Posted by AGORACOM
at 10:42 AM on Thursday, March 12th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
Automaker plans to launch several electric vehicles with lower-cost batteries within the next three years.
“Accepted the challenge to transform product development at GM and position our company for an all-electric future”
Detroit, Michigan – General Motors (GM) is promising a wide array of
less-expensive electric vehicles (EVs) thanks to battery technologies it
is developing, improved product design processes, and plans to scale EV production to the size of its truck business.
“Our team accepted the challenge to transform product development at
GM and position our company for an all-electric future,†said GM
Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. “What we have done is build a multi-brand,
multi-segment EV strategy with economies of scale that rival our
full-size truck business with much less complexity and even more
flexibility.â€
The heart of GM’s strategy
is a modular propulsion system and a highly flexible, third-generation
global EV platform powered by proprietary Ultium batteries.
“Thousands of GM scientists, engineers, and designers are working to
execute an historic reinvention of the company,†GM President Mark Reuss
said. “They are on the cusp of delivering a profitable EV business that can satisfy millions of customers.â€
Ultium batteries use large-format, pouch-style cells that can be
stacked vertically or horizontally inside the battery pack. By avoiding
rigid, cylindrical cells, GM engineers can optimize pack shapes and
layouts for each vehicle.
Energy options range from 50kWh to 200kWh – enough for 400 miles of
range on the larger battery side. Motors designed in-house will support
front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, and performance
all-wheel drive applications.
Ultium-powered EVs are designed for Level 2 and DC fast charging.
Most will have 400V battery packs and up to 200kW fast-charging
capability. Trucks will get 800V battery packs and 350kW fast-charging
capability.
Developed with LG Chem, GM’s joint venture partner on a battery cell plant in Ohio,
upcoming cells reduce use of expensive cobalt, a development the
companies believe will drive cell cost to less than $100/kWh. At
$100/kWh, GM’s 200kWh batteries would cost $20,000, before considering
the cost of the rest of the vehicle, so lowering cell costs is critical
to affordable EVs.
Reuss said engineers are designing future vehicles and propulsion
systems together to minimize complexity and part counts compared to
adapting gasoline-powered vehicles for electric drive. GM plans 19
different battery and drive unit configurations initially, compared with
550 internal combustion powertrain combinations.
GM’s technology can be scaled to meet customer demand much higher
than the more than 1 million global sales the company expects
mid-decade.
Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, and Buick will all be launching new EVs starting this year.
2021 Bolt EV, launching in late 2020, updating GM’s first mass-market all-electric
2022 Bolt EUV, launching summer 2021, larger crossover version of
the Volt will be the first non-Cadillac GM to get Super Cruise
semi-autonomous driving
Cruise Origin, self-driving, electric shared vehicle, debuted at shows but no production plans announced
Cadillac Lyriq SUV unveiling set for April 2020
GMC HUMMER EV debuted in Super Bowl ads, more details coming May 20, production to begin fall 2021
Posted by AGORACOM
at 3:36 PM on Wednesday, March 11th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
Tesla shares dropped by over 13% yesterday, amid continuing concerns
about the coronavirus outbreak and a steep drop in oil prices.
Musk’s announcement comes at a time when several large automakers are making moves into the electric vehicle sector.
Tesla has
produced 1 million electric vehicles, according to the firm’s CEO Elon
Musk, who congratulated the “Tesla team†on the milestone via a tweet.
News of the landmark figure came after Tesla shares dropped by over 13% yesterday,
amid continuing concerns about the coronavirus outbreak and a steep
drop in oil prices. The Nasdaq Composite index, on which Tesla is
listed, fell 7.3 percent on the day. In extended hours trading Tuesday,
Tesla shares were over 10% higher
Currently, Tesla offers four models of electric vehicle: the Model 3
and Model S, which are sedans, and the Model Y and Model X, which are
types of SUV. Deliveries of the Model Y are due to start by the end of
this quarter.
Musk’s announcement comes at a time when several large automakers are making moves into the electric vehicle sector.
Towards the end of last year, the German company announced that 500,000 of its electrified cars had been sold.
At the time, CEO Oliver Zipse said that the business “was stepping up
the pace significantly†and aiming to have one million electric vehicles
on the road “within two years.â€
China’s electric car market is the biggest on the planet: a little
over one million electric cars were sold there in 2018, according to the
IEA, with Europe and the U.S. following behind.
Posted by AGORACOM
at 2:34 PM on Thursday, March 5th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
It is worth remembering that the first all-electric vehicle to use a
lithium-ion battery – the Tesla roadster – only rolled off assembly
lines in 2008.
And the blue-sky scenarios and exuberant forecasts for electric
vehicle demand and mining only really started to make headlines three or
four years ago.
And those headlines came just at the right time for an industry at
the bottom of a brutal business cycle and in desperate need of a
feelgood news story.
Not that the feeling lasted all that long.
All of mining is mercifully free of the ravages of price stability, but even tulip bulbs took longer from boom to bust than EV metals.
But how does falling prices for lithium, cobalt, graphite and nickel
square with demand forecasts that all start in the bottom left corner
and end in the top right?
Pedal to the metal
To get a better grip on the nascent sector, MINING.COM combined two sets of data:
First, prices paid for the mined minerals at the point of entry into the global battery supply chain.
London-based Benchmark Mineral Intelligence,
a global battery supply chain, megafactory tracker and market
forecaster, provides MINING.COM with monthly sales-weighted price data.
Second, the sales weighted volume of the raw materials in electric and hybrid passenger car batteries sold around the world.
Toronto-based Adamas Intelligence,
which tracks demand for EV batteries by chemistry, cell supplier and
capacity in over 90 countries provides the data for the raw materials
deployed.
Benchmark has been tracking megafactory construction since Tesla
broke ground on the first of its kind in June 2014. Adamas completes the
chain, recording all that battery power hitting the road.
That makes the MINING.COM EV Metals index more than a mine to market measure. More like mine to, er, garage.
The inaugural MINING.COM EV Metals Index shows an industry in better
shape than what tanking prices and dismal headlines would suggest.
In fact, the nickel sub-index is at a record high and cobalt bulls
would be happy to know that the metal feeding the battery supply chain
had its biggest month in nine.
If you take Tesla’s stock price as a guide (and I know a bunch of
short sellers who would rather pluck their own eyes out than do that)
the essential ingredients of muskmobiles should not be languishing at multi-year lows.
Last year, Elon Musk said getting more Teslas on the road is
dependent on scaling battery production and to scale at the fastest rate
possible it may be necessary to get into mining, “at least a little bit.â€
The last auto exec to venture into mining was Henry Ford
The last auto exec to venture into mining was Henry Ford. When the
equivalent of an over the air update was a hand crank and cars could
only be had in black and not four (wow!) other colours like the Model
S.
Crucially, at the time the cost of raw materials had a much bigger
bearing on the final price of a car. In EV production the battery can be
up to 50% of the cost of production and raw materials the bulk of
that.
A seminal study on EVs by UBS showed the only commodity your average
EV (Chevy Bolt) and ICE car (VW Golf) have in equal amounts, is rubber.
(Ford, btw, also owned a rubber plantation in Brazil.)
That’s how much of a change the switch to electric vehicles represents in the auto industry’s raw material supply chain.
Rocks down to electric avenue
Yet here we are.
Newbie investors are taking a crash course in surviving a sector that can turn on a dime.
Juniors are being scared off. Bodies are piling up among developers.
Producers’ grand ambitions have been thwarted. Contracts have been
reneged on.
It’s difficult to see the disconnect on fundamentals lasting that
much longer – governments’ green demands and emissions strictures are
only intensifying and carmakers’ programs are only becoming more
lavish.
Volkswagen promises 80 all electric models across its brands by 2025. Three hundred by the end of the decade.
While miners are encountering the pitfalls of vertical integration,
the global auto industry is getting a crash course in mining lead times
A year ago already, Wolfsburg said it was allocating $48 billion for EV development.
And then you also read that Audi (a VW brand) and Mercedes Benz had
to suspend production due to a battery shortage (long before
coronavirus).
While miners are encountering the pitfalls of vertical integration,
the global auto industry is getting a crash course in mining lead times
and how tiny markets (annual global cobalt mining revenue is less than
what VW collects in a week) can impact giant industries.
In total, the world’s automakers have committed $300 billion for
making rides you have to plug into a wall, Benchmark estimates. Or to
use the car industry term, $300 billion for ushering in a new epoch of
sustainable mobility.
Neither is there a shortage of government support for the transition. Unlike AOC’s,
the EU’s $1 trillion green new deal may actually get off the starting
grid, and Beijing has ordered 25% of cars sold must be EVs within five
short years.
Lithium nirvana
MINING.COM compiled the data for lithium prices from Benchmark and lithium deployment from Adamas going back eleven years.
It just shows again that the EV raw materials industry is in its infancy.
For calendar year 2009, the electric and hybrid cars sold around the
world contained a paltry 31 tonnes of lithium in their batteries worth a
combined $182K (that’s a K not an m).
Eleven years later, the industry had grown 3,330-fold for a value of
$609m. Ok, that’s just having fun with the base effect, but measured
just over the last five years the annualized value of lithium in EVs are
up more than 1,000%.
And that’s despite a contraction in 2019. Lithium price tripled
between April 2015 and peaked three years later, only to tumble by 60%
in value since then.
Graphite was the first to peak in early 2012, but has since halved.
The value of graphite deployed in EVs is up 370% in three years. And as a
percentage of the index, graphite has in fact steadily increased its
share.
The bigger picture is one of an industry that is still expanding. And at a breakneck pace.
Cobalts from the blue
Given its tricky fundamentals, cobalt is always going to be a conundrum for investors and a headache for carmakers.
It’s the priciest component and the most volatile.
At its peak, Co made up as much as 55% of the cost of raw materials for
batteries. Despite a plummeting price and ongoing thrifting, it still
makes up a third of the input cost.
Given that almost two-thirds primary supply is from the Congo and
more than 80% of processing capacity is located in China, cobalt’s spike
to just shy of $110,000 a tonne in April 2018 was understandable.
That 15 months later it was below $26,000, less so.
At the stroke of a pen, Beijing can change market dynamics
completely. Its subsidy cuts last year crumpled a market growing at more
than 60% the year before.
In February, Tesla – which in good months sells more battery capacity than its three nearest rivals combined – surprised cobalt and nickel bulls by opting for batteries at its Shanghai plant that forego both.
At the time of writing, the impact of the four Cs –
cobalt-Congo-China-coronavirus – is far from clear. But as the graph
shows, cobalt bulls had something to celebrate in the second half of last year.
Better than the devil’s copper you know
Batteries account for only 6% of global nickel demand today, meaning
investors buying into the sulphates story also take a hit when Jakarta
convulses the nickel pig iron trade.
MINING.COM’s inaugural index shows nickel setting a new monthly record at the end of last year, despite the sharp retreat in prices since September.
The increasing use of nickel rich cathodes also means its
contribution to the value mix has almost doubled in a year to more than
18%.
As nickel-rich chemistries increasingly dominate the EV market, the
average sales weighted value of nickel on a per vehicle basis is rising
sharply – to over $100 in December from $67 a year earlier or from less
than a quarter of the cost of the cathode’s cobalt to half that.
The combined value of lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel based on sales weighted average deployed per vehicle was under $600.
When prices were peaking in early 2018 those raw materials cost more
than $1,500 per vehicle. Not the battery, just the raw materials.
In the longer run, nickel for batteries could be as big a market as
for stainless steel, which would be equivalent to gold’s use in
electronics, becoming a $100 billion industry, from an afterthought
today.
Kalahari thirst
Adamas data shows that NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese) and NCA
(nickel-cobalt-aluminum) cathodes had a 94% market share in December,
based on total battery capacity deployed globally.
MINING.COM is not tracking manganese as EV dynamics have almost no bearing on its price.
High-purity manganese sulphate usually sells at a healthy premium,
but as a component of NCM batteries, no auto exec is losing sleep over
manganese costs or supply.
Likewise aluminum, despite significantly higher use in EVs.
That said, in an all-EV world battery-grade manganese demand could
make the Kalahari desert, home to the oldest population of humans on
earth and 70% of global reserves, a point of contention not unlike
cobalt and the Congo (minus the child labour and ongoing violent
conflict).
We lose money on every sale, but make it up on volume
Call them giga or mega, your average battery manufacturing plant is huge.
There are more than 100 megafactories in the pipeline around the world – 14 of them in Europe.
MINING.COM’s prediction is that 2019 wasn’t only the first annual fall in the index, but also the last
Last year battery power deployed rose 30% globally. In Europe, gigawatt hours hitting the road grew 89%.
To feed those factories to power those cars requires the extraction
of lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel to increase by magnitudes.
The MINING.COM EV Metals Index shows that the gap between future supply and future demand has become a chasm.
MINING.COM’s prediction is that 2019 wasn’t only the first annual fall in the index, but also the last.
Posted by AGORACOM
at 9:27 AM on Tuesday, February 25th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
TESLA REACHES $100 BILLION MARKET CAPITALIZATION WHILE MORGAN STANLEY PREDICTS $1200 LEVEL COMING SOON
Toronto, Ontario, Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lomiko Metals Inc. (“Lomikoâ€)
(TSX-V: LMR, OTC: LMRMF, FSE: DH8C) Lomiko Metals Inc. is pleased to
announce that the company will attend the Prospectors & Developers
Association Conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre March 1-4,
2020. Lomiko will be at booth #2547 in the Investors Exchange portion
of the Conference. Lomiko is focused on developing graphite materials
supply for the green economy.
Prospects for developing critical minerals mines in Quebec were
buoyed when Canada and the US announced January 9, 2020 they have
finalized the Canada-US Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals
Collaboration. The Plan is aimed to secure a North American supply
chain for the critical minerals needed for manufacturing
sectors, communication technology, aerospace and defense, and clean
technology.
Canada has significant resources of graphite, lithium, cobalt, aluminum, and rare-earths.
Media has also focused on Tesla in recent interviews with CEO A. Paul
Gill who has consistently spoken about the coming change in consumer
purchasing patterns. In the last decade, range anxiety and concerns
over infrastructure have limited the penetration of electric vehicles in
the North American market and this has cast doubt on the potential of
Tesla. However, it is clear that those fears have been alleviated and
with the onset of new electric vehicles from Ford, GM, BMW, Audi,
Volkswagen, and others.
“Tesla stock price closing in on $ 1000 per share and its valuation
has exceeded $ 100 billion. This is a major indicator that investors
think electric vehicles will become mainstream. Every day, I see at
least one or more. And every time I see one, I think about the battery
it holds which contains up to 70 kgs of graphite.â€, stated A. Paul Gill,
CEO of Lomiko Metals, “That’s why Lomiko looked for projects with good
infrastructure, high grades, and high carbon purity so we could make
strides toward participating in the supply chain of electric vehicles
with materials such as spherical graphite and graphite anodes.â€
Mr. Gill has been interviewed on the Los Angles TV Show Big Biz and
the Geekery Review in Salt Lake City, Utah focusing on Tesla, EV
Batteries and Natural Flake Graphite.
Posted by AGORACOM
at 12:29 PM on Friday, February 21st, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
Ivy Charging Network aims to create the “largest and most connected electric vehicle fast-charger network†in the province.
The company is expected to install 160 Level 3 fast-chargers at 73
locations across Ontario, each less than 100 kilometres apart from one
another on average, by the end of 2021.
Electric vehicle charging stations are coming to North Bay and
Temiskaming Shores as part of a new province-wide network being
developed by Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation (OPG).
Media releases from both Hydro One and OPG say they have launched a
new company, Ivy Charging Network, which aims to create the “largest and
most connected electric vehicle fast-charger network†in the province.
The company is expected to install 160 Level 3 fast-chargers at 73
locations across Ontario, each less than 100 kilometres apart from one
another on average, by the end of 2021.
Natural Resources Canada has provided an $8-million repayable
contribution, through its Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel
Infrastructure Deployment Initiative, to help build the network.
The Ivy Charging Network opened its first location in Huntsville in
September and an official public launch took place Friday at the 2020
Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto.
“We play a critical role in energizing life in communities across
Ontario. This fast-charger network will create a better and brighter
future through a greener transportation sector while meeting the
evolving energy needs of our customers and all Ontarians,†Hydro One
vice-president of customer service and Ivy Charging Network co-president
Imran Merali said.
“By entering this growing market in partnership with OPG, Hydro One
is expanding our product and service offering to deliver greater value
for our customers, employees, communities and shareholders.â€
Ivy Charging Network is a limited partnership owned equally by Hydro One and OPG.
The company has chosen Greenlots, a member of the Shell Group, as its service provider to operate and manage the network.
“Having delivered the world’s largest single climate change action to
date with the closure of our coal stations, OPG’s clean power serves as
a strong platform to electrify carbon-heavy sectors like
transportation,†fellow Ivy Charging Network co-president and OPG
vice-president of corporate business development and strategy Theresa
Dekker said.
“That’s why we’re so pleased to be partnering with Hydro One on an
initiative that will broaden the benefits of electrification and provide
a reliable, integrated network while ensuring no additional cost to
ratepayers.â€
Nipissing-Timiskaming Liberal MP Anthony Rota applauded the news on
Twitter, while Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Navdeep
Bains said the federal government is committed to supporting projects
that will bring the country closer to a “competitive, zero-emissions
transportation sector.â€
He added that the network will ensure “Canadian-made solutions are at
the forefront of solving the global climate change crisis, leaving our
children and grandchildren with a healthier planet and cleaner air to
breathe.â€
Posted by AGORACOM
at 5:20 PM on Wednesday, February 19th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
A. Paul Gill, CEO Lomiko Metals Inc. VP Business Development, appears on Michael Campbell’s MoneyTalks podcast, A financial show syndicated Canada-wide on the radio.
Posted by AGORACOM
at 3:26 PM on Friday, February 14th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
Tesla’s cost per kWh for battery packs was approaching $150/kWh last year while others were at a price of $200/kWh
It appears Tesla has an advantage over its rivals, such as GM and Porsche, when it comes to the new battery technology that it is developing. Tesla has long been a leader on EV batteries, for years seeming to have a significantly lower cost (cost per kWh of capacity) for batteries than others. A big part of that is because Tesla in-houses the work. It appears Tesla is making significant progress on this again with new developments.
The managing director of Cairn Energy Research Advisors, Sam Jaffe,
recently noted that Tesla’s cost per kWh for battery packs was
approaching $150/kWh last year while others were at a price of $200/kWh.
Jaffe also tells CNBC that “Tesla has really revolutionized
that part of the battery pack and made it much more sophisticated, and
it gives them a competitive advantage.†Indeed. We definitely have a lot
to look forward to on Tesla’s Battery Day.
Ten or so years ago, the idea of owning an EV seemed rather absurd.
EVs were known to be super expensive due to the battery costs, and since
they were new, everyday Americans weren’t willing to spend the money to
beta test them.
Fast forward ten years. Tesla has advanced the auto industry
tremendously with EVs, and a big part of that was through a core
component of EVs — the battery. By taking on the most challenging
problems and creating solutions for them, Tesla is doing what it does so
well — moving the world forward.
In 2019, Elon Musk spoke
of a “1 million-mile battery pack†and that it would be in production
“next year.†He’s also announced that Battery Day will be in April, and
has said that Tesla’s April company talk would be at the Gigafactory in
Buffalo, where Tesla makes Solarglass Roofs. Perhaps this is where
Battery Day will be held as well? There is much anticipation regarding
Tesla battery developments following relatively recent acquisitions and
promoted specs of coming models. What exactly is coming on the battery
front from Tesla?
Posted by AGORACOM
at 11:18 AM on Thursday, February 13th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
The partnership will allow researchers to field-test batteries in
Mercedes vehicles and could hasten development of solid-state li-ion
batteries that promise greater range and durability, the companies said
As well, solid-state batteries do not use the flammable liquid
electrolytes blamed in numerous difficult-to-extinguish fires in
electric vehicles around the globe.
Like other automakers, Mercedes is moving aggressively into
electrification, with a goal of introducing at least 10 EVs for 2022
under its EQ and Smart subbrands. It also plans more plug-in
gas-electric hybrids across its model lines.
As well, “our association will allow us to test new materials quickly
in field conditions, and so accelerate the development cycle and
respond to the concerns of automobile manufacturers.” Zaghib said in a
release.
Posted by AGORACOM
at 2:30 PM on Tuesday, February 11th, 2020
SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
has singled out accessibility of raw materials as a pressing issue,
warning that a prompt solution for the development of batteries is
needed to make electric mobility and sustainable transport possible.
The European Union needs to secure permanent access to raw materials
as soon as possible in order to develop a strong battery industry for
electric vehicles. The alarm was sounded at the debate held in Brussels
on 5th February 2020 by the Section for Transport, Energy,
Infrastructure and the Information Society (TEN).
Widespread e-mobility, with zero COâ‚‚ emissions, is the next key step
towards making sustainable transport and climate neutrality happen.
Nevertheless, only by having ongoing access to raw materials for
batteries will Europe be able to move away from fossil-based fuels and
embrace electrification.
Colin Lustenhouwer, rapporteur for last year’s EESC opinion on
batteries, pointed out that it was vital to raise awareness of the
urgent measures needed.
“We must take immediate action†said Mr Lustenhouwer. “The
accessibility of raw materials is an ongoing issue in an area where
Europe has few resources and would like to guarantee supply.
Electrification is the only solution for sustainable fuel and this
requires batteries.â€
Pierre Jean Coulon, president of the TEN section, added that for
Europe’s sustainable future, the whole battery lifespan needs to be
considered and that European countries need to equip themselves with the
resources needed. European businesses can only become a major player in
battery development and deployment in the global market by taking a
huge leap forward over the next few years.
Car batteries are a crucial issue for Europe’s future and should not
be taken for granted. They account for 40 percent of the cost of an
electric vehicle, but 96 percent of them are produced outside Europe.
The raw materials are not available in the EU to the extent needed and
have to be imported. Lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt mainly come
from South America and Asia. This means that if the EU does not act, it
will become increasingly dependent on third countries such as Brazil and
China.
Furthermore, the need to secure the supply of raw materials for
batteries is leading to international competition that may well affect
the geopolitical balance and cause political tensions in exporting
countries. The EU therefore needs to act swiftly to ensure that it has
access on the global market and so will not be vulnerable as a result of
the imminent race for raw materials.
The European strategy for batteries must be comprehensive and allow
for their entire lifecycle, from creation to deployment and recycling.
All actors have to be involved and pull together, in line with the
principles of the value-chain approach which factors in every stage.
The EESC flagged up the importance of material recycling in its 2019
opinion on batteries, where ‘urban mining’ was promoted as a possible
way to build new batteries by recovering elements from used products and
waste, such as discarded electric and electronic devices.
In the opinion, the Committee called for a strong European battery
industry and supported the Strategic Action Plan presented by the
European Commission, emphasising two priorities: on the one hand,
heavier investment was needed to achieve the necessary level of
technological expertise while on the other, solutions had to be found to
secure the supply of raw materials from third countries and EU sources.
Stressing that the EU needed to do more and adopt a structural
approach to batteries, the EESC was one of the first institutions to
bring together all the social partners to point out that batteries are
one of the main challenges for Europe’s green and prosperous future.
Lomiko Metals Outlines 2020 Project Plan for La Loutre Flake Graphite Property in Quebec
(Vancouver, British-Columbia and Montreal, Quebec) February 5, 2020 –
Lomiko Metals Inc. (TSX-V: LMR, OTC: LMRMF, FSE: DH8C) (Lomiko or the
“Companyâ€) is pleased to announce plans to move forward with assessment
and development of the La Loutre Property for 2020. The goals are as
follows:
1) Complete 100% Acquisition of the Property 2) Complete Metallurgy and Graphite Characterization 3) Complete a Technical Report in accordance with NI 43-101 Guidelines
A “technical report” means a report prepared and filed in accordance
with this Instrument and Form 43-101F1 Technical Report that includes,
in summary form, all material scientific and technical information in
respect of the subject property as of the effective date of the
technical report;
4) Complete Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) compliant with NI 43-101 Guidelines
PEA means a study, other than a pre-feasibility or feasibility study,
that includes an economic analysis of the potential viability of mineral
resources;
Further details regarding the plan will be released when consultants are assigned for each task.
Results from Drilling Program
Results from the 2019 program (see Table 1 below, and Figure 1) at the
Refractory Zone of the La Loutre graphite project (the “Projectâ€)
indicate considerable promise. A total of 21 holes were completed in
2019 on the Refractory Zone for a total of 2,985 metres. The Project is
owned by Lomiko (80%) and Quebec Precious Metals Corporation (20%).
The above-noted 2016 mineral resource does
not include the current results or the significant intercepts from the
Refractory Zone in 2016 which were as follows:
LL-16-01 – 7.74% Cg over 135.60 m including 16.81% Cg over 44.10 m LL-16-02 – 17.08% Cg over 22.30 m and 14.80% Cg over 15.10 m LL-16-03 – 14.56% Cg over 110.80 m
The next task is to complete a new resource estimate in compliance with NI 43-101 for the entire Project since the above-mentioned 2016 resource estimate including the 2016 and 2019 drilling at the Refractory Zone.