GetRich902902
4 years ago
Tesla seeks sustainable nickel miners for EV battery production
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk is pushing miners to produce more nickel as an ingredient of lithium-ion batteries used in its electronic vehicles (EVs) with the incentive of a “giant” contract.
Musk said in a second-quarter earnings call that a “giant contract for a long period of time” would be provided to a miner able to extract zinc in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.
The high cost of EV batteries remains one of the main roadblocks in Tesla’s growth, according to Musk.
“The real limitation on Tesla growth is cell production at an affordable price. That’s the real limit,” he said.
Tesla is set to increase its business with its battery partners, including Panasonic in Japan and Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) in China.
The car maker’s batteries are made from nickel, cobalt and aluminium, but the company has been distancing itself from using cobalt since January last year due to unethical mining practices in Africa along with cost concerns.
However, Tesla signed a deal with Glencore to receive cobalt from its mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and manufacture batteries at its Berlin “Gigafactory” in June.
Nickel’s use in battery cells allows them to be energy dense, resulting in lighter and more compact batteries with a higher capacity.
Musk said Tesla would make further announcements about the company’s batteries at its “Battery Day” event in September.
Australian Mining Magazine
GetRich902902
5 years ago
Australia, U.S., to cooperate on critical minerals, rare earths
Australia and the United States will support projects to develop critical minerals and rare earths, an Australian government minister said on Wednesday, signaling deeper cooperation in a market dominated by Chinese supplies.
Australian Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross laid the groundwork for collaboration in financing such projects in talks in Washington, Canavan’s office said in a statement.
“This work will offer opportunities for new projects to get off the ground,” Canavan said.
“The growing global demand for critical minerals will provide scope for Australian miners to enter stable and secure supply chains to meet growing demand in key economies such as the US.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-rare-earths-usa/australia-u-s-to-cooperate-on-critical-minerals-rare-earths-idUSKBN1XU0NU
GetRich902902
5 years ago
Australian Mines SK supply deal terminated
Shares in Australian Mines have dived by more than 30 per cent after the battery materials developer revealed a cobalt and nickel supply agreement with South Korea's SK Innovation has been terminated.
Under initial terms agreed on in October, SK Innovation was required to issue a finance letter to Australian Mines which it has not done, leading to the agreement being automatically terminated, Australian Mines said on Friday.
The company's ASX-listed shares fell by as much as 33 per cent to 1.8 cents at Friday's open, and were still 27.78 per cent lower at 1.9 cents by 1323 AEDT.
An SK Innovation spokesman said the company decided to not keep the deal with Australian Mines valid as the Australian firm did not meet prerequisites such as submitting a legally binding finance document by the September 30 deadline.
In August, SK Innovation had agreed to purchase 100 per cent of the battery-grade cobalt sulphate and nickel sulphate produced from Australian Mines' flagship Sconi Cobalt-Nickel-Scandium Project in North Queensland.
The company on Friday added it would continue discussions for off-take agreements with other interested parties, while also working towards securing funding to develop the Sconi project.
https://7news.com.au/business/mining/australian-mines-sk-supply-deal-terminated-c-535206
GetRich902902
5 years ago
Australian Mines drops deal with SK Innovations
Australian Mines has terminated its Offtake Agreement with SK Innovations at its Sconi Project.
In August, the company signed a seven year agreement with the South Korean company.
Under the original agreement, SK Innovations agreed to purchase 100 per cent of the battery- grade cobalt sulphate and nickel sulphate that is produced at the Sconi Project in Queensland.
Australian Mines said it had to close the deal with SK Innovations, as it did not issue an agreed pre-payment or finance letter to the company.
On October 1, the companies agreed that SK Innovations will issue an agreed pre-paymen letter to Australian Mines by October 31, 2019. The parties will then proceed to negotiate and finalise the formal documentation by January 31, 2020.
"As a result, the Offtake Agreement has automatically terminated on the basis that one or both of the conditions precedent to the Offtake Agreement as described
above were not satisfied by that date," the company told the market this morning.
This is a good time to buy this stock
https://themarketherald.com.au/australian-mines-drops-deal-with-sk-innovations-2019-10/
GetRich902902
5 years ago
Australian Mines & SK Innovation's negotiations should be final in the next few days!
Both parties have agreed to extend the plant financing deadline to October 31 to to discuss SKI financially supporting the Sconi Project.
In the previous agreement if SKI did not agree to a financial stake in Australian Mines then they would buy the metals at market prices in the future. Perhaps they are discussing some sort of stake in Australian Mines also.In my opinion, the extension is good news. It shows that SKI really want those metals in Sconi and that they are looking at helping to get the metals out of the ground. They know that if they don't help with Sconi then someone else will step right in and do it.They know that the US government and Australian government are in talks to develope a metals supply chain for the US. So, SKI wants to secure battery metals for their operations before another company or country locks it up.?
The United States President, Donald Trump, and Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, are set to release a plan aimed at securing the supply of rare earth minerals, as concerns grow that China could cut off shipments of the prized commodities. The US is trying to play catch up to China in the EV race by developing it's own supply chain for metals. Australia is the place that everyone wants to be for metals because of its business friendly environment and lots of mines. All of this is putting pressure on SKI to lock it up and secure battery metals for it's operations. I think Australian Mines has the upper hand and SKI will be force to help finance the plant fully or partially because they desperately need the metals and the know AUZ has plenty suitors waiting in the wings to step in and take the metals.
Keep buying this stock because it is going to up real big
soon.???https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/australia-unveil-rare-earth-mineral-supply-plan-190920030440200.html??????
GetRich902902
5 years ago
US steps up efforts to limit China’s control of critical minerals
The US government is stepping up efforts to break China’s dominance over supplies of critical minerals for a range of modern life’s aspects, including electric vehicles (EVs), green technologies and military applications by launching a plan to boost lithium, cobalt and rare earths mining across the globe.
The Energy Resource Governance Initiative (ERGI) initiative, announced in June, so far involves Australia, Botswana, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, the Philippines and Zambia.
The scheme seeks to promote responsible mining of 15 minerals expected to be in high demand as the adoption of technologies such as EVs, battery storage and wind turbines continue to rise.
“We want to ensure that these important mineral commodities remain free from international coercion and control,” US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said in a meeting held on Thursday at the United Nations General Assembly.
This is good news for Australian Mines as this may put pressure on SK Innovations to finance the Sconi project to secure the minerals.
https://www.mining.com/us-steps-up-efforts-to-limit-chinas-control-of-critical-minerals/
GetRich902902
5 years ago
New Research Promises Electric Car Batteries That Last For a Million Miles
Electric motors guzzle electricity, which can be especially hard on a rechargeable battery. The power cells used in electric vehicles, like Teslas, have an expected lifespan of around 300,000 to 500,000 miles, but a team of battery researchers believes it has come up with a recipe that can double that, leading to batteries that could potentially outlast the electric car itself.
https://gizmodo.com/new-research-promises-electric-car-batteries-that-last-1838357663
GetRich902902
5 years ago
Fed’s Williams, downplaying recession fears, says ‘outlook very favorable’
New York Fed President John Williams on Wednesday pushed back on market fears of a looming recession, saying that the baseline economic forecast remains “a positive one.”
“Right now, the outlook is actually very favorable,” Williams said during a talk at the University of California, San Diego. He said GDP growth is around 2% rate, with a “very strong” labor market and inflation near a 2% rate.
Williams noted economists have been notoriously unable to predict recessions.
“Economists are really good at saying we just had a recession. They are not so good at expecting a recession,” he said.
Where is the economy going from here? Williams said it was a “mixed picture.”
Global economic growth has slowed, trade disputes, and other geopolitical tensions have led to higher uncertainty and this seems to have contributed to a pullback of business investment, and trade between nations seems to be slowing down, he said.
“I think there are definitely a lot of uncertainties and risks out there that we need to be navigating,” Williams said.
The Fed is grappling with the how to model trade uncertainty, he said.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-williams-downplaying-recession-fears-says-outlook-very-favorable-2019-10-02
GetRich902902
5 years ago
US widens trade war with tariffs on European planes, cheese, whisky
US plans 10 per cent tariffs on aircraft, 25 per cent on other goods
The United States on Wednesday said it would slap 10 per cent tariffs on European-made Airbus planes and 25 per cent duties on French wine, Scotch and Irish whiskies, and cheese from across the continent as punishment for illegal European Union aircraft subsidies.
The announcement came after the World Trade Organization gave Washington a green light to impose tariffs on $7.5 billion worth of EU goods annually in the long-running case, a move that threatens to ignite a tit-for-tat transatlantic trade war.
The measures would follow tariffs levied by the United States and China on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other's goods in their more than year-old trade war.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/world/us-widens-trade-war-with-tariffs-on-european-planes-cheese-whisky/article29582028.ece
GetRich902902
5 years ago
Did Amazon just kick electric vehicle production into a higher gear?
The electric car revolution seems to finally be happening, and it’s not just going to be in personal cars. Last month, Amazon announced that it would order 100,000 electric delivery trucks from Rivian, an electric vehicle company. Amazon is an investor in Rivian, but, we should say, the company has produced exactly zero commercial electric vehicles to date.
Rivian has some time: Amazon said the first 10,000 vans would be on the road by 2022, the remainder by 2030. But the order would basically double the number of electric delivery vehicles in the world.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-tech/did-amazon-just-kick-electric-vehicle-production-into-a-higher-gear/
GetRich902902
5 years ago
VW Says Trump's Trade War Is Forcing A Car Recession
VW is mad everyone’s messing with the economy, Tesla is making moves to expand Fremont, BMW has Brexit plans, and more, more, more. We’re getting wet and wild in The Morning Shift for Tuesday, September 10, 2019.
The trade war between the U.S. and China, a dramatically mismanaged fiasco orchestrated by President Trump that has seen escalating tariffs levied on goods and cars between the world’s two largest trading partners, has Volkswagen’s CEO not just disappointed this time, but straight-up upset.
“We come now into a situation where this trade war is really influencing the mood of the customers, and it has the chance to really disrupt the world economy,” Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “China is basically a healthy market, but because of the trade war, the car market is basically in a recession. So that’s a new situation. That’s scary for us.”
Concerns about global trade have reached nearly 10 times the peaks seen in previous decades and could shave about 0.75 percentage points off world economic growth this year, according to data compiled by the International Monetary Fund. The auto industry is particularly exposed because of its global network of assembly plants and parts suppliers. Daimler AG, for instance, makes many of its Mercedes-Benz’s utility vehicles in Alabama and exports them to China and other markets.?
None of this ever had to happen! But it is. Keep in mind Volkswagen, and most of the major automakers of the world, are busy trying to wrap their heads around electric vehicles as the Chinese and European governments put pressure on them to curb emissions. Plus there was that whole Dieselgate thing they lost billions over. It’s hard to save face when the punches keep coming.
Carmakers need car buyers of the world to be financially secure in making the jump from gas guzzlers to mysterious battery machines, but if prices are artificially inflated over a glorified slap fight, it’s going to bum everybody out, man. I’m sure Volkswagen will be fine regardless, but it’d be really neat if we all put our efforts into stopping global economic decline instead of, like, begging for it.
https://jalopnik.com/vw-says-trumps-trade-war-is-forcing-a-car-recession-1838008645
GetRich902902
5 years ago
Australian Mines to re-negotiate Sconi offtake with SK Innovation
Australian Mines has extended its timeline for the Sconi project offtake agreement with Korean electric vehicle battery manufacturer SK Innovation due to project financing concerns.
Australian Mines demands an agreed pre-payment from SK Innovation with respect to future offtake.
The two companies would now discuss the amount and terms of such financial support.
They signed an offtake agreement for 100 per cent of production from the Sconi cobalt-nickel-scandium project in Queensland in February last year.
Australian Mines demands SK Innovation to submit an agreed pre-payment letter by October 31. The company will terminate their offtake agreement if this isn’t met, a media statement read.
Should SK Innovation’s prepayment come through timely, Australian Mines will negotiate and finalise formal documentation for this financial support by January next year.
The companies would also agree to a further period of three months to secure the remaining financing for the Sconi project.
Australian Mines subsidiary Sconi Mining Operations had originally planned to obtain legally binding documents for financing to complete the construction and commissioning of the project on Monday September 30.
SK Innovation may, however, need to conduct additional due diligence on Sconi and its project financing, according to Australian Mines in a media statement.
The cobalt developer has also continued its discussions with potential project financiers, which have reportedly progressed following signing of its offtake agreement with SK Innovation.
Australian Mines has announced its Sconi project could generate $5 billion free cashflow over the 30-year mine life.
https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/australian-mines-to-re-negotiate-sconi-offtake-with-sk-innovation/
GetRich902902
5 years ago
This deal with SKI is getting done. Here are the reasons I see it moving forward:
1) SKI would not have signed an extension to talk about Sconi financial support if they were not still interested in the project. They have done their due diligence and everything has checked out. They would have simply walked away.
2) It is an advantage for SKI to financially participate now at a set price to offset the potentially higher future offtake prices of Sconi. Remember, they elected to buy at future market prices and the experts are predicting battery metal shortages beginning around mid 2020. SKI would save money in the long run.
3) SKI has been commissioned by the Korean government to secure battery metals for the survival of their industry. IE, they need the metal.
4) US President Donald Trump & Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison are in talks to develop a US supply chain with miners in Australia for rare earth metals. SKI know this. So if they won't do it the American government may do it.
5) There are many potential suitors for Australian Mines looking to secure battery metals. For example, Tesla has already said that they may be getting into mining. Tesla has already bought 2 companies in the last year to accelerate it's Electric vehicle domination. So don't be surprised if you here of some other suitor talking to Australian Mines about Sconi or one of there other projects.
6) SKI and LG are feuding right now over everything dealing with batteries, from workers to patents. They need battery metals to supply their plants they are building all over the world. Who know if SKI keeps dragging their feet, LG might step right in and take Sconi.
https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/australia-unveil-rare-earth-mineral-supply-plan-190920030440200.html
GetRich902902
5 years ago
Both parties have agreed to extend the plant financing deadline to October 31 to to discuss SKI financially supporting the Sconi Project.
In the previous agreement if SKI did not agree to a financial stake in Australian Mines then they would buy the metals at market prices in the future. Perhaps they are discussing some sort of stake in Australian Mines also.In my opinion, the extension is good news. It shows that SKI really want those metals in Sconi and that they are looking at helping to get the metals out of the ground. They know that if they don't help with Sconi then someone else will step right in and do it.They know that the US government and Australian government are in talks to develope a metals supply chain for the US. So, SKI wants to secure battery metals for their operations before another company or country locks it up.?
The United States President, Donald Trump, and Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, are set to release a plan aimed at securing the supply of rare earth minerals, as concerns grow that China could cut off shipments of the prized commodities. The US is trying to play catch up to China in the EV race by developing it's own supply chain for metals. Australia is the place that everyone wants to be for metals because of its business friendly environment and lots of mines. All of this is putting pressure on SKI to lock it up and secure battery metals for it's operations. I think Australian Mines has the upper hand and SKI will be force to help finance the plant fully or partially because they desperately need the metals and the know AUZ has plenty suitors waiting in the wings to step in and take the metals.
??Keep buying this stock because it is going to up real big
soon.???https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/australia-unveil-rare-earth-mineral-supply-plan-190920030440200.html??????
GetRich902902
5 years ago
Scott Morrison supports US push against China as Donald Trump touts ‘unbreakable bond’ with Australia
US President Donald Trump treated Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison to a lavish White House visit on Friday celebrating their countries’ “unbreakable bond”.
Meeting on the South Lawn under clear blue skies, Trump promised Morrison a state dinner later that will “be quite something”.
An honour guard, military band and 19-gun salute kicked off the visit, with the two leaders and their wives watching from a podium, before walking up to the White House’s South Portico balcony.
“Australians and Americans understand each other like few other peoples,” Morrison replied to Trump, adding that he and the Republican president had also “established a very early understanding”.
Could be good news for Australian Mines. Let's hope this translate into something big for AMLSF.
https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3029781/scott-morrison-supports-us-push-against-china-donald-trump
GetRich902902
5 years ago
Australia sees opportunity to boost critical minerals supply to U.S
Australia has a fresh opportunity to supply the United States with critical minerals after recent changes to U.S. regulation aimed at cutting its dependence on China, an Australian government report showed on Tuesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump in July signed five memoranda authorizing U.S. Department of Defense funding to be directed to resources or technology “essential to the national defense” in a move aimed at shoring up domestic supplies.
That opens the door for the United States to offer project funding for rare earths, a group of 17 elements used in products ranging from lasers and military equipment to magnets found in consumer electronics, according to the report by Australia’s Trade and Investment Commission.
China supplied 80% of the rare earths imported by the United States from 2014 to 2017.
“The U.S. government has taken the decision to reduce dependence on China-based supply chains. In the case of purchasing by the U.S. Department of Defense, this policy is now mandatory,” the Commission said in a report.
“This has opened a new opportunity for Australian companies to supply a growing U.S. specialist manufacturing industry with the required raw or semi-processed materials.”
U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison were due to meet earlier this month to discuss details of an agreement on rare earth supply, according to a senior administration official.
No details of the discussions have since been released.
Good news for Australian Mines
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-mining-critical-minerals/australia-sees-opportunity-to-boost-critical-minerals-supply-to-u-s-report-idUSKBN1WF1L2
GetRich902902
5 years ago
Batteries create critical cobalt situation
Cobalt is a critical safety ingredient in the cathodes of lithium-ion batteries powering the ever-increasing number of electric vehicles traveling global highways and a plethora of cordless electrical devices.
"Globally, the leading use is in the manufacture of cathode materials for rechargeable batteries – primarily lithium-ion, nickel-cadmium, and nickel-metal-hydride batteries – which are used in consumer electronics, electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, energy storage units, and power tools," the United States Geological Survey wrote in a 2018 report on critical minerals
As a result, the rechargeable battery sector will drive the demand of cobalt higher, faster than the mining sector will bring new supplies of the battery metal to market.
Australian Mines LTD (AMSLF) has plenty of cobalt. Get in while this stock is affordable.
https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/page/batteries-create-critical-cobalt-situation/5749.html
GetRich902902
5 years ago
Miners push for US Congress to vote on electric vehicle supply chain bills
Mining executives eager to speed U.S. production of lithium and other metals for the burgeoning electric vehicle industry are frustrated that the U.S. Congress has yet to pass legislation designed to streamline mine permitting and fund geological studies, among other steps.
Earlier this year, Washington’s trade war with Beijing threatened to curb Chinese shipments to the United States of rare earth minerals used in defense equipment. China is also the world’s largest electric vehicle battery producer, processor of lithium and consumer of copper.
“We don’t have great clarity on what the legislative timelines are,” said Keith Phillips, chief executive of Piedmont Lithium Ltd, which is developing a lithium mine in North Carolina. “This pending legislation would be a big positive” to help secure investment.
There is a race out there to develope an electric vehicle supply chain. Australian Mines LTD (AMSLF) is one of the mining companies that someone will be racing to get into an ev supply chain. Invest now while you can get it at a good price.
https://www.mining.com/web/miners-push-for-us-congress-to-vote-on-electric-vehicle-supply-chain-bills/
GetRich902902
5 years ago
US steps up efforts to limit China’s control of critical minerals
The US government is stepping up efforts to break China’s dominance over supplies of critical minerals for range of modern life’s aspects including electric vehicles (EVs), green technologies and military applications by launching a plan to boost lithium, cobalt and rare earths mining across the globe.
The Energy Resource Governance Initiative (ERGI) initiative, announced in June, so far involves Australia, Botswana, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, the Philippines and Zambia.
The scheme seeks to promote responsible mining of 15 materials expected to be in high demand as the adoption of technologies such as EVs, battery storage and wind turbines continues to rise.
“We want to ensure that these important mineral commodities remain free from international coercion and control,” US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said in a meeting held on Thursday at the United Nations General Assembly.
WASHINGTON HAS GROWN MORE CONCERNED RECENTLY ABOUT ITS DEPENDENCE ON MINERAL IMPORTS AFTER BEIJING SUGGESTED USING THEM AS LEVERAGE IN THE TRADE WAR BETWEEN THE WORLD’S TWO LARGEST ECONOMIES.
“The work that we’re doing here is absolutely essential – it’s essential to ensuring secure and reliable energy supplies for every nation,” he noted.
Australian Mines LTD (AMSLF) is going to be critical mining company who metals will be in demand in this race for critical metals. Now is the time to invest in Australian Mines LTD (AMSLF).
https://www.mining.com/us-steps-up-efforts-to-limit-chinas-control-of-critical-minerals/
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