shotbydave/E+ via Getty Images
shotbydave/E+ via Getty Images
Welcome to the April 2022 cobalt miner news. The past month saw cobalt supply disruptions and renewed efforts from the USA and Canada to support their EV metals supply chain in future years.
As of April 23, the cobalt spot price was flat at US$36.98/lb, from US$37.02/lb last month. The LME cobalt price is US$81,270/tonne. LME Cobalt inventory is 228 tonnes, lower than 248 last month. More details on cobalt pricing (in particular the more relevant cobalt sulphate), can be found here at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence or Fast Markets MB
Cobalt Spot Prices - 5-Year Chart - USD 36.98
UBS cobalt supply and demand forecast - Growing deficits from 2023
UBS's EV Metals Demand Forecast (From Nov. 2020)
UBS Forecasts Year Battery Metals Go Into Deficit
2021 IEA forecast growth in demand for selected minerals from clean energy technologies by scenario, 2040 relative to 2020 - Increases Of Lithium 13x to 42x, Graphite 8x to 25x, Cobalt 6x to 21x, Nickel 7x to 19x, Manganese 3x to 8x, Rare Earths 3x to 7x, And Copper 2x to 3x
BMI 2022 forecast for cobalt - Deficits building starting from 2024
On March 24, Mining Weekly reported:
MMG commits to $600m DRC cobalt expansion. Base metals miner MMG has approved a $500-million to $600-million expansion of its Kinsevere operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC], extending the mine life for at least another 13 years. The Kinsevere expansion project will bring yearly production of copper cathode up to 80 000 t and between 4 000 t and 6 000 t of cobalt in cobalt hydroxide.
India to invest in exploring lithium, cobalt mines in Australia. India has committed to jointly invest $6 million with the Australian government to explore lithium and cobalt mines in Australia over the next six months, in a bid to firm up supplies of key minerals needed to further its electric vehicle plans.
On March 31, Seeking Alpha reported:
Biden invokes Defense Production Act to boost EV battery production... the Biden administration officially said Thursday it will use the Defense Production Act to boost domestic production of critical materials for batteries needed to power electric vehicles and the transition to renewable energy. The decision adds lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and manganese to a list of covered items, which could help mining companies access $750M under the Act's Title III fund.
On March 31, the AFR reported: "US agrees to fund Australian critical minerals projects."
Canadian miners cheer Ottawa's critical minerals budget plan. Canadian miners say Ottawa's plan to spend C$3.8 billion ($3.02 billion) to boost domestic production of lithium, copper and other strategic minerals should help propel the country's efforts to become a key part of the global electric vehicle supply chain. The spending, announced during Canada's federal budget unveiling on Thursday, promises grants for mineral surveying, processing and recycling, as well as tax credits for digging new mines and subsidies for infrastructure, though it would not reduce regulatory oversight.
On April 19, Business Insider reported:
Rivian CEO warns the looming EV battery shortage will make the chip shortage feel like 'a small appetizer' for what's to come...Elon Musk has repeatedly warned battery supplies could impact electric car production...Now, automakers looking to branch out into electric cars could face a critical shortage of EV batteries, as well as the metals required to produce the roughly 1,000 pound lithium-ion batteries. "Put very simply, all the world's cell production combined represents well under 10% of what we will need in 10 years," Scaringe said, according to The Journal. "Meaning, 90% to 95% of the supply chain does not exist," he added.
On April 21, Investing News reported:
Cobalt market update: Q1 2022 in review... The first quarter of the year saw strong demand for cobalt, which supported higher prices, with cobalt stocks also seeing year-to-date gains... “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was of course the key shock which has tightened the screws further on the market,”... “Conditions were expected to begin to ease from the second half of 2022 but this is now at risk from impacts of the war in Ukraine.”..... “We now expect cobalt demand to be even stronger as EV sales continue to accelerate,” Fisher said. CRU’s current forecast is for 3.6 million of additional NEV sales year-on-year in 2022 with global penetration reaching 12 percent... Speaking about how cobalt could perform in the second quarter, Fisher said prices will remain high during Q2. “They may start to adjust down slightly later this year if supply chains can start to normalize, although we are not anticipating a significant fall,” Fisher said. “Overall, the market is expected to be more balanced than in 2021 with further supply additions.”
GM signs cobalt deal with Glencore as rush for battery metals intensifies. The cobalt, secured from Glencore's Murrin Murrin operation in Australia, will be used in GM's Ultium battery cathodes, which powers the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq vehicles, the companies said in a joint statement. They did not disclose the size of the deal.
On April 19, S&P Global reported:
Glencore issues force majeure on cobalt supply after South Africa flooding.....The world's largest cobalt producer Glencore is unable to fulfil contractual deliveries of cobalt hydroxide out of the Democratic Republic of Congo after severe flooding in South Africa hit warehoused goods and impacted logistics.
On March 30, Mining.com reported: "China Moly wants third party to resolve Congo mine dispute."
On March 31, Reuters reported: "China Moly says 'significant progress' made on Tenke mine dispute."
No cobalt news. Some lithium related news here regarding Huayou Cobalt Co. buying the Prospect Resources [ASX:PSC] 87% interest in the Arcadia Lithium Project, 38km east of Zimbabwe capital Harare.
On March 28, Jinchuan Group International announced: "Jinchuan International announces 2021 annual results profit attributable to shareholders surges 303% to US$120.5 million. Projects continue to make good progress business segment revenue achieves significant growth." Highlights include:
No news during the month.
On April 13, Benchmark Minerals reported:
China’s GEM Co. eyes move into Europe’s battery recycling market. GEM Co, China's largest battery recycling company, plans to invest in Europe’s battery supply chain, as it looks to help customers meet proposed European Union rules that will mandate the use of recycled battery raw materials. The Shenzhen-listed company will consider buying stakes in battery recyclers or battery materials producers in Europe, Zhang Yuping, head of battery recycling at the company, told Benchmark.
Investors can read more about GEM Co in my Trend Investing article: "A Look At GEM Co Ltd - The World's Largest Battery Recycling Company" when GEM Co was trading at CNY 5.08.
ERG own the Metalkol facility in the DRC, where ERG processes cobalt and copper tailings with a capacity of up to 24,000 tonnes of cobalt pa.
No news for the month.
On March 25, Umicore SA announced: "Integrated annual report 2021." Umicore's business summary and highlights are shown below.
On April 1, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. announced: "FY2022 metal production plans ." Cobalt is not shown as is a by-product of nickel production for Sumitomo.
On April 12, MMC Norilsk Nickel announced: "Nornickel to appeal against court ruling to seize Norilsk Railroad."
On April 14, MMC Norilsk Nickel announced: "Nornickel starts additional exploration drilling at Talnakh mines."
On April 18, MMC Norilsk Nickel announced: "Nornickel to develop Lebyazhye tailing dam."
On April 19, Yahoo Finance reported:
Putin signs decree to remove Russian stocks from overseas exchanges in huge blow to the nation's billionaires... The decree also means foreign holders of the canceled receipts must receive normal shares placed in non-resident accounts in Russia.
On April 22, OZ Minerals announced: "First Quarter Report 2022 for the three months ending 31 March 2022." Highlights include:
No news for the month.
No news for the month.
Investors can view the company presentations here.
No significant news for the month.
On March 22, Electra Battery Materials announced: "Electra advances construction of solvent extraction plant."
On April 5, Electra Battery Materials announced: "Electra announces Nasdaq listing application and (18 to 1) share consolidation." Highlights include:
On April 6, Electra Battery Materials announced: "Electra announces Offtake Agreement... for nickel and cobalt produced from a battery recycling plant that it expects to commission in 2023 at its Battery Materials Park north of Toronto. Under the agreement, Glencore AG will purchase the nickel and cobalt products until the end of 2024 on market-based terms." Highlights include:
On April 8, Electra Battery Materials announced: "Electra files year-end 2021 financial results." Highlights include:
On April 21, Electra Battery Materials announced: "Electra provides corporate update."
December 2022 - Target to have their North American cobalt refinery operational with ore feed from Glencore.
Investors can view the company presentations here and a good Crux Investor CEO interview here.
Sunrise Energy Metals has 132kt contained cobalt at their Sunrise project.
No news for the month.
2022 - Possible off-take agreements and project funding/partnering.
Investors can also read the latest company presentation here.
On April 12, Fortune Minerals announced: "Fortune Minerals welcomes Canada’s C$3.8 billion Critical Minerals strategy to support domestic EV supply chains."
On April 20, Fortune Minerals announced:
Fortune Minerals confirms new zone at NICO Project. Fortune Minerals Limited is pleased to report results from the 2021 drill program on its 100%-owned NICO Critical Minerals project (“NICO Project”) in the Northwest Territories (“NWT”) and Alberta. The NICO Project is comprised of a planned open pit and underground mine, mill and concentrator in the NWT and a planned hydrometallurgical refinery in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland northeast of Edmonton to process metal concentrates into value added products. The Mineral Reserves for the NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper deposit (“NICO Deposit”) contain 33.1 million metric tonnes containing 37.3 million kilograms of cobalt, 1.1 million Troy ounces of gold, 46.3 million kilograms of bismuth, and 12.3 million kilograms of copper. Drilling was carried out at the end of 2021 in order to test four prospects that had been identified in earlier geophysical surveys and a 1997 drill program. The recent drilling successfully confirmed continuity of cobalt-gold-bismuth and local copper mineralization in the Peanut Lake Zone, located 800 metres southeast of the NICO Deposit and also identified a potential east strike extension of the deposit.
Investors can read the latest company presentation here, or recent company pitch video here.
On April 4, Australian Mines announced:
Pre-Feasibility Study commences on alternative nickel-cobalt laterite ore processing. Australian Mines Limited is pleased to advise it has commenced a Pre-Feasibility Study (“Study” or “Stage 2”) 1 to commercialise an innovative, low-capex, scalable, and environmentally benign (non-HPAL) 2 processing technology targeting the extraction of nickel, cobalt, and scandium from the lateritic ores at its Bell Creek–Minnamoolka [QLD] and Flemington [NSW] Projects.
On April 12, Australian Mines announced:
Exploration update – West Kimberley Project. Australian Mines Limited is pleased to provide the accompanying update in relation to exploration activities recently completed at the West Kimberley Project in Western Australia by the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Eos Resources Pty Ltd. As previously announced by the Company, and a s part of the Board’s review of Australian Mines’ capital and corporate structure, the Board intends to seek shareholder approval during the 2022 calendar year to demerge the Company’s non-core exploration assets into a new exploration-focused company.
On April 22, Australian Mines announced:
Australian Mines seeks to enhance commercial potential of the Sconi Project with additional nickel and cobalt exploration.. ...The additional exploration program is intended to complement the existing resource at the Sconi Project set out in Table 1 of this report. The exploration program encompasses fourteen targets (see Table 2 of this report), which are being investigated for their potential nickel and cobalt mineralisation, in the first instance via surface soil and rock sampling, field portable XRF geochemical analysis and geological mapping. During the initial 6-year term of the offtake agreement LGES has agreed to purchase 71,000 dry metric tonnes [DMT] of nickel and 7,000 DMT of cobalt.
Investors can read the latest company presentation here.
In total, Ardea has 5.9mt of contained nickel and 380kt of contained cobalt at their KNP Project near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. Ardea is also exploring for gold and nickel sulphide on their >5,100 km2 of 100% controlled tenements in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.
No news for the month.
In total, Cobalt Blue currently has 81.1kt of contained cobalt at their 100% owned Broken Hill Cobalt Project [BHCP] (formerly Thackaringa Cobalt Project) in NSW, Australia. LG International is an equity strategic partner.
On March 23, Cobalt Blue Holdings announced: "COB commences underground development to support D emonstration Plant." Highlights include:
On April 14, Cobalt Blue Holdings announced: "BHCP Demonstration Plant update. Works are progressing rapidly at the mine site."
Investors can watch a recent CEO interview here.
Havilah 100% own the Mutooroo copper-cobalt project about 60km west of Broken Hill in South Australia. They also have the nearby Kalkaroo copper-cobalt project, as well as a potentially large iron ore project at Grants. Havilah’s 100% owned Kalkaroo copper-gold-cobalt deposit contains JORC Mineral Resources of 1.1 million tonnes of copper, 3.1 million ounces of gold and 23,200 tonnes of cobalt.
No news for the month.
Investors can learn more by reading my article "Havilah Resources Has Huge Potential and/or my update article. You can also view my CEO interview here, and the company presentation here.
Aeon Metals 100% own their Walford Creek copper-cobalt project in Queensland Australia.
On March 29, Aeon Metals announced: "Walford Creek 2022 exploration strategy." Highlights include:
Investors can view the latest company presentation here.
GME Resources own the NiWest Nickel-Cobalt Project located adjacent to Glencore’s Murrin Murrin Nickel operations in the North Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. The NiWest Project which has an estimated 830,000 tonnes of nickel metal and 52,000 tonnes of cobalt.
On April 8, GME Resources announced: "Commencement of updated PFS for NiWest Nickel-Cobalt Project ." Highlights include:
Investors can read a company investor presentation here.
On April 7, Global Energy Metals Corp. announced:
Global Energy Metals intersects nickel, copper and cobalt mineralization with Phase One drilling at the Lovelock Mine Property. Commenting on the drill program, Timothy Strong, Project Development Manager said: “Our understanding of the copper, cobalt and nickel mineralization in the extensive IOCG system at Lovelock continues to improve as a result of the 2021 drilling program. Three of the target areas tested on this limited initial drill campaign have yielded intersected mineralization of the key battery metals targeted which will require follow-up testing, including excellent results from the areas adjacent to and under the historical mine. In addition, there are still multiple areas yet to be tested, and through the newly entered partnership with GoldSpot Discoveries, GEMC is underway on working on prioritizing new targets for a second phase drill program.”
Investors can read my article on GEMC here.
I am happy to hear any news updates from commentators. Tickers of cobalt juniors I will be following include:
21st Century Metals (CSE: BULL) (OTCQB:DCNNF), African Battery Metals [AIM:ABM], Alloy Resources [ASX:AYR], Artemis Resources Ltd [ASX:ARV] (OTCQB:ARTTF), Aston Minerals [ASX:ASO] (formerly European Cobalt), Auroch [ASX:AOU] [GR:T59], Azure Minerals [ASX:AZS] (OTCPK:AZRMF), Bankers Cobalt [TSXV:BANC] [GR:BC2] (OTCQB:NDENF), Battery Mineral Resources [TSXV:BMR], Blackstone Minerals [ASX:BSX], BHP (BHP), Brixton Metals Corporation [TSXV:BBB] (BXTMD), Canada Nickel [TSXV:CNC], Canada Silver Cobalt Works Inc [TSXV:CCW] (OTCQB:CCWOF), Canadian International Minerals [TSXV:CIN], Carnaby Resources [ASX:CNB], Castillo Copper [ASX:CCZ], Celsius Resources [ASX:CLA] [GR:FX8], Centaurus Metals [ASX:CTM], CBLT Inc. [TSXV:KBLT] (OTCPK:CBBLF), Cobalt Power Group [TSX:CPO], Cohiba Minerals [ASX:CHK], Corazon Mining Ltd [ASX:CZN], Cruz Battery Metals Corp. [CSE:CRUZ][FSE: A2DMG8] (OTCPK:BKTPF), Cudeco Ltd [ASX:CDU] [GR:AMR], DeepGreen Metals Inc. (TMC) / Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation (SOAC), Dragon Energy [ASX:DLE], Edison Battery Metals [TSXV:EDDY], Electric Royalties [TSXV:ELEC], First Quantum Minerals (OTCPK:FQVLF), Fuse Cobalt Inc [CVE:FUSE] (WCTXF), Galileo [ASX:GAL], GME Resources [ASX:GME] (OTC:GMRSF), Group Ten Metals Inc. [TSXV:PGE] (OTCQB:PGEZF), Hinterland Metals Inc. (OTCPK:HNLMF), Hylea Metals [ASX:HCO], Independence Group [ASX:IGO] (OTCPK:IIDDY), King's Bay Res (OTC:KBGCF) [TSXV:KBG], Latin American Resources, M2 Cobalt Corp. (TSXV: MC) (OTCQB: MCCBF), MetalsTech [ASE:MTC], Meteoric Resources [ASX:MEI], Mincor Resources (OTCPK:MCRZF) [ASX:MCR], Namibia Critical Metals [TSXV:NMI] (OTCPK:NMREF), Pacific Rim Cobalt [BOLT:CSE], PolyMet Mining [TSXV:POM] (PLM), OreCorp [ASX:ORR], Power Americas Minerals [TSXV:PAM], Panoramic Resources (OTCPK:PANRF) [ASX:PAN], Pioneer Resources Limited [ASX:PIO], Platina Resources (OTCPK:PTNUF) [ASX:PGM], Quantum Cobalt Corp [CSE:QBOT] GR:23BA] (OTCPK:BRVVF), Regal Resources (OTC:RGARF), Resolution Minerals Ltd [ASX:RML], Sienna Resources [TSXV:SIE], (OTCPK:SNNAF), and Victory Mines [ASX:VIC].
April saw cobalt prices flat and cobalt inventories lower.
Highlights for the month were:
As usual, all comments are welcome.
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Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of NORILSK NICKEL (LME:MNOD), ARDEA RESOURCES [ASX:ARL], COBALT BLUE [ASX:COB], AEON METALS [ASX:AML], HAVILLAH RESOURCES [ASX:HAV], JERVOIS GLOBAL LIMITED [TSXV:JRV], ELECTRA BATTERY MATERIALS [TSXV:ELBM], THE METALS CO (TMC) either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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