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Liberal Government Will Use Throne Speech To Roll Out Electric Vehicle Strategy SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel $TN.ca $NICO.ca $RNX.ca $TSLA $NOB.ca $SHL.ca $CNC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM at 8:10 AM on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020
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Tartisan Nickel Corp. owns the Kenbridge Nickel Project in northwestern Ontario, the Sill Lake Silver Property in Sault St. Marie, Ontario as well as the Don Pancho Manganese-Zinc-Lead-Silver Project in Peru. The Company has an equity stake in; Eloro Resources Limited, Class 1 Nickel & Technologies Limited and Peruvian Metals Corp.

The federal government is planning investments in the electric vehicle industry to create a domestic supply chain for electric vehicle batteries that could supply the North American market. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)

The Liberal government will use the speech from the throne to lay out a plan to create tens of thousands of jobs by connecting Canada’s resource sector with its manufacturing base to produce batteries for electric cars, Radio-Canada has learned. 

“We recognize we have a unique opportunity to take advantage of our skilled labour force and we know we have a long and proud history of manufacturing vehicles, planes, ships and trains, and we also have an abundant amount of natural resources,” Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Navdeep Bains told Radio-Canada.

“We could be a world leader in [electric vehicle] battery manufacturing if we leverage our natural resources like lithium, cobalt … nickel, aluminum — the key ingredients that are required in batteries. Then we want to make sure that we manufacture them here and … use them in our trains, our buses, our ships and our planes.”

Bains said the green technology sector is expected to be worth trillions of dollars in the coming years and Canada could take advantage of that market by positioning itself as the chief North American supplier of batteries for electric vehicles.

“Not only do we want to be in a position to be building [electric vehicle] batteries here in Canada for the North American market, we want to be a global leader to take advantage of global opportunities,” he said. 

CBC News has confirmed a report which first appeared in the Toronto Star — that the federal government is willing to put up to $500 million, with some money coming from the Ontario government, toward turning Ford’s Oakville plant over to the production of electric vehicles, an investment that could keep the plant open for years to come.

The paper reported that the mass production of electric vehicles and batteries is at the heart of talks between Ford Motor Co. and the union representing its employees.

When asked about the deal yesterday Ontario Premier Doug Ford said negotiations are still ongoing. 

“What I can tell you is how important the auto industry is, one of the most important industries in Ontario,” he said during his daily briefing.

“This is good if we move forward. The parts are very important. We would like to manufacture the batteries here rather than bringing the batteries in from out of country. We have the capabilities and the raw materials here. Why can’t we produce the batteries? That’s my big ask to Ford.”

Adding value through manufacturing

Bains also said his government is looking at putting money into high-speed internet access — something he said the country needs more of now, with more and more Canadians working from home.

He also said the federal government is looking at investments in the agriculture sector to help make Canada “a world leader in plant proteins.”

Bains did not say if the agriculture and internet proposals will be a part of the throne speech.

“The bottom line is that we want to take advantage of what we have in Canada,” he said. “And what we have is an incredibly skilled labour workforce, we have natural resources and we have the ability to add value through our manufacturing processing initiatives.”

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/navdeep-bains-speech-throne-batteries-1.5733220

Tartisan Nickel Corp. $TN.ca Expands Kenbridge Nickel Project Land Position and Finds Additional Nickel Targets $NICO.ca $RNX.ca $TSLA $NOB.ca $SHL.ca $CNC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:27 AM on Tuesday, September 15th, 2020
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  • Announced that Tartisan has staked an additional ten single-cell mining claims contiguous to the Kenbridge Nickel Deposit patented and unpatented mining claim group, as well as an additional ten single-cell mining claims in a new area some 2.14 km to the northwest
  • The newly acquired claims bring the total claim count to 43 single-cell mining claims adjoining the Kenbridge patented mining claim group

TORONTO, ON / September 15, 2020 / Tartisan Nickel Corp. (CSE:TN)(OTC PINK:TTSRF)(FSE:A2D) (“Tartisan”, or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that Tartisan has staked an additional ten single-cell mining claims contiguous to the Kenbridge Nickel Deposit patented and unpatented mining claim group, as well as an additional ten single-cell mining claims in a new area some 2.14 km to the northwest. The newly acquired claims bring the total claim count to 43 single-cell mining claims adjoining the Kenbridge patented mining claim group. Each single-cell mining claim covers an area of approximately 20.92 ha. for a total area of 899.56 ha. The Kenbridge Nickel Project has now a combined total of 2,287.41 ha. of patented and unpatented mining claims.

The new lands were staked to cover multi-faceted anomalies that were discovered from analysis of spectral data and synthetic aperture data from the Aster Funds Ltd surveys carried out over the Kenbridge Nickel Property and environs.

The Aster Funds Ltd spectral analysis survey generated sixteen different elements, six of which are directly related to the mineral suite at the Kenbridge Nickel Deposit. Five areas with six out of six indicator elements as well as a favourable structural setting were determined, four of which were inside the patented ground and previously staked single-cell mining claims. One such six out of six anomaly was discovered just off the property to the south, also in the structural corridor in which the Kenbridge Nickel Deposit is situated. This newly discovered area was covered by the new claim staking.

In addition, the spectral analysis and synthetic aperture radar surveys outlined other anomalies, further afield. One such area is to the northwest, where a six/six anomaly and large five/six margin may highlight a parallel structure. This anomaly sits on top of a large magnetic anomaly in Ontario Geological Survey data. As well, a five/six anomaly in a large four/six margin was seen on the eastern side of the existing Kenbridge Property, and may represent another mineralized corridor, in as much as two of the minerals were talc and pyrrhotite, which represent mineralization and the host tectonic structure of the Kenbridge Nickel Deposit.

CEO Mr. Mark Appleby said, “The Kenbridge Nickel Deposit sits in a mineralized zone that has a strike length of approximately 250 m, as indicated by drill data. The mineralization has been investigated in detail on two underground levels and with drilling to a depth of 823 m. It makes sense that there may be other similar tectonic structures to the Kenbridge Deposit and the new staking covers two of these potential areas. The Company will follow up on these anomalies on the ground as well as the very prospective targets the surveys found inside the Kenbridge Property boundaries”.

Tartisan Nickel Corp. plans surface exploration and a definition plan for the Kenbridge Project for the autumn of 2020 and winter of 2021.

About Tartisan Nickel Corp.

Tartisan Nickel Corp. is a Canadian based mineral exploration and development company which owns; the Kenbridge Nickel Project in northwestern Ontario, the Sill Lake Silver Property in Sault St. Marie, Ontario as well as the Don Pancho Manganese-Zinc-Lead-Silver Project in Peru. The Company has an equity stake in; Eloro Resources Limited, Class 1 Nickel & Technologies Limited and Peruvian Metals Corp.

Tartisan Nickel Corp. common shares are listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE:TN; US-OTC:TTSRF; FSE:A2D). Currently, there are 101,603,550 shares outstanding (103,303,550 fully diluted).

For further information, please contact Mr. Mark Appleby, President & CEO and a Director of Tartisan Nickel Corp. at 416-804-0280 ([email protected]). Additional information about Tartisan Nickel Corp. can be found at the Company’s website at www.tartisannickel.com or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Jim Steel MBA P.Geo. is the Qualified Person under NI 43-101 and has read and approved the technical content of this News Release.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (operated by CNSX Markets Inc.) has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release.

SOURCE: Tartisan Nickel Corp.

CLIENT FEATURE: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE) Advancing the Kenbridge Nickel Mine – A Project Designed for Small Cap Success $TN.ca $NICO.ca $RNX.ca $TSLA $NOB.ca $SHL.ca $CNC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM at 11:07 AM on Tuesday, September 1st, 2020

Investment Highlights

  • Kenbridge property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14 million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper
    • The deepest hole extends to 838.4 metres, intersecting mineralization grading 4.25% nickel and 1.38% copper over 10.7 metres
    • The deposit remains open at depth
  • Tartisan completed a Spectral Analysis Survey that identified the Kenbridge Deposit, and has shown a possible extension and three additional trends
  • Owns 17.5 (21.8 fully diluted) percent equity stake in Eloro Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property and are drilling their Iska Iska Pollymetallic project in Bolivia
    • Tartisan currently owns close to 4 million ELO shares  
  • Tartisan owns close to 1,700,000 shares in Class 1 Nickel (CSE:NICO)
    • Tartisan vended the Alexo- Kelex asset to Class 1 Nickel, who recently listed on CSE

Kenbridge Ni Project (ON, Canada)

  • Advanced  stage  deposit  remains open  in  three  directions,  is  equipped with a 623m  deep  shaft  and  has  never  been  mined
  • Preliminary  Economic Assessment completed and updated returned robust project 
    economics and operating costs including  a  NPV  of  C$253M  and  cash costs of US$3.47/lb of nickel net of  copper credits
  • Plans for Kenbridge include updating PEA, advancing the project through to feasibility and exploring the open mineralization at depth

Recent News

  • Company has completed a Spectral Analysis Survey
  • Survey covered the patented and single-cell mining claims that make up the historic land position which contains the Kenbridge Deposit and the surrounding area, identifying several new exploration targets not only for nickel, copper, cobalt, but also for potential gold occurrences
  • Analysis Survey shows the distribution and intensity of up to 304 minerals, with the first pass showing up to 16 minerals
  • Each mineral can be classified into an exploration relevance for base metals, precious metals and industrial metals

Tartisan CEO Mark Appleby said, “the survey picked out the Kenbridge Deposit, and has shown the possible extension to the Kenbridge Deposit and three additional trends that relate directly to underlying geology and structure implicit in the Kenbridge Deposit. Of significant interest, the survey found two gold trends as well, which include the Violet and Nina historic gold occurrences. One of the occurrences is almost 54 hectares in size and covers almost all of three of our staked claims on the border of the Kenbridge property.”

DISCLOSURE: Tartisan Nickel Corp. is an advertising client of AGORA Internet Relations Corp.

Tesla’s Musk Hints of Battery Capacity Jump Ahead of Industry Event SPONSOR Tartisan Nickel $TN.ca $NICO.ca $RNX.ca $TSLA $NOB.ca $SHL.ca $CNC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM at 10:06 AM on Thursday, August 27th, 2020

SEOUL (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk has suggested the U.S. electric carmaker may be able to mass produce batteries with 50% more energy density in three to four years, which could even enable electric airplanes.

SEOUL (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk has suggested the U.S. electric carmaker may be able to mass produce batteries with 50% more energy density in three to four years, which could even enable electric airplanes.

His comments came as speculation is growing about announcements at Tesla’s anticipated “Battery Day” event where it is expected to reveal how it has improved its battery performance.

“400 Wh/kg *with* high cycle life, produced in volume (not just a lab) is not far. Probably 3 to 4 years,” Musk tweeted on Monday in response to a Twitter thread by Sam Korus, an analyst at ARK Investment Management LLC, about why Musk keeps hinting at a Tesla electric plane.

Researchers have said the energy density of Panasonic’s (6752.T) “2170” batteries used in Tesla’s Model 3 is around 260 Wh/kg, meaning a 50% jump from the current energy density which is key to achieving a longer driving range.

Musk said last year that for electric flight to work, the energy density of batteries needed to improve to over 400 Wh/kg, a threshold which may be achieved in five years.

The electric car manufacturer also showed an image where a number of dots are clustered in line formations, sparking speculation among media and fans about what it will reveal at the event. (here)

South Korean battery expert Park Chul-wan said the image may hint at “silicon nanowire anode,” a breakthrough technology which can potentially increase both battery energy density and battery life sharply.

Panasonic Corp (6752.T) earlier told Reuters that it plans to boost the energy density of the original “2170” battery cells it supplies to Tesla by 20% in five years.

Tesla is also working with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) (300750.SZ) to introduce a new low-cost, long-life battery in its Model 3 sedan in China later this year or early next year, with the batteries designed to last for a million miles of use, Reuters reported in May.

Tesla has said its Battery Day will take place on the same day as its 2020 annual meeting of shareholders on Sept. 22.

A very “limited number of stockholders” will be able to attend both of the events due to pandemic-related restrictions, Tesla said, and a lottery will be held to select attendees.

source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-batteries/teslas-musk-hints-of-battery-capacity-jump-ahead-of-industry-event-idUSKBN25L0MC

According To Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Nickel is The New Gold: SPONSOR Tartisan Nickel $TN.ca $NICO.ca $RNX.ca $TSLA

Posted by AGORACOM at 9:29 AM on Tuesday, August 25th, 2020
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  • “I’d just like to re-emphasize, any mining companies out there, please mine more nickel,” said Musk
  • Nickel is arguably the single most important metal component in EV batteries.

In the popular imagination, lithium is the element that powers EVs. However, as Elon Musk has pointed out, the term “lithium-ion batteries” is something of a misnomer, because they don’t really contain that much lithium. “Although [they’re] called lithium-ion, the actual percentage of lithium in a lithium-ion cell is approximately 2%,” Musk explained at Tesla’s 2016 shareholder meeting. “Technically, our cells should be called nickel-graphite, because the primary constituent in the cell as a whole is nickel.” 

Above: Tesla’s Elon Musk (Flickr: Steve Jurvetson)

More recently, Musk reiterated the importance of nickel, and made what sounded to some like an urgent plea for more of the stuff. “I’d just like to re-emphasise, any mining companies out there, please mine more nickel,” said Musk during Tesla’s latest quarterly conference call. “Wherever you are in the world, please mine more nickel and…go for efficiency, obviously environmentally-friendly nickel mining at high volume. Tesla will give you a giant contract for a long period of time, if you mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way.”

However, meeting the expected surge in demand for element #28 may not be so easy, because of various supply-side issues. In a recent interview with Kitco News, Michael Beck, Managing Director at Regent Advisors, said he sees something of a “perfect storm” brewing in the nickel trade.

A Tesla Model 3 contains around 30 kilograms of nickel, Beck told Kitco’s Michael McCrae. “Nickel is probably the single most important metal component in battery fabrication. It’s where all of the energy is stored, and increasingly battery chemistries are being refined to allow the inclusion of as much nickel as possible. The more nickel, the higher the energy density of the battery.”

The spotlight on nickel is a recent development. Nickel prices collapsed in 2007, and there’s been little development of new capacity since then, says Beck. “In this intervening almost 12 years there was no material investment in new nickel capacity. The last 12 years has been a drawdown of excess inventory, and that’s coming to an end. The ramp-up of demand is just beginning.”

The long lead time for bringing new nickel mines into production is another constraining factor. “It takes 7 to 10 years to bring on new nickel projects,” says Beck. “So, you have the makings of a perfect storm. You have a baked-in structural deficit for the next 12 years…you have inventories in the next 18 months going down to almost zero. You also have this new demand source that never existed for nickel.”

Above: Ken Hoffman, senior expert at McKinsey, weighs in on Tesla’s need for nickel in order to expedite the EV revolution (YouTube: Kitco NEWS)

All that would seem to add up to an investment opportunity for somebody. “In the universe of metals, [nickel is] our favorite,” says Beck. “We think in the next two to three years you’re going to see a major up-tick of the nickel price…as shortages emerge, and that’s what’s going to be required to get new investment in the sector.”

So, what companies are poised to take advantage of the coming nickel rush? “Maybe the most interesting in the larger cap of established players is Norilsk,” says Beck. “They’re the number-two nickel producer, and they’re based in Russia. That’s probably the single best large-cap way to get exposure to nickel. It’s a major producer of the metal, and when nickel goes up, their share price goes up accordingly. At the smaller cap end of the spectrum, there are a bunch of smallish nickel explorers and emerging developers.”

Over the next few years, Beck believes that nickel shortages will emerge, and most companies with nickel exposure will benefit. However, there’s another factor in play. Tesla and other EV-makers are naturally eager to get their raw materials from sustainable sources. The industry has invested much effort and cash in cleaning up its supply chain for cobalt. Elon’s recent plea for nickel specified that it needed to be mined in an environmentally sensitive way. (Norilsk, by the way, has recently been involved in not one but two oil spills in Russia’s Arctic region.)

Vancouver-based Giga Metals quickly responded to Elon’s appeal, saying that it has a source of environmentally-responsible nickel in development. As Matthew Hall reports in Mining Technology, Giga Metals owns a property called Turnagain in north-central British Columbia, which it says is one of the largest undeveloped sulphide nickel projects in the world, and also contains cobalt.

Canada has plenty of nickel mines, but Giga Metals has a unique vision for the Turnagain mine. “Our goal is to be the world’s first carbon-neutral mine,” said Giga Metals President Martin Vydra. “We plan to use power from BC Hydro’s clean energy grid, which will involve more capital expenditure than the alternatives, but is the right thing to do.”

Above: Tesla’s Model 3 (Source: EVANNEX; Photo by Casey Murphy)

“If you want environmentally-responsible nickel, I really think you have to look at sulphide deposits in first-world jurisdictions such as Canada and Australia,” said Giga Metals CEO Mark Jarvis. “Canada has several very large, low-grade, open-pittable sulphide nickel deposits waiting to be developed, including Canada Nickel’s Crawford deposit, Waterton’s Dumont deposit and our own Turnagain deposit. Canada has some of the toughest environmental regulations in the world, so if you buy your nickel from Canada, you can be assured that this part of your supply chain is ethically sourced.”

===

Written by: Charles Morris

SOURCE: https://insideevs.com/news/440582/elon-musk-lithium-ion-battery-nickel-is-new-gold/

Elon Musk’s Tesla Dominates US EV Sales and These Are The Metals He Needs More of SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel $TN.ca

Posted by AGORACOM at 10:57 AM on Monday, August 24th, 2020

SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)  Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14 million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has interests in Peru, including a 20 percent equity stake in Eloro Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information

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Tesla is hands down the biggest seller of electric vehicles (EVs) in the world’s largest economy, accounting for 81 per cent of the 87,398 EVs sold in the US in the first quarter.The Model 3 was the most popular, racking up sales of 38,314 for the three-month period.Second and third in the EV sales race were Tesla’s Model Y and Model X, with sales of 18,861 and 9,500 respectively, according to data from UK investor website Buy Shares.

best selling EVs
America’s best-selling EVs in the first half of 2020. Source: Buy Shares

Tesla founder Elon Musk has famously called on nickel miners to produce more to meet growing demand for the battery metal.

But just which other metals is the billionaire tech icon going to need more of?

EVs drive consumption of copper, cobalt and nickel

The Model 3 is Tesla’s most affordable EV at a retail price of $73,900 and requires 50kg of nickel, 4.5kg of cobalt, and approximately 130lbs of copper, according to reports.

Model 3 sales in Q1 for the US market would have accounted for 172 tonnes of cobalt, 2,260 tonnes of copper, and 1,915 tonnes of nickel.

Tesla gigafactory
Tesla Gigafactory 1, where Model 3 battery cells are produced. Source: Tesla

Tesla’s total EV sales in the three-month period would require 321 tonnes of cobalt, 4,208 tonnes of copper, and 3,568 tonnes of nickel.

Around 40 ASX companies are involved in the cobalt space, such as Australian Mines (ASX:AUZ), Clean TeQ (ASX:CLQ) and New World Cobalt (ASX:NWC).

Companies with exposure to copper include Encounter Resources (ASX:ENR), which has several new discoveries in the Northern Territory, Castillo Copper (ASX:CCZ) and Red River Resources (ASX:RVR).

There are also a number of nickel producers in Australia that are well positioned to benefit from rising sales of EVs.

They include DevEx Resources (ASX:DEV), Western Areas (ASX:WSA), and Panoramic Resources (ASX:PAN).

Tesla recovers battery metals in recycling

With the push for a “circular economy” to reduce the waste going to landfill and a shortage of supply of critical minerals, major car and battery makers are turning to recycled material.

Tesla recycled 1,000 short tons of nickel, 320 tons of copper, and 110 tons of cobalt in 2019, according to Tesla’s impact report.

“None of our scrapped lithium-ion batteries go to landfilling, and 100 per cent are recycled,” Tesla said.

Tesla is building a battery recycling system at its Gigafactory in Nevada that will process end-of-life batteries.

“Through this system, the recovery of critical minerals will be maximised along with the recovery of all metals used in Tesla battery cells, such as copper, aluminium and steel,” the company said.

ASX-listed Lithium Australia (ASX:LIT) and EcoGraf (ASX:EGR) are developing tech in Australia to recover battery metals from dead batteries.

Lithium Australia recently successfully converted mine waste and spent lithium-ion batteries into high-performance lithium-ion battery cathodes.

EcoGraf, meanwhile, recovered graphite from a range of ‘black mass’ material from recycled batteries.

Black mass is the residual graphite material remaining after hydrometallurgical processes have recovered the high-value cathode metals from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and is typically relegated to landfill.

SOURCE: https://stockhead.com.au/tech/elon-musks-tesla-dominates-us-ev-sales-and-these-are-the-metals-he-needs-more-of/

Tartisan $TN.ca Portfolio Update – Eloro Resources Interview: Drilling in Bolivia $TN.ca $ROX.ca $FF.ca $EDG.ca $AGL.ca $ANZ.ca

Posted by AGORACOM at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, August 19th, 2020

SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)  Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14 million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has interests in Peru, including an equity stake in Eloro Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information

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Interview with Thomas Larsen, CEO of Eloro Resources (TSX-V: ELO)

  • Tartisan owns 4 million share of Eloro
  • ISKA ISKA, in Bolivia, is 99%-owned by Eloro and has never been drilled

Eloro Resources is a mineral exploration company with assets in Bolivia, Peru and Canada. ISKA ISKA, in Bolivia, is 99%-owned by Eloro and has never been drilled. It is the core focus for the company and is a gold, silver, zinc and lead prospect in the South Mineral Belt. Encouragingly, it is aligned with Cerro Rico along the same corridor structure. La Victoria, a Peruvian gold-silver project, is 82% owned by Eloro. It is in Peru’s North-Central Mineral Belt and is situated in close proximity to gold and silver majors like Pan American Silver and Barrick Gold. La Victoria is being farmed into by an Australian mining company and a 2,000m diamond drilling program is planned with the aim of confirming high-value, high-grade gold-silver veins. Dr. Quinton Hennigh of Novo Resources recently helped the company raise capital to finance this. In terms of an exit, Larsen is pragmatic; he has a track record of taking projects through to a PFS, and he doesn’t want to kid anyone into thinking he and his team are necessarily mine builders. What did you make of Thomas Larsen and the gold, silver, zinc and lead story that is Eloro Resources

#Nickel hits highest in nearly 9 months on Philippine supply concerns SPONSOR Tartisan #Nickel $TN.ca $ROX.ca $FF.ca $EDG.ca $AGL.ca $ANZ.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 5:48 PM on Monday, August 17th, 2020

SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)  Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14 million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has interests in Peru, including an equity stake in Eloro Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information

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Nickel hits highest in nearly 9 months on Philippine supply concerns

  • Nickel prices surged to their highest in nearly nine months on Monday on concern over supply from the Philippines, the leading exporter of the stainless steel raw material
  • Copper and most other industrial metals also pushed higher after the central bank of top commodities consumer China injected fresh funds into the financial system

(Updates with official prices) By Eric Onstad LONDON, Aug 17 (Reuters) – Nickel prices surged to their highest in nearly nine months on Monday on concern over supply from the Philippines, the leading exporter of the stainless steel raw material. Copper and most other industrial metals also pushed higher after the central bank of top commodities consumer China injected fresh funds into the financial system. “This remains a liquidity-driven market. Most investors are still expecting the Chinese economy to perform well in the future, so they see good reason to stick to the bullish side of the market,” said Gianclaudio Torlizzi, a partner at Milan consultancy T-Commodity. Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) climbed 1.6% to $14,602 a tonne in official trading after hitting $14,665, its strongest since Nov. 25. Nickel ore output from the Philippines, the world’s biggest exporter of the material, dropped 28% year on year to 102,310 tonnes by metal content over January-June, data showed.
* Also supporting nickel were strong ShFE stainless steel futures , which climbed as much as 4.2% to 14,775 yuan a tonne. Most nickel is used as an alloy to make stainless steel.
* Nickel ore prices at Philippine ports were hovering at their highest in eight and a half months at $10.25 a tonne, data from metals prices provider SMM showed.
* LME copper advanced 1% to $6,428 a tonne, though T-Commodity’s Torlizzi was wary of the strong recent gains that have lifted the price by 47% since March and prompted him to take a short position. “We think the risk of being long here is high and is very vulnerable to disappointment.”
* LME copper stocks sank to their lowest levels in more than 12 years to 110,000 tonnes.

* LME zinc jumped 2.4% in official activity to its highest in nearly seven months at $2,423.50 a tonne as aluminium rose 0.6% to $1,757. Lead gained 1.2% to $1,973.50, its strongest since Jan. 23, but tin shed 1% to $17,426.
* For the top stories in metals and other news, click or . ($1 = 6.9382 yuan) (Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen Editing by Jan Harvey and David Goodman)

Source: https://www.kitco.com/news/2020-08-17/METALS-Nickel-hits-highest-in-nearly-9-months-on-Philippine-supply-concerns.html

Nickel in batteries to take ‘significant’ market share – SPONSOR Tartisan #Nickel $TN.ca – $ROX.ca $FF.ca $EDG.ca $AGL.ca $ANZ.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:38 PM on Thursday, June 18th, 2020

SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)  Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14 million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has interests in Peru, including a 20 percent equity stake in Eloro Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information

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Nickel in batteries to take ‘significant’ market share from 2023

  • “We see total nickel demand from the battery market (all end-uses) much higher than that with the ongoing trend towards higher nickel cathode technology in EVs,” Miller said.

By: Angela East

The rapidly growing demand for more nickel in electric vehicle (EV) batteries is expected to see the base metal take a much bigger market share in just three years.

“In terms of when the shift towards nickel intense cathodes starts to take effect, we expect batteries using high nickel cathodes (namely NCM 811) start to really develop significant market share from 2023 onwards,” Benchmark Mineral Intelligence analyst Gregory Miller told Stockhead.

NCM 811 has a chemistry make-up of 80 per cent nickel, 10 per cent cobalt and 10 per cent manganese.

For some time now, car and battery makers have been working to reduce the amount of cobalt that goes into their batteries because it is one of the most expensive parts and there is a shortage of the commodity.

“Some of this technology is just starting to filter into the industry now following many years of development yet it still faces technical challenges in being able to deploy into the EV market,” Miller explained.

“By increasing nickel in the cathode, you decrease the life of the battery (i.e. how many cycles you can put it through) and increase safety issues linked to thermal stability.

“This transition will be significant for the industry as demand grows, by 2035 demand could be roughly as big as the industry was in 2019.”

Major players like South Korean battery materials maker Posco are now producing cathodes with greater nickel content to meet demand for greater energy density and longer driving range in the next generation of EVs.

A recently completed 25,000-tonne-per-year plant expansion will mass produce cathodes with 65 per cent nickel content, Posco says.

Fellow South Korean battery maker Samsung says that nickel will make up more than 80 per cent of the cathode materials in its fifth-generation EV batteries when commercial production begins in early 2021.

While Wood Mackenzie is predicting demand for nickel sulphate from the EV market to reach around 800,000 tonnes a year by 2035, Benchmark Minerals Intelligence is expecting it to far exceed that.

“We see total nickel demand from the battery market (all end-uses) much higher than that with the ongoing trend towards higher nickel cathode technology in EVs,” Miller said.

“In Benchmark Minerals most recent quarterly nickel forecast we see nickel demand from lithium-ion batteries reaching 2,250,000 tonnes by 2035.”

Market could open up for multiple nickel products

Miller says it has been suggested that the rise of EV demand could result in a “bifurcation” of the nickel market, with a split between higher-grade nickel for the EV industry and lower-grade (mainly ferronickel and nickel pig iron) nickel to supply stainless steel mills.

But this all depends on the success of high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) operations being built in South East Asia.

“The history of HPAL operations is littered with technical and operational challenges, and if these projects fail to bring sufficient nickel units to market, a wider spectrum of nickel feedstocks may become economically viable in the production of nickel sulphate due to a higher price environment,” Miller explained.

However, the nickel sulphate market is expected to remain in oversupply for a few years yet.

“Benchmark Minerals forecasts the nickel sulphate market to remain in surplus until 2024, where we expect a deficit to emerge thereafter where rapid demand growth will set in as EV penetration rates rise quickly,” Miller said.

“This is likely to be exacerbated by increasing use of high nickel cathodes (NCM 811).”

Spurring a price rise

Although the nickel price is on an upward trend, it is still off the five-and-a-half-year high of $US18,620 ($27,097) per tonne it reached in September last year.

It currently sits at $US12,930 per tonne, only about 17 per cent higher than its recent bottom in March.

However, longer term Benchmark sees prices rising to between $US15,000 and $US20,000 per tonne as supply struggles to match the significant ramp up in demand from EV’s over the coming decade.

“Indeed, with the next generation of supply suitable for use in batteries set to come from capital intensive HPAL projects in South East Asia, a higher pricing environment will be necessary to incentivise both the development and operation of these projects.”

Source: https://stockhead.com.au/resources/nickel-in-batteries-to-take-significant-market-share-from-2023/

#Nickel set to pierce shaky macroeconomic outlook – SPONSOR Tartisan #Nickel $TN.ca – $ROX.ca $FF.ca $EDG.ca $AGL.ca $ANZ.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 6:10 PM on Tuesday, June 16th, 2020

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  • Nickel will continue to outperform the base metals complex over the coming months, said Fitch Solutions in a report released last week.
  • “Speculative buying driven by nickel’s bright EV demand outlook has been the key driver of the metal’s positive price performance in recent months, while the breaching of a key resistance level this week suggests prices have further room to run over H219,” writes the reports authors.

(Kitco News) – Nickel will continue to outperform the base metals complex over the coming months, said Fitch Solutions in a report released last week.

“Speculative buying driven by nickel’s bright EV demand outlook has been the key driver of the metal’s positive price performance in recent months, while the breaching of a key resistance level this week suggests prices have further room to run over H219,” writes the reports authors.

Fitch noted that nickel prices have rallied over 20% year-to-date, while its base metals peers have all lost in value, placing the former as the only base metal in positive territory so far this year.

“As we pass the mid-point of the year, below we analyse why nickel prices have been significantly outperforming other base metals, despite a number of challenges in terms of fundamentals and on the macroeconomic front.”

Fitch says the price run up is due to antcipated electric vehicle adoption.

“We believe the main driver of the nickel price rally has been the sustained level of speculative buying – with non-commercial long positions on the rise so far this year – due to the metal’s ongoing allure as key demand-beneficiary among metals used in the growing EV battery market. While electric vehicle batteries still only account for less than 5% of total refined nickel demand, this figure is set to grow considerably over the coming years and investors are already placing bullish bets in anticipation.”

Fitch estimates that nickel will be in a deficit of 23kt this year, down from 51kt last year.

The authors caution that the larger macroeconomic environment could hamper a break out.

“The global macroeconomic environment has also worsened so far this year, which has led to negative sentiment for base metals generally. This deterioration is primarily down to the escalation of the US-China trade dispute and slowing growth in China, where manufacturing PMI’s have dropped below the all-important 50 mark in recent months. Were the conflict to escalate further in the coming months, nickel prices could be dragged lower in line with other base metals.”

Source: https://www.kitco.com/news/2020-06-15/Nickel-set-to-pierce-shaky-macroeconomic-outlook.html