export bans last year. Ghana has set a 2030 deadline to halt raw bauxite and lithium shipments for its domestic battery industry.

In the $US offshore wind farm energy is making news during the current energy crunch.

Posted on March 14, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

In the US offshore wind farm energy is making news during the current energy crunch.

Will it be enough to break through administrative mind set to support more funding for renewable energy?

#US #CriticalMinerals talks advance with #EU, #Japan on price floor

Posted on March 13, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

A display of critical metals featuring a metal ingot labeled 'CRITICAL METALS', two batteries, and assorted rocks, with the flags of the United States, European Union, and Japan in the background alongside the Statue of Liberty and Tokyo Tower.

The US, Japan and the European Union are set to announce plans in the coming weeks to lay the foundation for a trade agreement in critical minerals, according to people familiar with the preparations.

The Office of the US Trade Representative, which has led negotiations with Brussels and Tokyo on the framework, will also head talks for a trade deal that is set to include a price floor and tariffs for the materials to counter any market distortions by China, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Global efforts to diversify critical minerals supply chains intensified after Beijing last year imposed sweeping export controls, including on rare earths and critical minerals, in response to President Donald Trump’s so-called Liberation Day tariffs, which set a 10% levy on nearly all American imports.

Beijing has threatened it would retaliate against the formation of a bloc that would target its exports.

The supply crunch has eased somewhat since its worst point last summer and fall, but companies still complain that they don’t receive the quantities they need and have ordered from Chinese suppliers.

#Lifezone Metals signs exclusivity deal for #Musongati #Nickel project in #Burundi

Posted on March 12, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Map outline of Burundi highlighting the Musongati Nickel mining site, showcasing lush green hills and mining operations.

Lifezone Metals said post-market Tuesday it signed an exclusivity agreement with Burundi’s government over the Musongati nickel laterite project, located in Burundi and part of the larger East African Nickel Belt, which also includes the company’s Kabanga nickel project.

The Musongati Nickel Project is Burundi’s most important nickel deposit and sits within the world-class NE-SW-trending line of mafic-ultramafic intrusions known as the Kabanga-Musongati Alignment of the East African Nickel Belt, the company said.

Lifezone said the 14-month exclusivity agreement allows it to commit its expertise and resources to assess the Musongati nickel laterite project within this initial exclusivity phase, as the company heads to a final investment decision on its key Kabanga nickel project in neighboring Tanzania.

A 2011 study defined a resource of more than 140M tons, making Musongati a major, large-tonnage, open-pittable resource.

#Manitoba: #Magnesium capital of #Canada

Posted on March 10, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Illustration of Canada highlighting Manitoba as the Magnesium Capital of Canada, featuring a sunset landscape with mining equipment and rocky terrain.

A critical mineral mining project owned by a First Nation is closer to its goal of positioning Manitoba as the “magnesium capital of Canada.”

The project has received an amended environmental licence from the province.

Kinosao Sipi, also known as Norway House Cree Nation, took full ownership of the former Minago nickel project in the Thompson nickel belt in November 2024. The project was rebranded after magnesium and other platinum-group metals were discovered.

It is Canada’s first critical minerals project to be fully owned by a First Nation, the province said in a news release last week. The project is now licensed to produce 10,000 tonnes of materials per day, but the project’s planning and financing still need to be finished.