AUTO MAKERS LOVE COPPER AND ARE BUYING IN NOW! How is the landscape of M&A going to change in the copper market when a totally different sector is now competing with mining companies and buying into copper assets. Automakers now see that securing their own supply is not just desired it is critical. Will be interesting to see how the future of large copper assets such as Candente capitalize on this.
Bloomberg -- Stellantis NV is buying into a firm run by mining entrepreneur Rob McEwen, potentially giving the automaker access to a giant copper deposit in Argentina as the race for metals used in electric vehicles heats up.
At a little over $150 million, Stellantis’ investment in McEwen Copper isn’t huge. But it’s the latest reminder of how keen car companies are to lock in future supplies of the materials needed to move away from fossil fuels. EVs use more than twice as much copper as gasoline-powered cars.
The maker of Peugeot cars and Jeep sport utility vehicles has its eye on one of the world’s bigger underdeveloped copper deposits in Argentina’s San Juan province. McEwen is raising funds — including from a unit of Rio Tinto Group — to develop the Los Azules project at a time when copper demand is accelerating while the industry’s production pipeline is running dry. A feasibility study for Los Azules may be ready in 2024.
Tesla, GM Flock to Mining Events Amid Battery Metals Scramble
The transaction, which gives Stellantis 14.2% of McEwen Copper, comes as General Motors Co. is said to be vying for a stake in Vale SA’s base metals unit and as Tesla Inc. weighs a takeover of Sigma Lithium Corp. In January, GM struck a $650 million pact with Lithium Americas Corp. to develop the top US lithium deposit.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/stellantis-buys-into-argentina-copper-in-race-for-battery-metals-1.1888661