| Click on blue article title to read full story. | | | | Fortune In The Media | | | | Financial Post - February 21, 2018 With cobalt prices soaring and fears of a potential shortage mounting, reports emerged Wednesday that Apple Inc. is in talks with a mining company to secure a direct supply of the scarce metal — a critical component of batteries. It’s the type of deal that Fortune Minerals Ltd.’s chief executive Robin Goad has been trying to broker for years... “This has been a 25-year instant success,” he joked. “We have the major mine permits (and) we spent $125 million to getting to where we are today.”…In 2014, the estimated cost of the mine was $580 million. By now, that price tag is likely higher and the company said several undisclosed parties, including well-known battery producers, are looking at investing in Fortune Minerals and its construction costs. As an owner of the mine, it would receive a fixed-supply of the cobalt, according to investor relations manager Troy Nazarewicz…“If we’re able to secure this … we could be active in the early 2020s,” Nazarewicz said. | | | | | Cobalt | | | | CNBC - February 22, 2018 Reports that Apple is in talks to procure cobalt, the essential component in smartphone batteries, direct from mining companies reveals... Apple is a buyer of batteries, not a buyer of battery components, and it's a number of steps away from the raw materials side. So this is significant — the reason they're doing it is supply chain visibility Recent reports that Apple is looking to procure cobalt, an essential component in smartphone batteries, directly from mining companies have highlighted a growing concern about the valuable metal's impending supply shortage…But just as important as securing a supply of the limited resource may be what one expert calls a "21st century factor" — ethics and human rights…"Apple is a buyer of batteries, not a buyer of battery components, and it's a number of steps away from the raw materials side. So this is significant — the reason they're doing it is supply chain visibility," Simon Moores, managing director of Benchmark Minerals, told CNBC. "They need to ensure that their cobalt isn't sourced from illegal mining operations, especially those using child labor."…By moving to buy straight from the source, Apple would be "guaranteeing their supply chain is clean, and to me what is most newsworthy is that new factor. It's a 21st century factor," Moores said. "It's the first case I know of where the nonconflict cobalt story is potentially going to result in a company like Apple buying direct.".. "There is a concern about availability, as the EV growth is very, very rapid. Concerns over the growth of EV will impact the availability of batteries, but also buying direct from large-scale miners can ensure the material is ethically sourced."…"Meanwhile, security of supply has definitely been a major concern for [Apple]," Gerbens added. "Everyone agrees that cobalt is likely to be in deficit in the coming years, and for a company like Apple, lithium-ion batteries are key, and therefore security of supply of the raw materials going into those batteries is crucial."…And it's likely we will see other major electronics manufacturers like Samsung and LG Chem follow suit, opting for longer-term contracts with major cobalt miners to secure future supply…"I think it demonstrates that indeed there is a genuine concern among the bigger consumers that availability is going be an issue going forward," he said. | | Yahoo Finance UK - February 22, 2018 (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) By Andy Home LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - One reason the... One reason the cobalt price has gone supernova over the last year is the realisation that not only does most of the available supply come from just one country, the Democratic Republic of Congo The real problem in the DRC is less this mining itself, but more the lawlessness that surrounds it and makes much of the cobalt from the region effectively a "conflict mineral"…For as Apple has already found out and automotive companies are learning, it's tricky enough selling yourself as a pioneer of 21st century technology if one of your key raw materials conjures up images of impoverished children wheeling barrows laden with ore or being lowered into rickety tunnels…Such stark representations of small-scale mining, however, risk over-simplifying the "informal" sector, which is a major employer and plays a crucial economic and development role for millions of people around the world…The alarming statistic from IPIS is that "at least one armed actor was present" at 56 percent of all visited sites. ..The Congolese army was found to be running mines accounting for 26 percent of the artisanal workforce with "at least one non-state armed group" present at 25 percent of mine sites. .."We know there are real challenges with artisanal mining of cobalt, but walking away from it indefinitely would be harmful to communities who rely on this mining for their income."…Integrating the artisanal cobalt miners of the DRC into the formal supply chain would make both economic and moral sense, but first requires an end to the lawlessness whose main victims include the miners themselves. | | Financial Times - February 21, 2018 Today a visitor to the mineral rich Democratic Republic of Congo is more likely to bump into a procurement manager from BMW, Volkswagen or...... Prices for cobalt have tripled over the past two years due to growing demand for electric cars. That’s alarmed big users of the metal, who are now scrambling to lock-up long-term supplies…Electric car demand for cobalt has to compete with existing demand for the metal for superalloys used in the aerospace industry. With everyone scrambling for supply, miners have the upper hand. | | Argus Media - February 21, 2018 Glencore expects structural shift on EV demand London, 21 February (Argus) — Switzerland-based trading and mining firm Glencore expects... Switzerland-based trading and mining firm Glencore expects global supply challenges amid growing electric vehicle (EV) demand because of ageing mine infrastructure and a lack of prospective new projects But ageing mining assets, limited investment in the sector, fewer new projects and the risk of mine disruptions will affect global supplies, particularly of copper and cobalt…A study commissioned by Glencore that considered the possibility of 30pc of the world's vehicles being electric by 2030 found that an additional 4.1mn t of copper, 1.1mn t of nickel and 314,000t of cobalt supply would be required. | | Reuters Canada - February 22, 2018 The transaction is for a 1.75 percent net smelter return royalty on output from Dumont, which contains the world’s largest undeveloped nickel and cobalt reserves, Cobalt 27 Capital said Cobalt 27 Capital Corp, a Canadian company created to buy the red-hot battery metal, said on Thursday it has bought a royalty on all future nickel and cobalt production from the Dumont project in Quebec in a deal worth $70 million…The transaction is for a 1.75 percent net smelter return royalty on output from Dumont, which contains the world’s largest undeveloped nickel and cobalt reserves, Cobalt 27 Capital said. | | Reuters US News - February 20, 2018 (Corrects production start-up date for the Argentine lithium project in 5th bullet point to late 2021 from late 2019) PARIS, Feb 20 (Reuters) - * Eramet Chief Executive Christel Bories said on Tuesday that the French mining group is looking to expand in minerals like cobalt, lithium and nickel salts linked to energy transition markets like electric vehicles. Eramet Chief Executive Christel Bories said on Tuesday that the French mining group is looking to expand in minerals like cobalt, lithium and nickel salts linked to energy transition markets like electric vehicles… “We’re in a phase of studying opportunities to acquire resources in cobalt, primary lithium and nickel salts,” she said during a call with reporters | | | | | EVs & Energy Storage | | | | Reuters US News - February 22, 2018 * Court to rule on legality of bans on diesel vehicles * Resale values could suffer, costly modifications may follow * Similar bans... ban new petrol and diesel cars by 2040 in a shift to electric vehicles. SALES FALL A small group of protesters from Greenpeace gathered Germany has long promoted diesel to help cut carbon dioxide emissions and meet climate change goals, but the Volkswagen (VW) scandal has pushed its carmakers to step up spending on electric cars, as well as investments into making diesel engines cleaner…Meanwhile, authorities in Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens have said they plan to ban diesel vehicles from city centers by 2025, while the mayor of Copenhagen wants to ban new diesel cars from entering the city as soon as next year. | | Reuters US News - February 22, 2018 PARIS, Feb 22 (Reuters) - French battery maker Saft, part of energy group Total, said on Thursday it had formed an alliance with European... Li-ion and solid-state technology, would target the market for electric vehicles, railway, marine, aviation, energy storage and speciality The move is part of a European efforts to develop battery manufacturing to compete with Asian and U.S. manufacturers…It said the partnership, focusing on advanced high-density Li-ion and solid-state technology, would target the market for electric vehicles, railway, marine, aviation, energy storage and speciality industries. | | MSN - Australia - February 22, 2018 Battery producer to build plant in SA A German company will establish a battery production plant in Adelaide, creating 430 manufacturing... 430 manufacturing and installation jobs. Sonnen will produce 50,000 energy storagesystems over the next five years with prices ranging Sonnen will produce 50,000 energy storage systems over the next five years with prices ranging from $7000 to $30,000…The Sonnen batteries use lithium-ion phosphate technology, with their products guaranteed for 10,000 cycles, equal to about 27 years. | | Reuters US News - February 23, 2018 FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German premium carmaker BMW (BMWG.DE) and China’s Great Wall Motor Co (601633.SS) have signed a letter of intent to... meet tough new Chinese quotas for less polluting cars, which call for electric and rechargeable hybrid vehicles to account for a fifth of German premium carmaker BMW and China’s Great Wall Motor Co have signed a letter of intent to jointly produce electric Mini vehicles in China, BMW said on Friday…Automakers and suppliers are scrambling to meet tough new Chinese quotas for less polluting cars, which call for electric and rechargeable hybrid vehicles to account for a fifth of total sales by 2025. | | | | |