Production/Operations
Metal Energy Corp.: Metal Energy Completes 10,000 Metre Drill Program, Acquires 100% of the Manibridge Nickel Project (Finanznachrichten.de)
Metal Energy Corp. (TSXV: MERG) (“the “Company” or “Metal Energy”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of 100% interest in the Manibridge project (“Manibridge” or the “Project”) concurrently with the completion of the Phase Two 10,000 metre drill program (the “Program”).
FPX Nickel Corp. (TSXV: FPX) (OTCQB: FPOCF) (“FPX” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce additional drill results further confirming the significant lateral extension of the new nickel discovery at the Van Target (“Van”) in the Company’s Decar Nickel District (“Decar” or the “District”) in central British Columbia.
Gungnir Resources Inc.: 4.04% Nickel Over 5.76 Metres for Gungnir at Lappvattnet; Highest Grade Nickel Intercept Drilled to Date (Finanznachrichten.de)
Gungnir Resources Inc. (TSXV:GUG)(OTC PINK:ASWRF) (“Gungnir” or the “Company”) is very pleased to report the highest-grade nickel intercept drilled to date at the Company’s Lappvattnet nickel deposit in northern Sweden. Hole LAP22-25 drilled 4.04% Ni over 5.76 metres within a broader interval of 1.49% Ni over 18.28 metres starting at a down-hole depth of 57.72 metres.
Estrella wraps up mining phase of nickel sulphide extraction play (The West Australian)
ASX listed Estrella Resources has completed the mining and crushing phase of its nickel sulphide extraction program using ore from its 5A nickel mine near Kambalda in WA. The company plans to treat the high-grade material at Glencore’s Murrin Murrin facility after sealing an offtake and processing agreement late last year.
Canada Nickel Announces Integration of Carbon Capture & Storage into Crawford Nickel Sulphide Project (Yahoo Finance)
Canada Nickel Company Inc. (“Canada Nickel” or the “Company”) (TSXV: CNC) (OTCQX: CNIKF) today announced that its latest test work results support the incorporation of carbon capture and storage into the Crawford Project.
Galileo Mining continues strong run of Callisto success into new year (Proactiveinvestors)
Galileo Mining Ltd (ASX:GAL) has continued the strong run of success into 2023 at the Callisto palladium-platinum-gold-rhodium-copper-nickel discovery within the 100%-owned Norseman project in Western Australia.
Investment
Chinese firms to invest $7.32 B in nickel, EV, steel, electronics ventures in PH (Manila Bulletin News)
industries in the manufacturing sector. “In total, about $7.32 billion investment pledges from Chinese companies were secured in the aforementioned sectors,” said Pascual. The Philippines supplies 60-70 percent of China’s total imports of nickel ore and concentrates.
Business Fundamentals
March 2022 will go down in the history books as the moment the global nickel market broke down. The London Metal Exchange’s (LME) six-day suspension of nickel trading plunged the global supply chain into pricing darkness.
Economy
Pakistan has sizeable deposits of nickel a silvery white, hard, and ductile transitional metal with a slight golden tinge. The importance of nickel, with a multitude of physical and chemical properties, can never be underestimated. Indigenous extraction of this metal can earn huge socio-economic benefits for Pakistan, reports WealthPK.
Journal
Production/Operations
Comstock Inc. LODE (“Comstock” or the “Company”) today announced the consolidation of its properties in the historic Comstock and Silver City mining districts, increasing the Company’s total owned, published mineral resources to include Measured and Indicated resources containing 605,000 ounces of gold
News Stories
Vendor/ Supplier Related
SciDev (ASX:SDV) signs three-year supply deal with Iluka Resources (ASX:ILU) to supply Cataby mine (The Market Herald)
SciDev (SDV) has secured a three-year contract with Iluka Resources for the supply of MaxiFlox chemistry to their Cataby mineral sands operation in Western Australia. The contract is expected to generate approximately $14 million over the life of the contract, with sales anticipated to commence in March.
Supply tightness, geopolitics and logistics constraints pushed prices to record highs in the first half of 2022. In the second half of the year, fundamentals across the cobalt value chain flipped weak demand following Covid-related lockdowns in China while bearish global macroeconomics pushed prices down steeply.
Prices of most SHFE base metals fell today. SHFE nickel prices extended losses amid growing nickel matte supply from Tsingshan Group and increasing expectations over an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. SHFE nickel prices dropped from 234,870 yuan/mt, the highest since April 25, 2022 hit on January 3.
Tesla has signed a new updated agreement to secure lithium supply from Piedmont Lithium as automakers rush to secure battery material. In order to help accelerate the transition to electric transportation, Tesla has become increasingly involved in the raw material supply chain for battery cells.
Non-China EV Battery Supply Chains Likely to Expand (BusinessKorea)
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that countries other than the United States and its FTA partners may be added to the Inflation Reduction Act as places of production eligible for U.S. electric vehicle (EV) subsidies. This means South Korean EV battery manufacturers more leeway regarding supply chain management.
Auto Industry Aims to Slash Battery Costs (DesignNews)
In the face of rising costs, automakers, battery manufacturers, and raw material suppliers are banding together to address the looming issue of electric vehicle (EV) affordability. Their partnerships are critical for automakers who want to bring EVs to the middle class in the coming years.
Production/Operations
The ‘Elon Musk Effect’ Has Also Reached Silver (Investing.com)
Rumors have been circulating for some time showing that Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SpaceX are desperate for silver. For example, Elon Musk announced in May 2022 that Tesla would be interested in the mining industry if producing its own stock would accelerate the energy transition.
Exploring for energy metals in SW Yukon (North Mining News)
Strategic Metals Ltd., a longtime project generator in the Yukon, is helping to spur industry interest in the prospectivity of the territory’s southwestern region for critical minerals as more explorers undertake projects in this underexplored region.
According to the investigation minutes disclosed by Hunan Changyuan Lico, the company’s lithium iron phosphate project is expected to complete construction in the first quarter of 2023 and the capacity will start ramping up on completion.
Nornickel investigating using mining tailings to capture and store CO2 (Green Car Congress)
Russia-based Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) the world’s largest nickel producer is studying the potential for mining tailings to capture and store CO2. The dompany is also working to develop a methodology to take stock of carbon units captured this way.
Green River Gold drills 21.3% magnesium, 0.188% nickel over 128 metres at Quesnel project, British Columbia (Resource World Magazine)
Green River Gold Corp. [CCR-CSE; CCRRF-OTC] reported the following assay results and updated drilling results for zone 2 of the Quesnel nickel project, central British Columbia. The company has received assay results for hole WK-22-06 drilled to a depth of 128 metres in Zone 2 of the Deep Purple target.
Former Congressman’s View: Find compromise on Twin Metals to reach clean-energy goals (Duluth News Tribune)
The quest for cheap energy that won’t contribute to our own destruction is a challenge worthy of the alchemists of old. But alchemy was never able to deliver on its promises of miraculous transformation. Nor can such magical thinking help Minnesota do what’s necessary to help lead the way toward a green energy future.
Nickel could be the break out metal of 2023: CEO (BNN Bloomberg)
Lisa Reisman, chief executive officer and co-founder of MetalMiner, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss which breakout metals she’s looking at for the year. She says it’s unclear what price trend aluminum will take, and copper is in a sideways trading pattern. Gold has momentum to the upside.
The coalition, which collectively represents $2.2trn of assets under management, has co-filed a shareholder resolution with the world’s largest coal trader seeking transparency on how its thermal coal production aligns with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree target.
Investors turn up climate heat on Glencore’s coal expansion plans (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Glencore, the country’s biggest coal miner, is facing intensifying pressure over climate change as large shareholders call on the board to explain how pursuing new coal projects aligns with its commitments to arrest global warming.
Core Lithium prospects bright despite Tesla deal falling through (Australian Mining)
The Core Lithium Finniss mine in the Northern Territory has shipped off its first 15,000 tonnes bound for China. The only lithium mine in the country outside of Western Australia, there were talks of Finniss supplying the commodity to electric vehicle (EV) giant Tesla before the deal fell through in October of 2022.
THESE ‘CANNABIS CARS’ RUN ON BATTERIES MADE OF HEMP THEY COULD CHANGE HOW WE THINK ABOUT ELECTRIC VEHICLES (thecooldown)
As a substance, hemp is a jack of all trades and a master at making products more sustainable. The plant fiber comes from the stems of the cannabis plant and is used in everything from building materials to clothing, food products, and even auto parts. And soon, we might be powering electric vehicles with it.
Let’s Take the Final Step to Reshore U.S. Mining for Battery Metals (Real Clear Energy)
The U.S. depends on China for more than half of the minerals and metals deemed critically important for our nation’s economic health and military readiness. While China has made mineral production and processing a strategic priority, the U.S. has done the reverse. Mining in the U.S. has been pushed to the margins.
District Metals applies for mineral license to explore majority of the polymetallic Viken Deposit in Sweden (Proactiveinvestors)
District Metals Corp revealed that its wholly-owned Swedish subsidiary Bergslagen Metals AB has applied for a 2,302-hectare mineral license to explore for vanadium, nickel, molybdenum, zinc, and other elements, covering nearly 68% of the polymetallic Viken Deposit in Jamtland County, around 570 kilometers (km) northwest of Stockholm, Sweden.
Zambia’s Copper Production Set to End in Deficit for 2022, Despite Positive Outlook for 2023 (LusakaTimes.com)
Zambia’s copper production for 2022 is set to end in deficit, with data from the Zambia Chamber of Mines showing a significant reduction in output at the end of November 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.
Tesla to use Canadian lithium in EV batteries as early as 2023 (Automotive News Canada)
Tesla to use Canadian lithium in EV batteries as early as 2023
At least a dozen United Nations member states, along with Latin American and Caribbean countries, oppose a plan by a global body to issue the first-ever license to a nation to explore minerals in the deep seabed in 2023.
Agri, energy, mining projects up at PBBM visit to China (Manila Bulletin News)
The discussion will focus on three sectors agriculture, power and mining. Barcelon said that the President has about 40 members in his business entourage comprising of representatives from local companies, particularly from the mining and nickel sectors.
A revived West Coast mine’s owner wants to ramp up storage of waste rock material underground as environmentalists continue to urge MMG Limited to bury tailings at its Rosebery Mine.
Spurred by steadily rising demand and proactive government incentives, India’s electric vehicle (EV) industry has shown exponential growth in the past two years. Domestic four-wheeler EV sales in 2022-23 are set to cross the 60-65,000 mark. The global embrace of clean energy has catalysed this movement.
Conservationist’s View: Allowing copper-nickel mining close to BWCAW ‘not responsible’ (Duluth News Tribune)
While attending the University of Minnesota Duluth and completing Air Force ROTC during the 1980s, we occasionally had the opportunity to visit with the Air National Guard’s 148th Fighter Wing in Duluth. In those days, the former Soviet Union was our primary adversary.
Canada Nickel Delays Release Of Feasibility Study Until Q2 2023 (the deep dive)
Canada Nickel Company (TSXV: CNC) this morning delayed the scheduled release of its feasibility study for its flagship Crawford Project, found in Timmins, Ontario. The feasibility study, originally slated to be released by the end of Calendar 2022, is now to be released sometime in the second quarter of 2023.
Mining Project Could Be Carbon Net Zero (InvestorIdeas.com)
Such a scenario is possible for this nickel-cobalt asset thanks to its owner’s carbon sequestering process, noted a Research Capital Corp. report. Improvements to Canada Nickel Co. Inc.’s (CNIKF:OTCMKTS;CNC:TSX.V) proprietary in-process tailings (IPT) carbonation process are “impressive” on a laboratory scale
My Strategy for Buying a Mining Giant (RealMoney)
BHP Group Ltd. (BHP) is among the world’s top producers of “stuff” including iron ore, copper, nickel and metallurgical coal. Let’s check out the charts and indicators. In the daily bar chart of BHP, below, I can see that the shares are making a new high for the recent move up.
Coffee with Samso: delivering success by building a PGE resource – Galileo Mining (Proactiveinvestors)
Coffee with Samso Episode 168 with Brad Underwood, executive chair and managing director of Galileo Mining Ltd (ASX:GAL) is about the year of Callisto. The discovery of the Callisto PGE system in Norseman, Western Australia has all but sealed the future paths of the company.
South Korea’s SK On plans to produce a new, lithium-iron-phosphate electric vehicle battery by 2025 as part of an effort to deliver lower-cost batteries to automakers squeezed by rising EV costs, a senior executive of the company said on Thursday.
Magna Mining is taking an aggressive pace in looking to put a former Inco nickel and copper mine back into production. The Sudbury exploration and mine development company keeps reporting high-grade hits from a drilling program at the former Crean Hill Mine, acquired by Magna last fall.
As of January 6, inventory of nickel ore across Chinese ports dipped 370,000 wmt to 8.81 million wmt compared with last Friday. The total Ni content fell 3,000 mt to about 70,000 mt. The inventory across seven major ports totalled 4.88 million wmt.
Robot collects rare minerals from the seafloor (WARP NEWS)
The need for important battery minerals is growing but many of them exist on stones on the ocean floor. Now, a company called Impossible Metals have come up with a method which makes it possible to mine the ocean in a sustainable way – a hovering robot.
Riversgold eyes bigger slice of rare earths pie; aims to begin Mt Weld drilling this quarter (Proactiveinvestors Australia)
Riversgold Ltd (ASX:RGL) is eyeing a larger stake of the rare earth mining boom through a farm-in and joint venture agreement with UK-listed Corcel PLC (LSE:CRCL) which could see it earning up to 70% interest in the Mt Weld REE Project in Western Australia.
Kicking off the new year right, Clean Air Metals to advance its Thunder Bay North Critical Minerals Project (InvestorIntel)
I can’t say that I know a lot, if anything, about royalty or streaming deals for hard rock miners. However, based merely on historical transactions I’ve read along the way, I think it seems like a pretty big deal when a company can raise C$15 million for a Net Smelter Return (NSR) royalty on a project
Powering up for renewable energy in mining (Australian Resources & Investment)
A look at the renewable energy possibilities for the mining sector as it heads towards net-zero emissions. Ludovic Rollin recalls analysing the cost of installing fixed solar panels in a large renewable project to power a ferronickel processing plant.
Woody biomass could fuel North’s steel and mining industry (TimminsToday)
Kirkland Lake still looms large in the sights of CHAR Technologies. The innovative southern Ontario company is putting its plans into motion to make renewable energy from woody biomass. ‘Whether we’re talking steel or nickel, these processes need solid carbon as part of the chemistry that’s going on.’
Being pragmatic about energy sources (Business Standard)
If 2022 taught global policymakers anything, it was that they needed to be pragmatic about their clean energy journey. The Russia-Ukraine war was a rude reality check for developed as well as developing nations that were confident they could get rid of coal soon and reduce their dependence on hydrocarbons sharply.
Madeleine King: Understanding what lies beneath our feet will pay dividends (The West Australian)
Madeleine King: Understanding what lies beneath our feet will pay dividends
According to the report, the overall material footprint of the sector is unlikely to cause major stress to most material markets involved, indeed in some markets, such as platinum it may actually relieve stress that could occur with the decline in demand from current uses.
Brazil to boost clean energy transition (BNamericas)
Brazil to boost clean energy transition
BNC Spends US$ 3.5 Million On Replacing Underground Equipment
NioCorp Developments (TSX: NB) reported a rare earth dissolution rate of 86-95% at its demonstration plant in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, the company said Wednesday. That rate was obtained through hydrochloric acid leaching of ore mined at NioCorp’s Elk Creek project in southeast Nebraska, the company said in a news release.
Water management for a greener future (Canadian Mining Journal)
The buzz words are out there green, net-zero, ESG, decarbonization. But is our mining industry meeting the challenges Canadian Mining Journal held its second Reimagine Mining virtual symposium on Oct. 12, 2022, to hear from experts on how far we have come and what lies in the future.
High Voltage: Core officially battery metals producer with first lithium shipment ready to roll (The Australian)
In a major milestone late last week, Core Lithium (ASX:CSO) started loading its first direct shipping ore (DSO) for export to China marking the company’s move from explorer to producer. The first shipment of 15,000dmt of 1.4 per cent Li2O DSO from the company’s Finnis Mine in the NT was successfully tendered using a digital exchange platform, achieving a price of US$951/dmt.
Shanghai nonferrous metals closed mostly with losses on the first trading day of 2023. On the macro front, China’s Caixin manufacturing PMI recorded 49 in December, a new low in three months and below the previous reading of 49.4, making investors worried about the demand outlook in the next few months.
Stock/Shares
ASX nickel stocks with double-digit returns in last one year (Investing.com)
Nickel is a silvery-white metal, highly resistant to heat and corrosion. As a result, this element finds applications in various sectors, such as alloys, protective coatings, catalysts, electric vehicles, batteries, and foundry products.
Investor Relations
BNC to post loss in 2023: Analysts (Newsday)
VICTORIA Falls Stock Exchange-listed resources outfit Bindura Nickel Company (BNC) is projected to post a full year loss in the financial year 2023, market analysts Morgan & Co have said. BNC, which is part of Kuvimba Mining House, posted a 7,8% decline in turnover, according to the reviewed financial results for the half year ended September 30, 2022.
Gunsynd says investee allots 13.8 million deferred shares (Morning Star)
Gunsynd PLC – London-based investment firm – Says investee Pacific Nickel Mines Ltd completes allotment of 13.8 million deferred shares for AUD0.08 each. Says the deferred shares are from the 85% acquisition in Sunshine Minerals Ltd, which holds 80% of the Jejevo nickel project in the Solomon Islands.
PHILIPPINE Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) President George T. Barcelon said a “good mix of sectors” including the metal and agriculture sectors are set to participate in talks with Chinese firms to expand their market potential.
Key investors in Swiss miner Glencore have demanded the company explain how its coal production plans align with global efforts to curb the warming of the planet, shareholders said Thursday. Glencore, the world’s largest coal trader
Investors seek greater transparency in Glencore operations (Australian Mining)
As one of Australia’s largest coal producers, Glencore has been urged to be more transparent in explaining how its operations align with efforts to curb global warming. With mines across New South Wales and Queensland, Glencore mostly produces thermal coal that is then burnt in power plants to produce electricity.
Monster or Mouse: Only 8 miners and explorers have joined the $500 million club in 2022, 14 have dropped out (Stockhead)
It’s Monsters or Mouse, our annual parade of ASX mining stocks who joined the half-a-billion AUD club (or got booted) in 22. Despite trying market conditions a handful of miners, explorers and contractors caught the attention of investors, with 8 rising beyond the $500m mark
Global copper smelting activity dipped in December as smelters shut for maintenance after a year of sluggish activity, data from satellite surveillance of metal processing plants showed on Thursday.
Government/Regulatory
Refining moment (The Jakarta Post)
In another push to develop downstream mineral industries, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has announced an export ban on washed bauxite to come into effect in June of this year. The ban was supposed to have been put in place years ago but did not materialize because of the country’s inability to build smelters to process the ore, from which aluminum is extracted.
The Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) speaks up about filing an appeal after losing in the nickel lawsuit at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Director General of International Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono also said that Indonesia had officially filed an appeal.
The Missing Minerals (ForeignAffairs)
After decades of foot-dragging in the United States, there is now momentum to tackle climate change. In August 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, a landmark piece of legislation that directs more than $1 trillion in subsidies and incentives toward clean energy production.
Regulations Set to Be Issued This Year Will Determine Course of Deep-Sea Mining (The Wall Street Journal)
Deep-sea mining for battery materials has gained significant interest over the past year, but 2023 is set to be a key turning point both for the practice itself and the companies that are leading the campaign to exploit the ocean floor.
From the editor: Ending 2022 on a high note is the best way to start 2023 (Canadian Mining Journal)
The federal government ended 2022 year on a high note by unveiling a new critical minerals strategy eyeing a “generational opportunity.” Backed by $4 billion in the 2022 federal budget, the strategy will help create jobs across the country and grow the economy.
Nickel Belt MP Marc Serre says the rights of Canadian hunters should not be impacted by federal efforts to protect the public from deadly non-hunting-related firearms. Early last month, MP Paul Chiang, a Liberal member of the House of Commons public safety committee
Press freedom in Southeast Asia continues to face many challenges. According to the 2022 Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, only Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea ranked in the top 100 countries in terms of press freedom this year.
US Sanctions Russian Corruption in Guatemala’s Mining Sector (Dialogo Americas)
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed economic sanctions on Russian citizen Dmitry Kudryakov and Belarusian citizen Iryna Litviniuk, who financed and directed three mining companies in Guatemala. “The sanctions are very important because the political or judicial sanctions for these companies are not enough,”
Pricing
Decision to update US stainless scrap prices (fastmarkets)
The update consists of a number of steps, including the consolidation of price assessments for stainless steel scrap in the United States. Rather than a range for each individual city for the broker/processor buying prices Fastmarkets reviews, a single delivered processor price for each grade
Shanghai copper hits 2-month low on China COVID worries (The Economic Times)
Shanghai copper hits 2-month low on China COVID worries
Copper Prices: Deteriorating demand dominates copper market mood (The Economic Times)
Copper Prices: Deteriorating demand dominates copper market mood
Copper prices rose on Friday as demand outlook improved on expectations that top metals consumer China will roll out more measures to support its ailing property sector.