Ben Richardson, CEO at SulNOx, confident they can cost-effectively decarbonise commercial shipping. Watch the video here.
Great weekly close.
ATM moves in spurts when rising.
Bodes well for next week......
"lithium production within 12 months"...if it happened ...would be a game changer for ATM
Chart target now 10p...basis halfway consolidation complete.
Site visit must have gone well.....
Diversifying The Rare Earth Value Chain For Europe’s Green Transition – Erma Supports Mkango In Development Of Pulawy Separation Plant In Poland
March 11, 2022
London / Vancouver: 11 March, 2022 - Mkango Resources Ltd. (AIM/TSX-V: MKA) (the "Company" or "Mkango") is pleased to note the press release by the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA), reproduced below, and looks forward to working with ERMA as we move the Pulawy separation plant towards development:
Securing critical raw materials for the European market is the main goal of the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA). The current issues with Europe’s dependency on oil and gas clearly show the importance of diversification of value chains across all strategic industries for the production of green energy.
ERMA is pleased to announce that it will support Mkango Resources Ltd. (AIM/TSX-V: MKA) with securing financing for the development of a rare earth separation plant to be located in Pulawy, Poland. This plant will be supplied with rare earth carbonate originating from Mkango’s Songwe Hill primary deposit of rare earth elements in Malawi, Africa. The plant will also be able to process other materials supplied by third-party providers thus acting as a future European Hub for rare earth elements separation.
The Pulawy project will aid the creation of a secure supply chain option for neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium for the European Union. All these rare earth elements are critical in the production of electric vehicles, wind turbines and other clean energy applications that are key to Europe’s Green Agenda.
Dr Massimo Gasparon, ERMA Director, commented: “It is the primary role of ERMA to secure raw materials and raw material supply chains for Europe to support industrial ecosystems and create jobs within the European Union. We cannot do this alone which is why diversifying is so key – this is a multi-national project where we have a Canadian partner, Mkango Resources, accessing critical raw materials in Malawi, Africa, processing them in a plant in Poland, all for the benefit of the European economy. The Pulawy project is one of the first ERMA projects to get the greenlight to provide critical raw materials needed to fulfill European goals in the green transition while diversifying the supply chain in the long term.”
William Dawes, CEO of Mkango Resources, commented: “We look forward to supporting our partners in Europe with creating a more diverse raw materials value chain. ERMA’s support has been and continues to be important for us, and we are happy to be part of its vast network of leading companies in the raw materials sector. ERMA’s underlying principles are a great fit with the Mkango’s vision and philosophy for the Pulawy separation plant and Songwe Hill deposit in Malawi.”
ERMA fully supports Mkango’s corporate strategy to develop new sustainable primary and secondary sources. Their integrated ‘mine, refine, recycle’ strategy differentiates
Lithium and Rare Earths Market Outlook
Supply outpaced by demand growth
Key points
? Production guidance from major lithium producers have fallen short of our
expectations and we upgrade our price outlook to reflect the tighter market.
? Spot lithium prices in China already exceed US$60,000/t and we now
expect spodumene prices to peak at US$4,000/t.
? Rare earth prices have also risen strongly, and we upgrade our NdPr prices
by 12-24% for CY22-CY24.
Event
• We are upgrading our lithium and rare earths price outlook to reflect further
tightening in supply/demand fundamentals and strength in spot prices
Lithium and Rare Earths Market Outlook
Supply outpaced by demand growth
Key points
? Production guidance from major lithium producers have fallen short of our
expectations and we upgrade our price outlook to reflect the tighter market.
? Spot lithium prices in China already exceed US$60,000/t and we now
expect spodumene prices to peak at US$4,000/t.
? Rare earth prices have also risen strongly, and we upgrade our NdPr prices
by 12-24% for CY22-CY24.
Event
• We are upgrading our lithium and rare earths price outlook to reflect further
tightening in supply/demand fundamentals and strength in spot prices
Lithium and Rare Earths Market Outlook
Supply outpaced by demand growth
Key points
? Production guidance from major lithium producers have fallen short of our
expectations and we upgrade our price outlook to reflect the tighter market.
? Spot lithium prices in China already exceed US$60,000/t and we now
expect spodumene prices to peak at US$4,000/t.
? Rare earth prices have also risen strongly, and we upgrade our NdPr prices
by 12-24% for CY22-CY24.
Event
• We are upgrading our lithium and rare earths price outlook to reflect further
tightening in supply/demand fundamentals and strength in spot prices
any news on the site visit this week?
FT
A shortage of lithium salts essential for producing batteries for mobile devices and electric vehicles is putting the energy transition at risk.
Over the past 18 months, the prices of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide have risen at absurd rates, and the squeeze has only accelerated since the beginning of this year.
In January 2021, according to S&P Global Platt’s, lithium carbonate cost about $9,600 per tonne. At the end of this January the same material was quoted at more than $50,000 per tonne. That is panic buying, not rational price discovery.
This is a consequence of demand that has been strongly supported by regulations and consumer choices in Europe, the US and China, and supply that is constricted by under-investment in recent years. While there is some lithium on the way from new or expanded mines in Australia, the US, Brazil and elsewhere, other sources that had been anticipated in Chile and Serbia are being shut down or curtailed by local opposition.
“Technology”, or the use of different battery chemistries and more efficient use of available materials, is constrained by physics or weight requirements. Even intensive engineering and project development will not readily bridge the gap in lithium requirements until 2030, 2035 or 2050, or whatever policy target is picked.
Magical thinking will not help. As Christophe Pillot, a batteries consultant and the director of Avicenna Energy in Paris, says, there is no equivalent in batteries of ‘Moore’s Law’, which states the number of components that can be crammed on to an integrated circuit doubles every year.
“Energy density, battery lifetimes charging time and so on improve, but there will be no revolution in the next five to ten years. There will be, say, 5 per cent annual improvements in performance, and that will take work.”
Governments in the US and Europe are keen to have clean-looking battery cell factories, but the mining and refining of metals is less camera ready. The new Chilean government is insisting, reasonably, that using virtually irreplaceable fossil water to produce more lithium salts in the Atacama Desert is environmentally and socially unsound.
The ready response of environmentalists in rich countries is that batteries should be made with recycled materials. However, scrap must be collected and made ready to be remanufactured; losses are inevitable. Even theoretically, that does not increase the total amount of required battery
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The Australian government has backed a rare earths mine as the country ramps up production to challenge Chinese dominance of the critical minerals used in magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines and smartphones.
China has long dominated the supply of those minerals but its trade war with the US has forced the global manufacturing industry to search for alternative sources.
The Australian government has identified rare earths as a strategic industry and established funds to support companies breaking into the market.
On Wednesday, it agreed a A$140mn (US$100mn) project financing loan to the Yangibana rare earths mine in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia that is being established by Hastings Technology Metals.
The loan will act as an anchor for Hastings, which is aiming to raise up to A$400mn in debt for the project. The company is set to become Australia’s second-biggest exporter of rare earth minerals, behind A$8bn-valued miner Lynas Rare Earths, once exports start in an expected two and half years.
The development of Yangibana and a hydrometallurgical plant in Onslow on the Western Australian coast to refine the materials represent Australia’s growing presence in the booming rare earths market.
Matthew Allen, chief financial officer of Hastings, described the government’s financial support as a “pretty pivotal moment” for the expanding local industry, as demand continues to “soar out of sight.”
He said that Hastings could supply up to 8 per cent of global demand for neodymium and praseodymium, two of the most sought-after of the 17 rare earths minerals. “The rush is on to build a non-China supply chain,” he said.
Yangibana, combined with output from Lynas and other projects, would boost Australia’s share of the market.
“Hastings remains among the most advanced rare earth development projects globally,” said Reg Spencer, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity. He added that Australia’s share of global rare earths exports could be more than 30 per cent in the coming years. “It is pretty clear Australia will become a meaningful player,” he said.
Allen said demand for rare earth minerals has risen substantially in recent years but the need to diversify the supply chain became obvious in 2010 when Japan accused China of blocking shipments to the country over a diplomatic dispute.
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“It has taken 10 or 11 years for the world to re
The Australian government has backed a rare earths mine as the country ramps up production to challenge Chinese dominance of the critical minerals used in magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines and smartphones.
China has long dominated the supply of those minerals but its trade war with the US has forced the global manufacturing industry to search for alternative sources.
The Australian government has identified rare earths as a strategic industry and established funds to support companies breaking into the market.
On Wednesday, it agreed a A$140mn (US$100mn) project financing loan to the Yangibana rare earths mine in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia that is being established by Hastings Technology Metals.
The loan will act as an anchor for Hastings, which is aiming to raise up to A$400mn in debt for the project. The company is set to become Australia’s second-biggest exporter of rare earth minerals, behind A$8bn-valued miner Lynas Rare Earths, once exports start in an expected two and half years.
The development of Yangibana and a hydrometallurgical plant in Onslow on the Western Australian coast to refine the materials represent Australia’s growing presence in the booming rare earths market.
Matthew Allen, chief financial officer of Hastings, described the government’s financial support as a “pretty pivotal moment” for the expanding local industry, as demand continues to “soar out of sight.”
He said that Hastings could supply up to 8 per cent of global demand for neodymium and praseodymium, two of the most sought-after of the 17 rare earths minerals. “The rush is on to build a non-China supply chain,” he said.
Yangibana, combined with output from Lynas and other projects, would boost Australia’s share of the market.
“Hastings remains among the most advanced rare earth development projects globally,” said Reg Spencer, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity. He added that Australia’s share of global rare earths exports could be more than 30 per cent in the coming years. “It is pretty clear Australia will become a meaningful player,” he said.
Allen said demand for rare earth minerals has risen substantially in recent years but the need to diversify the supply chain became obvious in 2010 when Japan accused China of blocking shipments to the country over a diplomatic dispute.
“It has taken 10 or 11 years for the world to recognise China’s dominance and
Looking firm today......
Amazing!
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour.
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The worldwide shift from fossil fuels to zero carbon “will be hindered by supply chain bottlenecks,” Hintze, the founder of London-based CQS, said in an interview with the Financial Times. “I’m talking about things like being able to have enough copper, lithium and rare earths.”