Tag: electric vehicles

The Federal government is confident a new investment partnership with India can unlock mutual benefits for both countries from Australia’s world-leading critical minerals sector. Australia’s Minister for Resources and Water, Keith Pitt, has announced $5.8 million in funding to support a three-year Australia-India Critical Minerals Investment Partnership. “Australia and India are natural partners sharing mutual strategic and economic priorities and this Partnership will support further Indian investment in Australian critical minerals projects,” Minister Pitt said. “It is the first of its kind and represents a step-change in how countries can work together to support key industries and pursue growth opportunities. “Our combined capabilities will take on the challenge of resourcing the emerging technologies used in sectors such as defence, aerospace,…

RENASCOR Resources (ASX: RNU) has completed the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) at its 100pc owned Siviour graphite project in South Australia. The proposed Siviour mine would be an open pit with an adjacent graphite production plant, which the company said has the potential to be a world-class, low OPEX project. The DFS, completed by Royal IHC and Wave International, has been based on staged development, aiming for an average production of 80ktpa during the first stage, before expansion in year five that would be funded through the expected cash flows, ramping up production to 144ktpa between years five to 10. The projected life of mine operating cost is expected to be about $508/t, which according to the company is amongst…

THE Australian Government has released a Critical Minerals Strategy Report, exposing huge holes in the supply chain as tensions between Beijing and Washington heat up. The 17 elements that make up the rare earths are vital to high-tech appliances for both domestic and military use, and the heavy rare earths are the fundamental component in the powerful magnets used in electric vehicle motors. The report highlights Australia’s status as the world’s second largest producer of rare earths, and therefore perfectly positioned to supply the US with the high-tech elements, particularly the heavy rare earths that China has traditionally dominated. Resources and Northern Australia Minister Matt Canavan said that the Critical Minerals Strategy would prepare Australia to become the alternative to…

BY REUBEN ADAMS THE price per tonne of cobalt – essential to EV battery production – rose to $82,000 on the London Metal Exchange in mid-February. This represents a tripling of value since the start of 2016, and a 147 per cent jump since January 2017. Burgeoning EV demand is already proving a disruptive force for both the mining industry and end users of metals such as lithium and cobalt. In order to meet this increasing demand for EV batteries, cobalt supply will need to reach 180,000 tonnes (t) by 2026 – up from 48,000t in 2016, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Platts expected a tripling in demand to more than 300,000tpa by 2030. This surge in demand for battery…

Image: Tesla. By Cameron Drummond ONE of the best performing commodities of 2016 was undoubtedly lithium, burgeoned by Tesla Motor’s construction of a lithium-ion battery gigafactory in the Nevada desert, which it fired up in the first week of this year. Tesla, partnering with Japanese electronics company Panasonic, predicts that the factory will be producing 35 gigawatts (GW) of lithium-ion batteries each year by 2018 for use in electric vehicles (EV’s) and energy storage systems – double the rest of the world’s current production rate. Lithium has a range of commercial and industrial uses, such as the manufacture of glassware and ceramics; though by far the fastest growing application is for batteries. Technological advancements in battery-making had seen the spot…