Tag: cobalt

S&P GLOBAL Market Intelligence latest report on lithium and cobalt paints a revealing picture for the rare earths’ market. Though the fall-out from COVID-19 has seen total sales and growth of EV’s slow in China, S&P are predicting an increase in sales in Europe due to stricter vehicle emissions standards pushing drivers toward electric vehicles. European and Chinese government policies favour of EV’s driving down battery costs. European car-makers including Volkswagen and BMW have made investments in the EV market which should bear fruit over the course of 2020 as EU transitions toward carbon neutrality. The EV sales should lead to an increase in the Lithium Carbonate price which has so far decline 9.5% this year, averaging US$8,121 p/t in...

Ravensthorpe reopens on nickel surge FIRST Quantum Minerals expects to ship its first nickel concentrate from its mine in Ravensthorpe, WA, by April this year. The first shipment of sulphur, a vital component of nickel production, arrived through the Esperance port last week. The Canadian company has made significant upgrades to the processing plant since acquiring it in February 2010 for the cut-throat price of $340m. The plant cost BHP Billiton $3b to build and commission. When it was closed in 2017, it was the nickel project’s second major closure and loss of jobs. The mine is wholly owned by First Quantum and currently employs around 250 people with another 100 jobs projected to be filled. Locals and residents from...

ON August 7 this year, Glencore announced its plans to close the Mutanda mine, citing reduced economic viability and the low prices as the main drivers behind the decision. Glencore chief executive officer Ivan Glasenberg said the company had planned to transition the Mutanda operation to temporary care and maintenance by year end, “reflecting its reduced economic viability in the current market environment, primarily in response to low cobalt prices”. According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence analyst Caspar Rawles, the announcement actually had a ripple effect in the market, which had experienced a downward trend from the first quarter 2018 through to the beginning of August 2019 (when Glencore released its half year report), mainly due to fears over oversupply. “We...

BY REUBEN ADAMS   THE price per tonne of cobalt – essential to EV battery production – rose to $82,000 on the London Metal Exchange in mid-February. This represents a tripling of value since the start of 2016, and a 147 per cent jump since January 2017.   Burgeoning EV demand is already proving a disruptive force for both the mining industry and end users of metals such as lithium and cobalt. In order to meet this increasing demand for EV batteries, cobalt supply will need to reach 180,000 tonnes (t) by 2026 – up from 48,000t in 2016, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Platts expected a tripling in demand to more than 300,000tpa by 2030. This surge in demand...