June 26th, 2024 - The Mine Wire

METALS MARKET

It was a tough week for Lithium as it continued its slide to $91,500 per ton. A slide of over -5% this past week. Manganese also had a tough week as it was down -7.23% on the week to $38.50 per metric ton unit (10kg).

Palladium was the big winner this week with a +4.99% increase to $925.50 per troy ounce. The other big winner was Germanium, up +9.80% to 11,200 CNY/kg - roughly $1,542 USD.

^{**For our chart above we are taking prices from Tuesday 4pm EST to Tuesday 4pm EST, so not the typical week of Monday through Friday.}

KEEPING AN EYE ON GOVERNMENT DECISIONS

With many forecasting significant demand for metals into the foreseeable future, governments are all over the place with their policies. Here are some of the notable moves this week.

• 🇨🇱 The Financial Market Commission (CMF) in Chile has ruled that the proposed joint venture between Codelco and SQM does not require SQM shareholders’ approval to proceed. Tianqi Lithium, which owns 22% of SQM’s shares, was pushing for a shareholder vote and issued the following statement - "Our company, in compliance with its fiduciary duty and responsibility to its investors, is evaluating all possible legal actions and will take all pertinent measures in accordance with the law to enforce its rights and interests as a shareholder of SQM and an international investor." (Mining Technology)

• 🇯🇵 A survey by researchers from the University of Tokyo, the Nippon Foundation and other bodies has detected at least 200 million tons of Manganese nodules containing rare metals on the seabed off Minami-Torishima Island. Apparently the nodules have enough cobalt to cover Japan’s needs for 75 years and enough Nickel for 11 years. The foundation will lead the extraction work starting in 2026 with the help of the University and may engage foreign companies with expertise. (The Japan News)

• 🇮🇳 🇱🇰 Japan isn’t the only country looking to mine the seabed. In January, India approached the International Seabed Authority (ISA), seeking approval to explore the cobalt-rich Afanasy Nikitin Seamount, which is in the central Indian Ocean. However, the ISA found that the seamount lies entirely within an area also claimed by another country due to that country’s claimed continental shelf. While not named, experts believe the country is Sri Lanka. It is believed that India is less worried about Sri Lanka and more worried about China staking a claim to the seamount. Time will tell how this one unfolds. (Al Jazeera)

• 🇺🇸 The United States Department of Labor announced $10.5m to support mine safety, health training and education as part of its 2024 State Grants program. The funding is available to state, tribal and territorial governments and covers 80% of the costs of the program. (US Department of Labor)

• 🇺🇸 We missed it last week, but the United States Treasury Department sanctioned members of one of Guyana’s wealthiest families, Nazar Mohamed (Nazar) and his son, Azruddin Mohamed (Azruddin), their company, Mohamed’s Enterprise, and a Guyanese government official, Mae Thomas (Thomas), for their roles in public corruption in Guyana. They are accused of underreporting gold exports and avoiding $50m USD in taxes to the Guyanese government between 2019 and 2023. The move was welcomed by The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA). (US Department of Treasury)

• 🇺🇸 🇦🇴 United States Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt said, “Angola and the United States are aligned on all the major points related to energy access, energy security, decarbonization, and critical minerals.” The United States has focused on Angola as its looks to secure critical minerals and has announced several supportive projects in the nation. (BNN Bloomberg)

• 🇺🇸 🇨🇳 🇦🇷 El País examines the growing rivalry between the United States & China in Argentina as they both look to lock-up lithium resources. The article looks at Chinese & American investment to date and the shift of President Milei away from socialist China towards the United States where his ally Elon Musk and Tesla reside. One of the best articles of the week - open this one up. (El País)

• 🇨🇳 🇨🇦 China was pushing back this week against the United States and the European Union for electric vehicle tariffs. The US imposed 100% tariffs while the EU has imposed a 38.1% tariff on vehicles made in China. Canada this week has launched a 30 day consultation to consider whether it should also impose higher tariffs. The Premier of Ontario called for increased tariffs to protect the domestic industry which has put additional pressure on the unpopular federal government. The CEO of Canadian firm Northern Graphite (CVE: NGC), Hugues Jacquemin, said “any potential action limited to EVs would not be enough and Ottawa should also include critical minerals essential for battery production.” China has pushed back saying it decided to invest in green technologies earlier, and that the West's actions are unjustified. (Reuters) & (Reuters)

• 🇳🇪 As reported by Bloomberg over the past weeks, Niger finally revoked French Orano’s operating license at one of the world’s largest uranium mines. (France24)

• 🇩🇪 🇨🇳 The German economy minister Robert Habeck was in China this week and was urging the nation to shift away from coal power. Coal still accounts for almost 60% of China’s electricity supply despite the country taking steps to diversify its energy sources. (SCMP)

• 🇮🇳 Across the border in India, the country introduced its 10th tranche of coal mine auctions, offering a total of 67 mines. Like Vietnam & China, the country is looking for more power to fuel its economic growth. (EnergyWorld)

• 🇮🇹 Italy adopted measures last week aimed at ramping up domestic sourcing and processing of critical raw materials. The cabinet passed a decree simplifying procedures for mining permits. Licenses for extraction, processing or recycling materials, if approved, must now be issued within 18 months of an application being made. We like the boldness! (Barrons)

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MINING MATTERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

• Victoria Gold Corp. (TSX: VGCX) reported failure of its heap leach pad in it’s Eagle Gold Mine near Mayo, Yukon. While no one was injured, the breach has been deemed “Catastrophic” by the local Mayor as many worry about the future of the mine as well as the environmental impact. The heap leach facility at the Eagle mine uses a cyanide solution to percolate through ore, stacked in 10-metre layers, to dissolve gold. The stock has fallen 82% on the news. (CBC) or (EOS) or (Yukon News)

• On Monday, an explosion and fire at Aricell’s facility in Hwaseong, South Korea, tragically lead to the death of 22 people. Established in 2020, South Korea-based Aricell makes lithium primary batteries for sensors and radio communication devices. It has 48 employees, according to its latest regulatory filing. (CNN) & (Reuters)

• Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE/TSX: AEM) announced a roughly $2.875m investment in Maple Gold Mines (TSXV: MGM). (Agnico Eagle Mines) 

• The Financial Post did a piece on Sean Boyd, current Chairman of Agnico Eagle and past decades long CEO of the gold mining giant. The article discusses the miners commitment to Canada and its desire to help the government build Arctic infrastructure to help northern communities while also protecting the country’s sovereignty. (Financial Post)

• Australia’s Paladin Energy (ASX: PDN) will acquire Canada’s Fission Uranium Corp (TSX: FCU) for $1.14bn. The purchase price was a 25.8% premium to the closing price of Fission Uranium on June 21st, 2024. Fission Uranium shareholders will receive 0.1076 shares of Paladin for every Fission share held. (Reuters) & (Newswire)

• Dutch miner AMG announced that it will invest £16m ($20USD) into Savannah Resources plc to help it develop its lithium projects in Portugal. The investment will give AMG a 15.77% ownership stake and make it the largest shareholder of Savannah Resources. (AMG)

• Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) announced that it will invest $226m CAD to refurbish two anode baking furnaces at its Grande-Baie smelter in Quebec, Canada. Certainly a positive announcement for the province. (Mining Technology)

• Vale (NYSE: VALE) announced that it plans to spend up to $3.3bn on improvements over the next four years at its Brazil & Canada operations to boost its output of copper and nickel. (Bloomberg)

• India-based Hindalco Industries Ltd. has placed an order for a large, integrated electronic scrap processing system from Metso Corp. to recover copper to be built near an existing copper production site in Gujarat, India. We aren’t surprised given coppers fast rise this year. (Recycling Today)

• B2Gold (TSE: BTO) announced that it sold $139.04m worth of Calibre Mining Corp’s (TSE: CXB) stock, roughly 71.2% of its holdings. According to B2Gold the decision was a result of investment considerations including price, market conditions, capital allocation priorities, and corporate strategy. B2Gold said it remains supportive of Calibre Mining and has no plans to sell its remaining holdings at this time. (Financial Post)

• United States investment management firm Capital Group Companies sold shares worth $733.9-million AUS in Australian miner Fortescue. Shares in the miner are down 27.48% so far this year as iron ore prices slump. (Mining Weekly)

• French miner Eramet (EPA: ERA) and Germany’s BASF (ETR: BAS) announced that they have scrapped a $2.6 billion joint investment project in a nickel-cobalt refining complex in Weda Bay, Indonesia. (Reuters)

• Chinese miner Ganfeng is suing Mexico at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) over a cancelled concession for a lithium project in the province of Sonora. (Mining.com)

MINING BITS

• 🇨🇳 The Head of China’s Geological Survey was expelled from the Communist Party of China. Zhong Ziran was found to have engaged in power-for-sex and money-for-sex transactions. He also used his powers at the geological survey to receive bribes and gifts. In addition to the corruption charges, he is accused of also leaking state secrets. (Global Times China)

• 💣 Rapper 50 Cent’s Twitter (X) account was hacked on Friday in a sophisticated scheme to pump the GUNIT coin. G Unit is a reference to the hip hop group 50 Cent was a part of previously. The hacker created posts about the coin while making clever references to the rappers other brands and past experiences with crypto. The result? The hacker sold $300,000,000m USD worth of the coin in 30 minutes before the rapper could shut down the account and put out a notice on Instagram. The market cap crashed to $150,000 on the news. (Coinpedia)

• 🔋 Toshiba, Sojitz and CBMM unveiled an ultra-fast charging prototype electric bus powered by next-generation lithium-ion batteries with niobium titanium oxide (NTO) anodes at CBMM’s industrial plant in Araxá, Brazil. NTO has twice the theoretical volume density of the graphite-based anode generally used in lithium-ion batteries. (businesswire)

• 🇦🇺 Australia’s CSIRO takes a look at Gallium & Germanium and the potential for the country to produce more of it. Both are critical minerals, but neither is found in large concentrations. Gallium is found in small but appreciable quantities in bauxite, while Germanium is a by-product of lead and zinc mining. Both are often left in the ground, go into tailings or exported as a contaminant in the primary product as separation and processing can be expensive. CSIRO argues that by strategically developing these resources, enhancing processing technologies, and moving further up the value chain, Australia can significantly bolster its economic resilience and global market position. (CSIRO)

• 🌏 The World Economic Forum had a post by Ørsted & Teck Resources on how to mine critical minerals responsibly. They suggest that, “The first way to do responsible mining is through robust internal management systems, strong corporate governance and a well-established process for dialogue and grievances. The second is by implementing and getting external assurance against recognized standards.” (World Economic Forum)

• 👩‍🏭 The financial times took a look at gender diversity in the mining industry and how to “Andrew Tate Effect” is threatening progress. Apparently some men are using derogatory language like using the acronym DEI, “Didn’t Earn It” which normally stands for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Stacy Hope, managing director of advocacy group Women in Mining UK says, “We need to bring men along on the journey to make sure they become allies.” (Financial Times)

• ⛏️ The Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis takes a shot at Glencore’s desire to spin-off Teck’s coal assets into a stand alone company. They argue that a new entity focused on coal, may not have the revenues in the future to cover the current remediation liabilities of Teck’s operations in British Columbia. They argue that this is a risk for British Columbian taxpayers and that the BC government should be concerned. (IEEFA)

• ⚛️ Newsweek takes a look at uranium and the risk to Russia’s “Cash Cow” despite price increases. More interestingly, the spot price for uranium was $83.60 on Tuesday and during the last two bull markets for uranium in the 1970s and 2000s it climbed to $170 and $200 when adjusted for inflation. Given all of the new nuclear plants coming online in the foreseeable future as well as a production deficit, spot prices are likely to go only one way in the mid to long-term. (Newsweek)

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