| Click on blue article title to read full story. | | | | Congo | | | | Metal Bulletin - April 30, 2018 Israeli businessman and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) mining magnate Dan Gertler is suing former partner Glencore for just shy of... Gertler and his businesses. Glencore’s Mutanda and KCC copper-cobalt mines have been hit with freezing orders, which authorize bailiffs from Gertler’s Ventora Development Sasu alleges Glencore DRC subsidiaries Mutanda Mining and Kamoto Copper Co (KCC) owe approximately $695 million and $2.28 billion respectively in royalties that Glencore has indicated it will not pay due to US sanctions against Gertler and his businesses. Glencore’s Mutanda and KCC copper-cobalt mines have been hit with freezing orders, which authorize bailiffs from the commercial court of Kolwezi in the DRC to lock up assets, bank accounts and mining titles. | | Financial Times - April 30, 2018 Shares in Glencore were the biggest faller in the FTSE 100 on Monday as investors took fright at its latest problems in the Democratic... The London-listed miner and commodity trader revealed late on Friday that it had been served with a freezing order by Dan Gertler, a former business partner, for alleged unpaid royalties of almost $3bn. Glencore said the court order authorised the commercial court bailiff in Kolwezi in the DRC to “freeze certain bank accounts”, assets and titles over mining assets…That news came just days after Gcamines, the DRC’s state mining company, started legal proceedings to have its joint-venture with Glencore dissolved, citing high levels of debt…its two mines in the DRC — Katanga and Mutanda…are expected to produce 320,000 of copper in 2018 and 36,000 tonnes of cobalt, around 36 per cent of global mine supply. Cobalt is a key material needed in the batteries that power electric cars and any disruption at Glencore’s mines could lead to higher prices and a supply crunch… “However, judicial independence can be a concern in the DRC, in our view, so this does pose a risk to operations as well as Glencore’s ability to operate in the DRC,”… “Although separate events, with the historical collaboration of Mr Gertler with the president of the DRC Joseph Kabila and the recent statement by state-owned Gcamines that the [joint venture] for Katanga should be wound-up without financial compensation we do not expect the Congolese courts to reverse this order in the near-term,”…Glencore faces another headache in the DRC in the form of a new mining code that will raise taxes and royalties. | | Financial Times - April 27, 2018 Israeli businessman Dan Gertler has launched legal action against Glencore, his former partner in the Democratic Republic of Congo, seeking... The move is the latest setback for Glencore in the DRC, which is home to half the world’s cobalt. It comes just days after the country’s state mining company Gecamines launched legal action against a Glencore subsidiary, accusing it of “draining” money from a joint venture. International mining groups operating in the DRC are also fighting a rearguard action against a new mining code that raises taxes and royalties on their operation. Mr Gertler’s action could disrupt supplies of cobalt, a key metal used in electric car batteries, whose price has surged. Glencore is the biggest producer of cobalt from the DRC, which accounts for more than 60 per cent of global supply. | | | | | EVs | | | | Truck and Bus News Australia - April 30, 2018 In line with the other Volvo Group brands which have already declared a future electric design path Mack has announced that it will produce... a real-world application.” Mack reports that introducing a full electric vehicle within the context of a route wherein a truck returns home In line with the other Volvo Group brands which have already declared a future electric design path Mack has announced that it will produce a fully electric refuse truck next year…Mack is a dominant player in the US refuse truck market with its forward cab over designed trucks, which are exclusive to the North American market. Refuse collection is ideally suited to electric trucks with set routes over relative short distances and the need to return to a central depot allowing for charging and replenishment…“It’s clear that electromobility will be a part of the trucking industry’s future, and Mack is well-positioned to offer integrated, fully electric solutions for the North American market,” said Randall. | | Yonhap News Agency - April 30, 2018 (ATTN: UPDATES with details in lead, from para 4) SEOUL, April 30 (Yonhap) -- LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's top chemicals firm, said Monday... , and its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors Corp. LG Chem operates electric vehicle battery plants in South Korea, China, the United States and The company said its battery unit achieved an operating profit of 2.1 billion won on sales of 1.24 trillion won due to brisk sales of batteries used in electricity vehicles…LG Chem is a key supplier of batteries to U.S. auto giant General Motors, European companies Volvo and Renault, as well as South Korea's largest carmaker, Hyundai Motor Co., and its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors Corp…LG Chem operates electric vehicle battery plants in South Korea, China, the United States and Poland. | | CEPS - April 27, 2018 Author: Aurlie Faure-Schuyer A European alliance of battery manufacturers (European Battery Alliance) was launched in 2017. This... , are also present in other parts and components of EVs. [7] Conflict MineralsLegislation – Regulation EU – 2017/21. [8] 2015 Circular European Battery Alliance (EBA), aiming to spur entrepreneurs towards the manufacture of ‘made in Europe’ batteries, to be used as components in electrical vehicles…Based on announced manufacturing capacities, the EBA will provide a solid foundation for the deployment of some 2 million battery electric vehicles (BEVs) both within and outside the EU. If the plan lives up to its expectations of building between 10 and 20 gigafactories, the European Union would account for an equivalent estimated 15% share of global cell manufacturing capacity by 2026. Such scale requires that large amounts of raw material, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite, present in anodes, are secured either as extracted minerals or as processed materials…Besides the manufacturing capacity that the initiative has successfully promoted, the EBA intends to secure sustained access to the raw materials used in batteries. | | | | |