Energy crunch hastening demand for transition metals
The energy shortage hitting the UK and Europe will fuel demand for a quicker green transition and the metals required to build it, according to speakers at the second Investing in Cornish Mining conference in Falmouth today.
Fuel and energy shortages have highlighted the urgency of moving away from fossil fuel dependence towards electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy sources, delegates heard.
"2021 has seen the switch to electric vehicles step up a gear, and the pace of change is accelerating much faster than anyone expected. The recent fuel shortage here in the UK proved yet another boost for electric vehicle ownership and online searches for EVs since the shortage have risen by 1,600pc," Cornish Lithium chief executive Jeremy Wrathall said.
Local, sustainable supply chains vital
Rising prices for commodities globally have also highlighted the growing need for regional supply chains. Lithium, tin and copper prices are all at record highs amid severe supply chain bottlenecks as economies fight back from Covid-19 restrictions and shipping networks come under particular strain.
"Supply chains are being re-examined in light of current geopolitics. Metals are already in short supply and most easily accessible deposits around the world have already been discovered and exploited," Wrathall told delegates. "The world can no longer rely on traditional supply chains, Covid-19 has taught us that […] all the metals needed for the transition to renewable energy have been found in Cornwall in the past, including copper, nickel, cobalt, tin and even lithium."
In the UK specifically, rules of origin laws that came into force as the UK left the EU specify that by 2027, 55pc of all EV components must originate in the UK in order to be exported to the EU tariff free – creating a particularly urgent need for a local raw material supply chain.
"The opportunity to source materials in the UK has to be attractive not only to Cornwall, but also to the UK government up in Westminster," said Richard Williams, president of Cornish Metals. "Also, there is a growing demand from end users to ensure products are sourced responsibly and ethically," he said, pointing to tin projects in Myanmar with questionable links to conflict, and to Indonesia's environmental safety difficulties.
"Western Australia is producing two thirds of the world's lithium, so we're behind in the UK and we need to catch up, but we need to do it cost effectively and in a more sustainable way to compete with the Australians," British Lithium chief executive Andrew Smith said.
Smith pointed out that while lithium production in Cornwall is unable to compete in terms of volume and grade, it can be more sustainable than in Australia, which powers much of the country with thermal coal, while South American projects use excessive amounts of water in arid regions.
Prices for lithium hydroxide have risen to $27.00-27.50/kg fob China from $8.50-10.00/kg at the start of 2021 on strong demand from the EV sectors in China and Europe.
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Turkey rebar: Market muted ahead of elections
Turkey rebar: Market muted ahead of elections
London, 28 March (Argus) — Turkish rebar prices were stable today, without a great deal of urgency shown by export buyers following a sustained uptick in scrap prices over the past few days. The domestic market remained subdued, as construction demand is still constrained by high borrowing costs and the ongoing depreciation of the domestic currency. Argus ' daily Turkish export assessment for rebar was unchanged at $590/t fob, with larger cargoes still available at this level. European, mostly Balkan, buyers have been making enquiries this week, with scrap prices inching steadily upwards over the past three weeks. But buyers have mostly been checking prices, and trade has remained thin. Rebar indications from suppliers were in a $590-605/t fob range, with most suppliers expecting at least $595/t fob. In the wire rod segment, material was available in a range of $605-625/t fob. The weekly wire rod assessment increased by $5/t to $600/t fob Turkey. In the domestic market, offers from most mills in the Marmara and Iskenderun regions were firm in a range of $610-620/t ex-works excluding value-added tax (VAT). But material remains available from Izmir mills and one Marmara mill at $595-600/t ex-works. While some buyers have made purchases in the run-up to the municipal elections on 30 March, restocking has been lacklustre, with a lack of firm signals from the construction sector. Argus ' daily Turkish domestic rebar assessment was unchanged at $600/t ex-works excluding VAT, with the lira equivalent also unchanged at TL23,4000/t ex-works including VAT. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Taiwan scrap imports fall 13pc on year in February
Taiwan scrap imports fall 13pc on year in February
Singapore, 28 March (Argus) — Taiwan's ferrous scrap imports fell on the year in February, reflecting rising prices, subdued activity during the holiday period and high stocks. Ferrous scrap imports totalled 218,887t, down by 21.3pc on the month and 13.2pc on the year, customs data showed. Trade sources attributed the decline to rising seaborne scrap prices in November and December. Trade sources said lower bookings were expected given the lunar new year holiday in Taiwan on 8-14 February, with mills likely to have been prudent in their procurement since November as delivery of containerised scrap usually takes 8-10 weeks from the signing of an agreement. The US remained Taiwan's top ferrous scrap supplier in February, providing 81,249t, although this was down by 32.6pc on January and 25.1pc on the year. Ferrous scrap imports from Japan fell by 10.3pc on the month and 15pc on the year to 55,510t in February. Imports from Dominican Republic rose by 7.1pc on the month and 16.9pc year on year to 17,563t. Scrap supply from Australia fell by 47.8pc year on year to 9,921t. Trade sources said underwhelming fundamentals in Asia meant Australian sellers focused on south Asia, where they could achieve stronger margins. Looking ahead, a slowing construction sector could mean lower scrap imports. "The shortage of manpower and rising building material costs have impacted the initiation pace of new construction projects," the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research said on 25 March. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japan’s SMM eyes Li-ion battery recycling plant by 2026
Japan’s SMM eyes Li-ion battery recycling plant by 2026
Tokyo, 28 March (Argus) — Japanese battery cathode producer Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM) plans to set up a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery recycling plant in western Japan's Ehime prefecture by June 2026. The recycling plant is expected to have a processing capacity of around 6,000-7,000 t/yr of black mass, equivalent to batteries for around 60,000 electric vehicles, a company representative told Argus on 28 March. Black mass is the shredded remains of cathode materials such as nickel, cobalt and lithium. The company will start construction sometime during March-April 2025, but the timing for commercial operations was undisclosed. SMM has also entered into a partnership with nine domestic recycling partners to build a supply chain for collecting used Li-ion batteries, the company representative added. SMM produced cathodes using nickel and cobalt from recycled Li-ion batteries in June 2023. Domestic battery producer Prime Earth EV Energy proved the quality of SMM's used cathodes in performance testing. The recycled ratio of nickel and cobalt used in the test was more than 6pc and 16pc respectively. This exceeds the standard rates that EU battery regulations tentatively set as minimum recycling requirements for each material, a SMM representative previously told Argus . The EU regulation is expected to take effect from 2031 after approvals by member countries. By Yusuke Maekawa Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Centaurus' Jaguar Ni mine in Brazil eyes 2027 output
Centaurus' Jaguar Ni mine in Brazil eyes 2027 output
Singapore, 28 March (Argus) — Australian mining company Centaurus Metals said that its Jaguar nickel sulphide project in Brazil is undergoing a feasibility study and aims to start production in mid-2027. Jaguar, bought from Brazilian mining firm Vale in 2020 , is estimated to hold 109mn t of 0.87pc grade nickel for an estimated 948,900t of contained nickel. The nickel product will be largely targeted at the Atlantic market, with expectations that demand will strengthen in the region. "Demand for nickel we believe is not going away. And if you look at what's going to happen in the US and European markets in particular, nickel will probably be a bigger part of the battery composition than anywhere else," Centaurus' managing director Darren Gordon said at the Tribeca Futures Commodities conference held in Singapore on 26 March. "There's a huge amount of nickel that still needs to come into the market." Many Australian mining firms have struggled with a slump in global nickel prices earlier in the year because of a supply glut caused by increased volumes from Indonesia, coupled with a slowdown in demand. Several Australian mines have halted operations , while other processing facilities were placed on care and maintenance programmes . But Centaurus is hopeful that Jaguar will be able to compete on a cost and environmental basis with Indonesian supplies. "Nickel is going to continue be supplied out of Indonesia in very large ways so we are going to compete on costs. And we think that when we deliver the feasibility study, we will be able to demonstrate that we can compete on costs. But overlay on that, we have this very low carbon footprint associated with our project," Gordon added. Centaurus said Jaguar is one of the lowest carbon footprint nickel project globally, following a review done by a metals and mining ESG research company. Once operational, greenhouse gas emissions from the project are forecast to be 7.27t of carbon dioxide/t of nickel equivalent, which is assessed to be lower than 94pc of other global nickel production. By Sheih Li Wong Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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