Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 4:04 PM on Monday, November 4th, 2019
Investment Highlights
Kenbridge property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14 million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper
17.5 (21.8 fully diluted) percent equity stake in Eloro Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property
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
FULL DISCLOSURE: Tartisan Nickel Corp. is an advertising client of AGORA Internet Relations Corp.
Tags: CSE, nickel, nickel demand, stocks, tsx, tsx-v Posted in All Recent Posts, Tartisan Nickel | Comments Off on CLIENT FEATURE: Tartisan Nickel $TN.ca Kenbridge Property Hosts M&I Resource of 7.14 Million Tonnes of 0.62% Nickel + 0.33% Copper $ROX.ca $FF.ca $EDG.ca $AGL.ca $ANZ.ca
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 2:45 PM on Monday, November 4th, 2019
SPONSOR:ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE)
Led by legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a
Canadian-based venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed
small-cap companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More
than just lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest
small-cap exits. Click Here For More Information.
I’ve been an entrepreneur in this wild cryptocurrency industry for
over 5 years. My focus has been on leading a team of core developers to
build an open decentralized protocol that solves real problems for real
users. I’m not alone in this endeavour. There are at least a few dozen
of my peers leading projects with broadly similar goals.
To the outside world, we’re all crypto geeks building alternatives to
Bitcoin. That said, there are nuances in the designs and goals of
various projects that form the basis of some early investments theses
that leading funds have adopted to guide their selection criteria when
looking at digital assets.
Without getting into all the specifics, for the purposes of this
article, I want to focus only on the specific digital asset classes that
are native to their own networks or blockchains, rather than tokens
built into “dApps†or other similar models.
The reason this is important is because there are an increasing
number of funds, both institutional and not, that are looking at digital
assets as the next asset class to include in their diversified
portfolios that include everything from public equities, to real estate,
to gold, to bonds and other instruments. Who knows, maybe the next time
you check your pension, your favourite digital asset could be in it.
As such, it’s helpful to have a standard way to think about
the differences and similarities among digital assets, such that they
can be categorized for investment decisions.
To the outside looking in, this industry can be extremely opaque to
understand and evaluate. How value will be created, on what time horizon
and how does one form opinions on the quality of the project they’re
looking at. While there is infinite nuance between projects, protocols,
dApps, etc., most digital assets fall within common buckets, that have
formed the informal standard crypto theses. This mental model is helpful
for any observer, technologist or fund that has been researching or
thinking about allocating capital or time into this industry. It also
might help us understand new opportunities for value that fall outside
of these established categories (more on this later).
In speaking to a prominent investor in the cryptocurrency industry recently, he summarized this very simply:
“I understand and believe in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Everything else is just playing copy-cat and trying to play the same game.â€
In a broad sense, this is generally how the industry has evolved.
Bitcoin became dominant, and then many built alternatives (“altâ€-coins)
broadly solving for a similar goal, and then Ethereum introduced a new
type of protocol that was quickly followed by its own inspired
alternatives – something that Chris Burniske of Placeholder Ventures
refers to as “Ethereum Killersâ€.
The funds investing in this industry have had to build their theses
around this reality. As such, you’ll often find funds with a deep
conviction for Bitcoin and Ethereum, and then, to a lesser extent, a
series of “hedges†into alternatives that could grow in relevance and in
some cases potentially overtake the projects that first inspired them.
Many of these alternatives have taken different technical approaches,
but in general seek to solve the same problem and target the same
‘blockchain-converted’ developer or investor audience.
These investment themes behind Bitcoin and Ethereum are similar in
that they are both digital assets, but they’re different in the problems
they seek to solve.
Bitcoin established a category of digital assets that Multicoin Capital likes to refer to as “Global, State-free Moneyâ€.
This theme focuses on a growing need for a global form of money that is
independent of institutional trust and provides a digital alternative
to gold. The need for such an asset is to address the >500m people in
the world who live in countries with greater than 10% inflation, and to
provide a place for people to store their wealth that is safe from
seizure and “portable†across geographic boundaries.
Although it’s unclear how to measure the size of that addressable
market, the thesis implies a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity in this
category.
Ethereum, on the other hand, professed to be building a “world
computer†or in other contexts, the basis for a “decentralized
internetâ€. This category of digital assets known as “decentralized
internet†projects is what primarily caused the run up of the ICO
markets in 2017-2018. Believers in this thesis argue that the causes of
many of the inequities online today stem from the overly “centralizedâ€
nature of the internet’s infrastructure, such that incentives lead
towards monopolization of online services – think Facebook and Google.
As such, there is a massive interest in owning a piece of the “fuelâ€
that will power the renewed internet infrastructure of the future.
On top of this thesis are companies building utopia as they see it.
These ideas range from a system of finance that is open and alternative
to banking, a system of identity independent of governments, to other
lofty and worthy ideas that would find their homes in the “decentralized
internet†category.
Within these two broad categories, there are nuances and further
sub-categories, but at the highest level, this is a helpful frame to
better understand where a particular project fits, and what alternatives
it should be compared against. This framing should also help to better
understand why Bitcoin and Ethereum are fundamentally not competing
technologies, but why EOS, Tron, and Cardano have yet to prove why
they’re contenders to supplant Ethereum, their category king. As with
categories in other online industries, we’ll likely see a market where
75% of the value is dominated by the category leader, and the rest
spread among its competitors.
With 25-30+ launched or soon-to-be live networks looking to compete
in Ethereum’s category, its quickly become saturated. At the current
state of adoption in our industry, we’re nearing an oversupply of novel
technical solutions and a real need for actual usage. Networks have
collapsed into mirror-like narratives (build a dApp here!), use cases
(build DeFi here!), and are all seemingly speaking to the same audience.
So when looking at how this market might evolve, the real
breakthroughs will likely lie with projects that have a disproportionate
chance of dominating these two categories or projects that define a
brand new category with massive market potential. More on this next
week.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 12:37 PM on Monday, November 4th, 2019
SPONSOR: Betteru Education Corp.
aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The
Company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job
industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing
an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.
BTRU: TSX-V
EdTech startups can address shortage of machine learning experts in India
Edtech startup: Enhanced outreach of technology is resulting in industries and end users taking a leap of faith into the world of new concepts.
Machine learning (ML) is one such domain that has around 10x jobs at present as compared to the situation, five years ago.
EdTech startup: Enhanced
outreach of technology is resulting in industries and end users taking a
leap of faith into the world of new concepts. Several industries have
polished their approach in designing an outcome for the new generation
to mould something new and relevant, according to the trends of the
future. Machine learning (ML) is one such domain that has around 10x jobs at present as compared to the situation, five years ago.
This situation has shaped up due to various contributing factors
including huge popularity of machine learning. Fortune 500 companies are
integrating machine learning and artificial intelligence into their
processes and Indian firms are following suit. Machine learning is
responsible for shaping the business landscape. Business analytics and
intelligence teams are able to analyse terabytes of data in seconds
using different methods like recognition, diagnosis, regression,
prediction and many more.
Machine learning focuses on the development of algorithms which helps
those machines teach themselves grow, develop and respond to new data.
The reason machine learning has become hugely popular is because it has
helped all the companies (from various industrial sectors) get exact and
real time insights and mitigate the strategy level risks, if any.
While on the one hand, we are amazed by these developments; there is a
concern on the other hand too. Yes, machine learning is the most
in-demand skill right now but is our talent pool really equipped with
the required skills. The answer is “Noâ€. Demand for machine learning
experts will continue to increase in the coming years and will probably
outpace the current supply of talent pool in the next three-four years.
According to the LinkedIn economic graph, the jobs in ML have been a
turning point in the technological trends as compared to the other
umbrella domains. The number of jobs which were five years ago is now
9.8 times, thus, helping to provide an asset to the industry.
Educational institutions have always provided the industry with the
required set of skills but with an increased demand in such a short
time, they have been unable to come up with a solution on such a short
notice. In order to cater to the current industry trends, EdTech startups have come with excellent “Industry-Vetted Course Curriculumâ€.
EdTech startups create a perfect amalgamation
EdTech startups don’t focus on just teaching theoretical concepts but
rather provide an online learning which is no less than the offline
classroom approach. There are online videos which can be accessed
anytime and from anywhere. Since the videos are self-paced, it is made
sure that they cater to the speed of every individual.
EdTech startups create a perfect amalgamation by getting industrial
experts on board and creating a course curriculum as per the exact needs
of the ML industry. In order to make sure that the student doesn’t
deviate and follows the curriculum, virtual / physical assistance is
provided which analyse the performance of each and every student on a
daily basis and customised approach is recommended.
They are deploying algorithms to bring a personalised touch for every
student, thus ensuring a better application-based learning. We have
experienced and welcomed this new way of mobile teaching which takes
care of every individual student’s needs, comforts and results at the
same time.
EdTech companies have come up with the content which not only
satisfies the need of the industry but can also be imparted to anyone in
due amount of time; thus, fulfilling the requirement of the ML domain.
Several factors which have enabled these startups develop skilled ML
experts are: self-paced learning; industry-vetted content; regular
industrial interaction through bootcamps and webinars; individual
learning and development system; real-time actionable insights; and
industrial projects which can be deployed in companies.
Machine learning is one of the most promising technologies of the
last decade and it is the perfect time to realise we have a companion
since “Machines also Learnâ€.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 4:00 PM on Thursday, October 31st, 2019
SPONSOR: NORTHBUD (NBUD:CSE)
Sustainable low cost, high quality cannabinoid production and
procurement focusing on both bio-pharmaceutical development and
Cannabinoid Infused Products. Learn More.
NBUD: CSE —————————–
Edible CBD Products Offer Consumers a New Health Trend
North American consumer spending on cannabis-infused foods and drinks reached USD 1.5 Billion in 2018, according to data compiled by Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics,
By 2022, the two firms suggest that edible sales are on track to reach USD 4.1 Billion
NEW YORK, Oct. 31, 2019 – Consumer trends constantly require industries to adapt in order to thrive among the competition. Specifically, the food and beverage industry is one of the fastest evolving markets because of constant changes in consumer demands. Nowadays, the increasing demand for healthier and more organic options is prompting manufacturers to produce alternatives to sugar-packed drinks and fatty snacks. Instead, consumers are looking for products that are processed with healthier sustainable ingredients, proteins, vitamins, and antioxidants. Notably, many consumers have turned to the beverage industry for functional drinks such as kombucha. A functional drink is a type of beverage that typically conveys a health benefit such as being packed with performance-enhancing agents like nootropics and amino acids. Consequently, the growing demand in the functional beverage market sparked interest within the CBD market. CBD is a derivative of the hemp plant, which falls under the cannabis family.
Typically, cannabis is associated with its marijuana component, which
causes psychoactive effects because of its heavy THC concentrate.
However, hemp does not cause psychoactive effects because the main
compound is CBD. THC and CBD are widely different in their biological
makeup, but because they derive from the cannabis plant, regulators
deemed both compounds to be unsafe for consumers. However, extensive
research has uncovered that CBD provides therapeutic and health
benefits, which then led to the rapid emergence of CBD-based products.
As such, North American consumer spending on cannabis-infused foods and
drinks reached USD 1.5 Billion in 2018, according to data
compiled by Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics, By 2022, the two
firms suggest that edible sales are on track to reach USD 4.1 Billion.
Typically, most people consume CBD to simply relax. However, clinical
trials have proven that CBD can also provide medical benefits.
Specifically, patients suffering from chronic ailments such as severe
pain, cancer, arthritis, and epilepsy can consume CBD drinks to subdue
the symptoms. And while CBD is quickly permeating throughout global
regions, the North American market is the primary driver because of
legality stance. Canada moved to legalize cannabis entirely
back in late 2018, which prompted a spur of recreational demand. On the
other hand, the U.S. passed the Farm Bill in 2018, which legalized
hemp-derived CBD products. Shortly after, stores across the nation began
to commercialize CBD goods.
Now, consumers can easily purchase products such as tinctures,
topicals, oils, and edibles at their local convenience stores or online
e-commerce platforms. However, the CBD beverage market is one of the
most popular segments because consumers can easily purchase a CBD-based
tincture and add droplets of CBD into their beverage. Generally, CBD can
be found within beverages such as soda, juice, coffee, wine, water, and
even alcohol. However, consumers can also add CBD-based powders into
their beverages and some producers have even mentioned that powders are
much better in terms of solubility. Overall, the cannabis-infused
beverage industry is quickly gaining traction, however, some beverage
producers are still evaluating the industry.
Nonetheless, a handful of corporations such as the alcohol industry,
have already dove into the marketplace and are already marking their
presence. “Everyone in the industry recognizes that CBD-infused
beverages are going to be one of the largest category opportunities in
all of CBD,” said Ben Witte, the Founder and Chief
Executive Officer of Recess, a company producing CBD-infused sparkling
water. “As a result of that, a lot of the suppliers in the supply chain
have innovated to create a format that is soluble in beverages.”
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 12:07 PM on Thursday, October 31st, 2019
Company has notified BWA Group plc (London, England) (NEX:BWAP) of its intention to convert GBP300,000 ($511,000) of Convertible Loan notes “CLN” into 60,000,000 ordinary shares in BWA Group plc.
Shares will be admitted to trading on the NEX Exchange Growth Market in London, effective November 6, 2019
Montreal – October 31, 2019 –St-Georges Eco-Mining Corp. (CSE:SX) (OTC:SXOOF) (FSE: 85G1) is pleased to inform its shareholders that the Company has notified BWA Group plc (London, England) (NEX:BWAP) of its intention to convert GBP300,000 ($511,000) of Convertible Loan notes “CLN” into 60,000,000 ordinary shares in BWA Group plc.
The Company has been notified by
BWA Group plc that the shares will be admitted to trading on the NEX
Exchange Growth Market in London, effective November 6, 2019. Following
the allotment of these ordinary shares, St-Georges will hold 60,000,000
ordinary shares of BWA Group plc, representing 23.75% of this
corporation’s enlarged issued share capital.
The Company received GBP2,451,409
($4,183,000) of convertible loan notes on September 30, 2019 in relation
to sale of its subsidiary Kings of the North to BWA Group plc. After
the conversion, St-Georges has GBP2,151,409 worth of loan notes
outstanding at an approximate value of $3,671,427.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“Mark Billings”
MARK BILLINGS
Chairman
About St-Georges
St-Georges is developing new
technologies to solve some of the most common environmental problems in
the mining industry. The Company controls directly or indirectly,
through rights of first refusal, all of the active mineral tenures in
Iceland. It also explores for nickel on the Julie Nickel Project &
for industrial minerals on Quebec’s North Shore and for lithium and rare
metals in Northern Quebec and in the Abitibi region. Headquartered in
Montreal, St-Georges’ stock is listed on the CSE under the symbol SX, on
the US OTC under the Symbol SXOOF and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
under the symbol 85G1.
The
Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this
release.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:24 AM on Thursday, October 31st, 2019
SPONSOR:ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE)
Led by legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a
Canadian-based venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed
small-cap companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More
than just lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest
small-cap exits. Click Here For More Information.
IDK: CSE
Bitcoin And Crypto Is Heading For An Epic Social Media Showdown
While the social media monetary situation is not this clear cut, both
Dorsey and Zuckerberg have emerged as champions of two similar but
opposing ideas; the internet needs its own currency, one sees it as
centralised, through Facebook, the other sees it as decentralised,
through bitcoin.
“I believe that this is something that needs to get built,”
Zuckerberg told U.S. senators last week, defending Facebook’s
involvement in the controversial libra project and arguing libra could
bring financial maturity to millions, if not billions, of people around
the world.
Zuckerberg also warned the U.S. could fall behind other countries if
lawmakers moved to block the development of libra and similar digital
money projects.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:08 AM on Thursday, October 31st, 2019
Announced its collaboration with Professor Lionel ROUÉ of the Institut National de Recherche Scientifique (INRS)
Aimed at evaluating the electrochemical performances of different materials produced by the HPQ PUREVAP™Quartz Reduction Reactor for Li-ion batteries
MONTREAL, Oct. 31, 2019 — HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. – TSX-V: HPQ; OTCPink: URAGF; FWB: UGE (“HPQ†or “the Companyâ€) is pleased to announce its collaboration with Professor Lionel ROUÉ of the Institut National de Recherche Scientifique (INRS) within the scope of projects aimed at evaluating the electrochemical performances of different materials produced by the HPQ PUREVAP™Quartz Reduction Reactor (“QRR”) for Li-ion batteries.
Professor Lionel ROUÉ of the INRS-EMT has developed a scientific
program focused on the study of new electrode materials for various
applications of industrial interest (batteries, aluminium production,
etc.). In recent years, a significant part of its research activities
has been devoted to the study of Si anodes for Li-ion batteries and the
development of in-situ characterization methods applied to batteries.
He is the author of more than 150 publications, including twenty
articles and 2 patents on Si-based anodes for Li-ion batteries. He was
awarded the Energia Prize by the Quebec Association for the Mastery of
Energy for his work in this field.
EVALUATING WORLDWIDE BATTERY MARKET POTENTIAL OF MATERIALS PRODUCED BY PUREVAP™
The first goal of the association is determining the commercial potential of materials produced by the PUREVAPTM
QRR as anode material for the Li-ion battery market and ascertaining
whether their usage within Li-ion batteries could lead to a significant
increase in their energy density, which is crucial for some
applications, especially electric vehicles.
In the second phase, the electrochemical performance of PUREVAPTM silicon based porous silicon wafers made using Apollon Solar’s patented process will be tested.
“Silicon’s potential to meet energy storage demand is generating massive investments. Collaborating
with a world-class university center, HPQ will be able to validate the
potential of silicon materials produced from the PUREVAP™QRR as high-capacity anode materials for Li-ion batteries†said Bernard Tourillon, President & CEO of HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. Mr. Tourillon added: “HPQ, working with PyroGenesis, Apollon and the INRS Energy Materials Telecommunications (EMT) Research Centre, fully intends to use its Gen3 PUREVAP™ QRR to produce and market Silicon materials for batteriesâ€.
GLOBAL ENERGY STORAGE MARKET READY TO EXPLODE
A recent report
projects that energy storage deployments are estimated to grow 1,300%
from a 12 Gigawatt-hour market in 2018 to a 158 Gigawatt-hour market in
2024. An estimated US$71 billion in investments will be made into
storage systems where batteries will make up the lion’s share of capital
deployment. Research suggests
that replacing graphite materials with Silicon anodes in Li-Ion
Batteries promises an almost tenfold (10x) increase in the specific
capacity of the anode, inducing a 20-40% gain in the energy density of
Li-ion batteries.
About Silicon
Silicon (Si) is one of today’s strategic materials needed to fulfil
the renewable energy revolution presently under way. Silicon does not
exist in its pure state; it must be extracted from quartz, one of the
most abundant minerals of the earth’s crust and other expensive raw
materials in a carbothermic process.
About HPQ Silicon
HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. is a TSX-V listed company developing, in
collaboration with industry leader PyroGenesis (TSX-V: PYR) the
innovative PUREVAPTM “Quartz Reduction Reactors†(QRR), a truly
2.0 Carbothermic process (patent pending), which will permit the
transformation and purification of quartz (SiO2) into Metallurgical
Grade Silicon (Mg-Si) at prices that will propagate its significant
renewable energy potential.
HPQ is also working with industry leader Apollon Solar to develop: Porous silicon wafers manufacturing using PUREVAP™
Silicon (PVAP Si) that can be used as anode for all-solid-state and
Li-ion batteries; and a metallurgical pathway of producing Solar Grade
Silicon Metal (SoG Si) that will take full advantage of the PUREVAPTM QRR
one-step production of high purity silicon (Si) and significantly
reduce the Capex and Opex associated with the transformation of quartz
(SiO2) into SoG-Si.
HPQ focus is becoming the lowest cost producer of Silicon (Si), High
Purity Silicon (Si), Porous Silicon Wafers and Solar Grade Silicon Metal
(SoG-Si). The pilot plant equipment that will validate the commercial
potential of the process is on schedule to start in 2019.
This News Release is available on the company’s CEO Verified Discussion Forum, a moderated social media platform that enables civilized discussion and Q&A between Management and Shareholders.
Disclaimers:
The Corporation’s interest in developing the PUREVAP™ QRR and any
projected capital or operating cost savings associated with its
development should not be construed as being related to the establishing
the economic viability or technical feasibility of the Company’s
Roncevaux Quartz Project, Matapedia Area, in the Gaspe Region, Province
of Quebec.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements,
including, without limitation, statements containing the words “may”,
“plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”,
“expect”, “in the process” and other similar expressions which
constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of
applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the
Company’s current expectation and assumptions and are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited
to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the
market, our strategy to develop new products and enhance the
capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research
and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new
product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory
approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the
Company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks
and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the
Company’s on-going filings with the security’s regulatory authorities,
which filings can be found at www.sedar.com. Actual results, events, and
performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company
undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
For further information contact Bernard J. Tourillon, Chairman, President and CEO Tel (514) 907-1011 Patrick Levasseur, Vice-President and COO Tel: (514) 262-9239 http://www.hpqsilicon.com Email: [email protected]
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 11:03 AM on Wednesday, October 30th, 2019
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
TN: CSE —————————-
A nickel for your thoughts – The price of nickel has run up to a five-year high of late
The price of nickel has run up to a five-year high of late, defying softness in the rest of the base metal complex.
The reasons are both simple and complicated. The price of nickel
doubled in two years, from US$4 per lb. in August 2017 to US$8 per lb. a
few weeks ago. The reasons:
· Robust demand. Nickel is primarily used to make stainless steel. And despite slowing growth, stainless steel demand keeps marching up.
In the first half of 2019, for instance, Chinese stainless steel
production was up 8.5% yearover-year. (As the chart suggests, forecasts
predict softening of demand in the current quarter.)
· China makes most of the world’s stainless steel. And China gets the
nickel for that steel from its own mines as well as mines in Indonesia
and the Philippines, many of which produce a lowgrade, high-impurity ore
called nickel pig iron (NPI). NPI production has
ballooned over the last decade, enough that as of 2020 the world will
get more of its nickel from NPI than from conventional nickel ores.
However, this reliance on NPI brings with it a few problems.
· Indonesia will implement a ban on nickel ore exports at the start of 2020.
This has been in the works for some time but until a few months ago the
ban was not scheduled to take effect until 2022. Indonesia produces
roughly ~12% of global supply, so this ban is significant. The idea is
to push the development of domestic smelters, which would keep more of
the resource upside in country versus exporting raw ore. This is in the
works – the country already has 11 nickel smelters and 25 more are
planned or under construction – so Indonesian nickel supplies should
slide in the near term but recover within about three years. However,
the smelters in China that relied on Indonesia’s nickel pig iron (NPI)
ore will have to find feed elsewhere; the main candidate is the
Philippines, where ore is generally lower grade. The only other option
is to upgrade to processing Class I ores. Either move would increase
costs overall, which supports a higher nickel price.
· Batteries. Eighty percent of the world’s nickel
goes into stainless steel, so steel certainly drives the market. But
many of the batteries that power laptops, electric vehicles, phones, and
even power grids require nickel. This has transformed nickel from a one
trick pony to a two trick market – and if electric cars take off then
nickel’s battery market will take off right alongside. Right now
batteries consume 5% of global nickel but demand is rising rapidly and
is expected to reach 8% by 2020. Vice President of market analysis and
economics for BHP, Dr Huw McKay, says he sees a future where batteries
and stainless steel become “equally important†nickel consumers. Global
nickel demand currently sits around 2 million tonnes per annum; it is
expected to grow to 6 million tonnes per annum by 2035 with batteries
accounting for almost half of demand growth.
· In addition, batteries cannot use nickel from NPI, as impurities are too high, so the battery factor has divided the nickel market into two parts
– high purity Class I nickel and lower purity Class II. All of this has
two important effects: it is bringing energy metal investors into the
nickel space and it is underlining that NPI, which has been the dominant
source of nickel growth for the last 10-plus years, will not solve the
nickel supply gap going forward.
· To address that second point and boost production of Class I
nickel, China is developing several mines tapping into nickel laterite
deposits. Nickel laterite is easy to mine but very difficult to process,
requiring high pressure acid leaching (HPAL). Most analysts are
highly skeptical that China’s planned HPAL facilities will come online
anywhere near their projected timelines or budgets, as these facilities are notoriously difficult and expensive.
· Because NPI has ballooned so in the last decade, explorers and developers have not looked for conventional nickel deposits. There
is a true lack of development-stage nickel projects with conventional
sulphide deposits that could be built to fill supply gaps.
· Current mine-specific supply issues. The biggest
producer of NPI in the Philippines just ran out of ore. The Ramu project
in Papua New Guinea is temporarily suspended, which removes 35,000
tonnes of annual nickel supply.
· Stockpiles are falling – and fast. Nickel stockpiles have been declining for five years.
This is what happens when a market is persistently undersupplied. But
as you can see, the decline accelerated in the last two years…and
stockpiles dropped off a cliff a few weeks ago.
The cliff is likely the result of panic buying and/or stockpiling ahead of the Indonesian ban.
I told you it was complicated!
Complicated is normal for nickel, which has a long track record of
extreme price moves. In 2008 a supply shortage drove the price as high
as US$22 per lb. before steel mills found substitutes, 7 including
manganese, and within 18 months the price was back at US$4.50 per lb.
(The Great Financial Crisis likely exacerbated the price decline.)
The Bear Case
The key question on this side is: to what extent is speculation driving nickel?
If speculators are pushing the price up, entering the space now is
risky because (1) speculative tides turn fast and (2) that turn would
likely transpire in the next 6 to 9 months. Indonesia’s ban comes into
effect in January 1 so over the next six months the impacts start to
play out.
It’s clear that stockpile drawdowns are at least in part because
smelters and speculators have been stockpiling metal privately. That
metal will be used or sold to ease any nickel price jumps.
If increased physical metal availability coincides with the absence of speculative upside pressure…nickel could turn down fast.
On top of all that, there are reasons to believe (1) stainless steel
demand will weaken to end this year, (2) EV demand is taking longer to
ramp than expected, (3) scrap usage is increasing, and (4) rising
backwardation alongside falling physical premiums is a sign that actual
demand is lower than perceived.
The fourth point above needs some explaining. In a tight market,
limited stockpiles lead to backwardation – people paying more for metal
today than in the future. Backwardation should only happen when the
current physical market is very tight. If that’s the case, there should
also be high physical premiums, which are extra amounts paid for actual
metal now (rather than paper metal).
What weird about nickel is that premiums are down sharply, from $200
per tonne a few months ago to negative $50 per tonne today. It’s the
first-time premiums have ever gone negative in China and something that
is very rare across the metals complex. European nickel briquette
premiums are also down 80% in recent months.
The dark blue line below shows physical premiums. The light blue line
shows the difference between current and three-month nickel prices; a
positive Cash-3M is backwardation.
<
This suggests:
· The physical market is not that tight
· Speculation in the paper market is driving the price
· Speculation is not simply investors; nickel users and producers are
also playing games (stockpiling) to boost the price. When they stop,
the price will lose ground rapidly.
The Bottom Line
Nickel may or may not continue its bull run from here. The fact the
physical premiums are so low when prices have gained so much and the
paper market is in backwardation is definitely concerning, enough that I
am not ready to enter the space right now. The fact that nickel spot
price recently stepped back almost 10% reinforces my outlook.
However, in the medium and long term this is a market that has good
opportunity. Stainless steel demand growth is reliable. The battery
space will need more and more Class I nickel with each year. The
pipeline of new projects is very limited, especially if you (like me)
see China struggling with its nickel laterite output mines and HPAL
facilities.
I might be wrong and my hesitation on entering now may mean missing
out on near term upside, but such decisions are common in this sector!
Tags: CSE, nickel, nickel demand, stocks, tsx, tsx-v Posted in Tartisan Nickel | Comments Off on Tartisan #Nickel $TN.ca – A nickel for your thoughts – The price of nickel has run up to a five-year high of late $ROX.ca $FF.ca $EDG.ca $AGL.ca $ANZ.ca
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:29 AM on Wednesday, October 30th, 2019
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Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, October 30th, 2019
A drill permit has been issued by the Manitoba government for a drill program on the company’s Lithium Two Project.
NAM has 100% ownership of eight pegmatite hosted Lithium and Rare Element Projects in the Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field, located in southeast (SE) Manitoba.
Exploration in SE Manitoba is focused on Lithium-bearing pegmatites.
Archaeological Assessment in progress on Lithium One as part of the drill permit process.
The eight projects are strategically situated within the Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field, which hosts the world-class Tanco Pegmatite that has been mined for Tantalum, Cesium and Spodumene (one of the primary Lithium minerals) in varying capacities, since 1969.
NAM management is finalizing a plan for a 1,500-metre drill program on Lithium Two.
October 30th, 2019 – Rockport, Canada – New Age Metals Inc. (NAM) (TSX.V: NAM; OTCQB: NMTLF; FSE: P7J) New Age Metals is pleased to announce that a drill permit has been issued to the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Lithium Canada Development by the Manitoba government for the company’s Lithium Two Project located in the Cat Lake area of southeast (SE) Manitoba.
The Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field
The
Winnipeg River-Cat Lake Pegmatite Field in SE Manitoba is host to
numerous pegmatite deposits and contains the world-class Tanco
Pegmatite. The Tanco pegmatite has been mined since 1969 in
varying capacities for spodumene (Li rich mineral), Tantalum and Cesium.
The pegmatite field contains at least 10 pegmatite groups and hosts
hundreds of pegmatite bodies. Many of the pegmatites are lithium
bearing.
The Tanco Mine, which was owned by the
Cabot Corporation, was recently sold to Sinomine Rare Metals Resources
Co. Ltd. (Sinomine) at a purchase price of $130 million ($US). Sinomine
is a joint stock public company based in China, principally engaged in
the provision of geological exploration, mining investment and base
metal chemical manufacturing. This transaction certainly adds new
interest in the region as to the potential of the pegmatite field and
lithium and/or rare element potential in the area. This sale should
advance the Lithium production potential of the area as Lithium Ore feed
may be required in the event that Sinomine commences lithium
production.
Lithium Two Project
The Lithium Two Project is located
approximately 20 kilometres north of the Tanco Mine and is an active
area for Lithium exploration. Several companies are active in the
immediate region, exploring for Lithium.
Surface exploration was carried out on the Lithium Two Project during the summer of 2018 (see News Release October 30th, 2018).
The exploration work was designed to examine the known surface
pegmatites to aid in the determination of drill targets. The field
program also focussed on more detailed structural geological mapping and
mapping of the westward extent of the Eagle Pegmatite. The Lithium Two
Project has several historically known Spodumene bearing pegmatites (see
Figure 2).
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 1: Manitoba Lithium and Rare Element Projects 2019
The Eagle Pegmatite was drilled in 1947
with a historic (non 43-101 compliant) tonnage estimate of 544,460
tonnes with a grade of 1.4% Li2O to the 61-metre level. These historical
estimates do not use categories that conform to current CIM Definition
Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves as outlined in
National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects
(“NI 43-101”) and have not been redefined to conform to current CIM
Definition Standards. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to
classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources and the
Company is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral
resources. Investors are cautioned that the historical estimates do not
mean or imply that economic deposits exist on the properties. The
Company has not undertaken any independent investigation of the
historical estimates or other information contained in this press
release nor has it independently analyzed the results of the previous
exploration work in order to verify the accuracy of the information. The
Company believes that these historical estimates and other information
contained in this news release are relevant to continuing exploration on
the properties as it identifies significant mineralization that will be
the target of future exploration and development.
The Eagle Pegmatite was historically reported to remain open to depth.
The FD5 Pegmatite, located east of the Eagle Pegmatite has never been
drilled. Historic assessment reports revealed a Spodumene bearing
pegmatite drilled in the late 1940’s, located approximately 500 metres
southeast of the Eagle Pegmatite but is not exposed on surface. No
assays were provided in the report at the time. This pegmatite, as well as the Eagle and FD5, will be tested during an upcoming recommended drill program.
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 2: 2018 Lithium Assays at the Lithium Two Project, SE Manitoba
The Eagle Pegmatite has been mapped on surface for over 850 metres and has surface assays of 0.1 to 3.8% Li2O.
The FD5 pegmatite had surface assays from 0.1 to 3.3% Li2O. In
geological terms, the pegmatites encountered on the Lithium Two Project
are LCT Type (Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum) Pegmatites and are in the
Albite-Spodumene Subgroup. Spodumene is expressed in the pegmatites as
small green blades up to 3 centimetres in length. The Eagle Pegmatite is
a west-northwest to west-striking, vertically dipping, lenticular
pegmatite dyke intruded into mafic volcanics. The widths of the
pegmatite have been measured to be between 2 to 10 metres. The Eagle
Pegmatite system appears to be a swarm of closely spaced pegmatite
bodies.
Phase 1 Drill Program Planning in Progress
A drill program of 1,500 metres is planned
to test three spodumene bearing pegmatite targets. A drill permit has
recently been issued by the Manitoba government.
Lithium One Drill Program
Recently,
NAM engaged White Spruce Archaeology as part of its Exploration
Agreement with the Sagkeeng First Nation to conduct an archaeological
assessment on the proposed drill sites for Lithium One as part of the
drill permitting process. The assessment was completed in October
and the report is pending. A 1,500 metre drill program is planned to
test targets on the Silverleaf pegmatite ( News Release Sept 27, 1018) situated in the Lithium One project area.
NAM/AAZ Property Option Update
JV partner Azincourt Energy (AAZ) and NAM
are in discussions regarding AAZ’s compliance for its contractual
obligations as part of the option agreement with NAM. NAM and AAZ are in
continuing talks regarding a revision to the existing option agreement
or termination.
OPT-IN LIST
If you have not done so already, we encourage you to sign up on our website (www.newagemetals.com) to receive our updated news.
ABOUT NAM’S PGM DIVISION
NAM’s flagship project is its 100% owned River Valley PGM Project (NAM Website – River Valley Project)
in the Sudbury Mining District of Northern Ontario (100 km east of
Sudbury, Ontario). Recently the company announced the results of the
first PEA (see News Release – June 27th, 2019)
completed on the River Valley Project. The PEA has been developed by
various independent consultants – P&E Mining Consultants Inc.
(P&E) was responsible for the open pit mining, surface
infrastructure, tailings facility, and project economics; DRA Americas
Inc. (“DRA”) was responsible for all metallurgical test work and
processing aspects of the Project; and WSP Canada Inc. (“WSP”) was
responsible for the Mineral Resource Estimate. The
PEA is a preliminary report but it has demonstrated that there are
positive economics for a large-scale mining open pit operation, with 14
years of Palladium and Platinum production.
The
Genesis project is a PGM-Cu-Ni property located in the northeastern
Chugach Mountains, 75 paved road miles north of the all-season port city
of Valdez, Alaska. The project is within 3 km of the all-season
paved Richardson Highway and a high capacity electric power line. The
project is covered by 4,144 hectares of State of Alaska mining claims
owned 100% by New Age Metals. Past exploration has revealed the presence
of chromite-associated platinum and palladium mineralization and
stratabound Ni-Cu-PGM mineralization within magmatic layers of the
Tonsina Ultramafic Complex. Pyrrhotite, pentlandite, and chalcopyrite
occur in disseminations and net textured segregations associated with
platinum and palladium sulfides. There has been limited exploration over
the Genesis project and there has been no past exploration drilling on
the project. NAM management is actively seeking an option/joint-venture partner for this road accessible PGM and Multiple Element Project.
QUALIFIED PERSON
The contents contained herein that
relate to exploration results or geological aspects is based on
information compiled, reviewed or prepared by Carey Galeschuk, P. Geo., a
consulting geoscientist for New Age Metals. Mr. Galeschuk is the
Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has
reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
“Harry Barr”
Harry G. Barr
Chairman and CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies
of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward
Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements
that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ
materially from actual future events or results and are based on current
expectations or beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical
fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition,
forward-looking statements include statements in which the Company uses
words such as “continue”, “efforts”, “expect”, “believe”, “anticipate”,
“confident”, “intend”, “strategy”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”,
“project”, “goal”, “target”, “prospects”, “optimistic” or similar
expressions. These statements by their nature involve risks and
uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a
variety of important factors, including, among others, the Company’s
ability and continuation of efforts to timely and completely make
available adequate current public information, additional or different
regulatory and legal requirements and restrictions that may be imposed,
and other factors as may be discussed in the documents filed by the
Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), including the most recent reports that
identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to
differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The
Company does not undertake any obligation to review or confirm analysts’
expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the
date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
