Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:17 AM on Thursday, July 25th, 2019
The Genesis PGM Project is a road accessible, under explored, highly prospective multi-prospect drill ready Pd-Pt-Ni-Cu property that warrants initial drilling, additional surface mapping, sampling to expand the known footprint of mineralization and to determine the ultimate size and grade of the layered mineralization outlined to date.
A 3-phase summer work program has been initiated on the project which is intended to map potential hydrothermal alteration anomalies and define structural domains to better define drill targets on the Project.
A mineralized horizon has been identified in outcrop sampling for 850 m along strike and a 40 m true thickness. (for more information please click to the April 18, 2018 news release).
The identification of two different styles of PGM/ Multi-Element mineralization at Sheep Hill suggests that multiple mineralizing events have occurred.
NAM management is actively seeking an option/joint-venture partner for this road accessible PGM/Multiple Element Project using the Prospector Generator business model.
July 25th, 2019 – Rockport, Canada – New Age Metals Inc. (TSXV:NAM)(OTC:NMTLF)(FSE:P7J) is pleased to announce it has engaged Avalon Development Corp (Avalon) of Alaska, USA to carry out a field work program on its Genesis PGM-Ni-Cu Project in Alaska.
Genesis Project Summer 2019 Field Program
The summer 2019 field program on
Genesis is intended to map hydrothermal alteration to better define
drill targets on the Project and will be comprised of 3 phases of work;
ASTER Imaging and Interpretation, Landsat TM Imagery Processing and
Interpretation and ground induced polarization, Airborne Magnetics and
EM Reinterpretation. A detailed description of each phase of work
follows:
Phase 1: ASTER Imaging and Interpretation
The main objective of the ASTER (Advanced
Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) processing and
interpretation is to map potential alteration targets to aid
district-scale PGM-Cu-Ni sulfide exploration. The end goal of this phase
is to generate 3 false color images: a 15-meter false-color image
composed of three VNIR bands, a 30-meter false-color image composed of
three SWIR bands, and a 90-meter false-color image composed of three TIR
bands. Each false-color image is designed to enhance the alteration
targets so they show up distinctively as color anomalies.
Phase 2: Landsat TM Imagery Processing and Interpretation
Interpret potential general clay alteration
targets and potential iron-oxide alteration targets to generate a
30-meter true-color image to aid visual interpretation of the iron-oxide
targets.
Phase 3: Airborne Magnetics and EM Reinterpretation
1. Reprocess existing State of Alaska
airborne magnetic data in 2D and 3D formats to outline chromite-bearing
PGM accumulations and identify structural domains.
2. Reprocess existing State of Alaska
airborne EM data in 2D and 3D formats to outline PGM-Cu-Ni sulfide
conductors and identify structural domains.
3. Reprocessing of a limited ground IP
program completed over the Sheep Hill prospect area to better define
strucutural details and target PGM-Cu-Ni sulfide-bearing horizons.
Merits of the Genesis PGM Project
The Genesis PGM Project is an under explored, highly prospective multi-prospect drill ready Pd-Pt-Ni-Cu property
that warrants follow-up drilling, additional surface mapping, sampling
to expand the known footprint of mineralization and to determine the
ultimate size and grade of the layered mineralization outlined to date.
The stable land status, ease of access and superb infrastructure make
this project prospective for year-around exploration, development and
production.
Significant aspects of the Genesis PGM Project include:
– Drill
ready PGM-Ni-Cu reef style target with 2.4 grams/ton Palladium (Pd), 2.4
grams/ton Platinum (Pt), 0.96% Nickle (Ni), and 0.58% Copper (Cu).
– Reef mineralization is open to the west, east, north, and at depth
– Mineralized reef identified in outcrop for 850 m along strike and a 40 m true thickness
– Separate style of chromite mineralization contains Platinum Group Metals (PGM) up to 2.5 g/t Pd and 2.8 g/t Pt.
– Known PGM mineralization covers a distance of 9 km across the prospect.
– No historic drilling has been done on the project.
– Project is within 3 km of a paved highway and electric transmission line.
– Project is on stable State of Alaska claims.
– Fraser Institute’s 2017 survey of mining companies has Alaska ranked as the 10th best jurisdiction in the world for mining.
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 1: Location of the Genesis Project, Nelchina Mining
District, Alaska. The Genesis project is a Ni-Cu-PGM property located
in the northeastern Chugach Mountains, 75 road miles north of the 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 (10,240 acres) of State of Alaska mining claims owned 100% by New Age Metals.
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.
On April 4th, 2018, NAM signed an agreement with one of Alaska’s top geological consulting companies. The companies stated objective is to acquire additional PGM and Rare Metal projects in Alaska. On April 18th, 2018,
NAM announced the right to purchase 100% of the Genesis PGM Project,
NAM’s first Alaskan PGM acquisition related to the April 4th
agreement. The Genesis PGM Project is a road accessible, under
explored, highly prospective, multi-prospect drill ready Palladium (Pd)-
Platinum (Pt)- Nickel (Ni)- Copper (Cu) property. A
comprehensive report on previous exploration and future phases of work
was completed by Avalon Development of Fairbanks Alaska in August 2018
on Genesis.
On August 29, the Avalon report was submitted to NAM, management is actively seeking an option/joint-venture partner for this road accessible PGM and Multiple Element Project using the Prospector Generator business model.
QUALIFIED PERSON
The contents contained herein that relate
to Exploration Results or Mineral Resources is based on information
compiled, reviewed or prepared by Curt Freeman, a consulting
geoscientist for New Age Metals. Mr. Freeman is the Qualified Person as
defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is the owner of Avalon
Development Corp. and Anglo Alaska Gold Corp, which is the vendor of the
Genesis PGM Project. Mr. Freeman 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.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 11:31 AM on Thursday, June 27th, 2019
Life of mine (LOM) of 14 years, with 6 million tonnes annually of potential process plant feed at an average grade of 0.88 g/t Palladium Equivalent (PdEq) and process recovery rate of 80%, resulting in an annual average payable Pd production of 119,000 ounces
Pre-Production capital requirements: $495 M
Undiscounted cash flow before income and mining taxes of $586M
Undiscounted cash flow after income and mining taxes of $384M
June 27th, 2019 – Rockport, Canada – New Age Metals Inc. (NAM) (TSX.V: NAM; OTCQB: NMTLF; FSE: P7J.F) Harry Barr, Chairman & CEO, stated; “We are pleased to update our shareholders and interested parties as to the results of the initial Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the company’s 100% owned River Valley PGM Project in Sudbury, Ontario Canada. 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 demonstrates positive economics for a large-scale mining open pit operation, with 14 years of Palladium and Platinum production.”
Go-Forward Plan: In
order to enhance the Project, the PEA has outlined a phased work
approach to completing a Pre-Feasibility study. This includes advanced
metallurgical testing to improve / confirm process recoveries and more
accurately estimate concentrate grades, geotechnical logging of drill
core, with new geotechnical holes to create a 3D geomechanical block
model and estimate pit wall angles, hydrogeological studies that will
estimate water inflows to the open pits and generate a site water and
management plan. The Pre-Feasibility study will update the Project study
to a higher level of precision.
NAM plans to continue to improve
the River Valley Project’s value proposition by drill testing
geophysical anomalies found during the 2018 geophysics campaign,
continuing the geophysical program throughout the 16 kilometres of the
contact mineralization adding significant potential to find new
deposits, drilling near the defined open pit shells to increase the mine
life, drilling deeper to test the open-ended Deposit at depth, and
re-assaying existing drill core for Rhodium in order that Rhodium may be
added to the Project’s metal suite.
Technical Report: For
readers to fully understand the information in this news release, they
should read the PEA Technical Report in its entirety which the Company
expects to file in accordance with NI 43-101 within 45 days from the
date of this news release on SEDAR (www.sedar.com)
and it will also be available at that time on the New Age Metals
website, including all qualifications, assumptions and exclusions that
relate to the PEA. The Technical Report is intended to be read in its
entirety, and sections should not be read or relied upon out of context.
PEA Highlights (CDN$ unless otherwise noted):
– Life of mine (LOM) of 14 years,
with 6 million tonnes annually of potential process plant feed at an
average grade of 0.88 g/t Palladium Equivalent (PdEq) and process
recovery rate of 80%, resulting in an annual average payable Pd
production of 119,000 ounces
– Pre-Production capital requirements: $495 M
– Undiscounted cash flow before income and mining taxes of $586M
– Undiscounted cash flow after income and mining taxes of $384M
– Average unit operating cost of $19.50/tonne over the life-of-mine
– LOM average operating cash cost
of $971 per ounce (US$709/oz) and all-in sustaining cash cost of $972
per ounce (US$709/oz) at a 1.37 CDN: USD exchange rate.
– A mining contractor will be engaged for the open pit mining
– Pre-tax NPV (5%): $262M, After-tax NPV (5%): $139 M
– Pre-tax IRR: 13%, After-tax IRR: 10%
– Assumed metal prices of US$1,200/oz Pd, US$1,050/oz Pt, US$1,350/oz Au, US$3.25/lb Cu, US$8.00/lb Ni, US$35/lb Co
– Using a + 20% Pd price
sensitivity (to the base case of US$1,200/oz Pd) US$1,440 /oz Pd returns
a pre-tax IRR of 19% and an after tax-IRR of 15%. Palladium price as of June 25, 2019 is US$1,510/oz Pd, which would return a pre-tax IRR of 21% and an after-tax IRR of 16%.
– River Valley process plant feed will be treated by a conventional sulphide flotation process plant to produce a single saleable PGM concentrate that will be transported to the Sudbury area for smelting/refining
– Potential for up to 325 jobs at the peak of production
PEA Summary
The PEA parameters are summarized in Table 1.
(*) Cautionary statement NI 43-101:
The PEA was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101
Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”). Readers are
cautioned that the PEA is preliminary in nature. It includes Inferred
Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to
have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them
to be categorized as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty that
the PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral
Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. All currency is stated as CDN$ unless stated otherwise.
Table 1: PEA Summary Parameters
Assumptions
Palladium Price (Base case) US$/oz
1,200
Exchange Rate US$:CDN$
1.37
Production Profile
Total Tonnes Processed
78,100,000
Process Plant Head Grade PdEq g/t
0.88
Mine Life (years)
14
Daily process plant throughput (tpd)
16,440
Palladium Process Plant Recovery
80%
Total Payable Palladium Equivalent Ounces
1,600,000
Average annual Palladium Production Ounces
119,000
Operating Costs
Unit Operating Costs (per tonne processed)
19.50
Mining Costs
10.20
Processing Costs
8.44
G&A
0.90
LOM Average Cash Cost US$/oz
709
Capital Requirements
Pre-Production Capital Cost
$495.1 M
Sustaining Capital Cost (Life of Mine) Including Salvage
$1.0 M
Project Economics
Royalties
3% (Buy down to 1.5% with $1,500,000 payment)
Royalty Payable After $1.5M Payment
$39.7 M
Taxes
$202.3 M
Pre-Tax
NPV (5% Discount Rate)
$262 M
IRR
13%
Payback (years)
6.6
Cumulative Undiscounted Cash Flows
$586 M
After-Tax
NPV (5% Discount Rate)
$139 M
IRR
10%
Payback (years)
7.0
Cumulative Undiscounted Cash Flows
$384 M
Operating Cost
Table 2: Operating Cost Summary.
OPERATING COST
LOM ($/t)
Mining Cost
$/t material
2.28
Mining Cost
$/t feed
10.20
Processing Cost
$/t feed
8.44
G&A
$/t feed
0.90
Unit Operating
$/t feed
19.50
Capital Cost
Table 3: Capital Cost Summary
Development Capital
Initial (Y-2, Y-1) ($ M)
Sustaining ($’ M)
Total LOM ($’ M)
Mine Pre-Stripping
17.3
17.3
Process Plant Incl. Indirects
401.3
401.3
TMF
8.0
8.0
Mine Site Infrastructure
10.0
10.0
Office, Warehouse, Shops
10.0
10.0
Owner Cost
5.0
5.0
10% Contingency
43.4
43.4
Initial Project Capital
495.1
495.1
Sustaining Capital
Closure Bond
26.0
26.0
Salvage Value
-25.0
-25.0
Total Sustaining Capital
1.0
1.0
Total Capital
495.1
1.0
496.1
Project Economics and Sensitivities
The economic results of the PEA are
summarized in Table 4 on an after-tax basis. The sensitivities and the
impact of cash flows have been calculated for +/- 20% variations against
the base case.
Table 4: Project Economics Sensitivity.
Project Sensitivity Analysis
Pd Price Sensitivity
%
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
Base Case
+5%
+10%
+15%
+20%
Spot
US$/oz
960
1,020
1,080
1,140
1,200
1,260
1,320
1,380
1,440
1,510
NPV (CDN$ M)
-23
16
59
98
139
179
220
260
300
347
IRR (%)
4
6
7
8
10
11
12
13
15
16
OPEX Sensitivity
%
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
Base Case
+5%
+10%
+15%
+20%
Cost Per Tonne
16
17
18
18
19
20
21
22
23
NPV (CDN$ M)
212
194
175
157
139
120
102
83
68
IRR (%)
14
12
11
10
10
9
8
7
7
CAPEX Sensitivity
%
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
Base Case
+5%
+10%
+15%
+20%
CAPEX (CDN$ M)
397
422
446
471
496
521
546
570
595
NPV (CDN$ M)
284
248
212
175
139
102
64
28
-6
IRR (%)
14
13
12
11
10
8
7
6
5
River Valley Project Site Plan
See the image below that shows a site
plan from the River Valley PEA. The map shows all of the 14 open pits
that have been used in the engineering design of the Project as well as
the proposed process plant site, low-grade stockpile, waste rock storage
facilities, tailings storage facility and site infrastructure.
Click Image To View Full Size
Mineral Resource
The pit constrained Mineral Resource
Estimate which formed the basis of the PEA, is set out in Table 5 and
was prepared by WSP under the supervision of Todd McCracken, P. Geo., an
“Independent Qualified Person”, as defined in NI 43-101. The effective
date of this Mineral Resource Estimate is January 9, 2019. The Mineral
Resource database contains 710 boreholes with 106,554 assays records in
the database, and 2,642 surface channel samplings. The Mineral Resource
Estimate update was completed on the Dana North, Dana South, Pine,
Banshee, Lismer, Lismer Extension, Varley, Azen, Razor, and River Valley
Extension Zones, using the ordinary kriging (OK) methodology on a
capped and composited borehole dataset consistent with industry
standards. Validation of the results was conducted thought the use of
visual inspection, swath plots and global statistical comparison of the
model against inverse distance squared (ID2) and nearest neighbour (NN) models.
Table 5: Pit Constrained Mineral Resource Estimate for River Valley PGM Project – Effective January 9, 2019.
Click Image To View Full Size
Class
PGM + Au (oz)
PdEq (oz)
PtEq (oz)
Measured
1,394,000
1,701,000
1,701,000
Indicated
983,000
1,166,000
1,166,000
Meas +Ind
2,377,000
2,867,000
2,867,000
Inferred
841,000
1,059,000
1,059,000
Notes:
1.CIM definition standards were followed for the Mineral Resource Estimate.
2.The 2018 Mineral
Resource models used Ordinary Kriging grade estimation within a
three-dimensional block model with mineralized zones defined by
wireframed solids.
3.A base cut-off
grade of 0.35 g/t PdEq was used for reporting Mineral Resources in a
constrained pit and 2.00 g/t PdEq was used for reporting the Mineral
Resources under the pit.
6.Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have economic viability
7. The Inferred
Mineral Resource in this estimate has a lower level of confidence than
that applied to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted
to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of the
Inferred Mineral Resource could be upgraded to an Indicated Mineral
Resource with continued exploration.
Mining and Processing
The PEA is preliminary
in nature, and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered
too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied
to them that would enable them to be categorized as
Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the Preliminary Economic
Assessment will be realized.
The River Valley Project is expected
to be mined by a contractor. Initial mining will occur at the northwest
end of the Deposit, close to the proposed process plant site. A series
of 14 open pits will be mined, and will progress in a southeasterly
direction. Pit numbers 1 to 4 contain the bulk of the mineralized
process plant feed.
Annual process plant feed of up to 6
Mtpy (0.5 Mtpm) is planned, at an average strip ratio of 3.6:1 over the
life-of-mine. It is anticipated that a fleet of 221 t haul trucks, 29 m3
excavators and 254 mm diameter hole rotary drills will be utilized,
following industry standard conventional open pit mining techniques.
The process plant is designed to
produce a single saleable PGM concentrate using conventional sulphide
flotation techniques. The concentrate will be trucked to a
smelter/refinery in the Sudbury area.
The Run-Of-Mine (ROM) feed from the
mine will be crushed in a single primary jaw crushing stage prior to the
grinding circuit. The crusher discharge will be conveyed to a live
stockpile, which will provide an operating buffer between the crushing
and grinding circuits.
The grinding circuit will consist of a SAG mill in closed circuit with a pebble crusher and two ball mills in parallel.
The process plant design considers
three stages of cleaner flotation and is designed to process 21,920 tpd
(6.0 Mtpy) of ROM feed.
The flotation circuit configuration and design are based on the locked cycle tests conducted by SGS Canada in 2013.
Concentrate and tailings products
will be dewatered using high-rate thickeners and the concentrate will be
further dewatered by conventional plate and frame vacuum filtration.
Process water will be recovered from
the concentrate and tailings thickener overflow. Raw water is assumed to
be sourced from the local environment and will be used as makeup water.
It is assumed that 10% of the raw water requirement will be recycled
from the tailings pond.
Conventional tailings deposition techniques will be utilized.
A 230 kV transmission line is located
passing through the village of Warren, approximately 22 km from the
Project. A 115 kV transmission line passes through the village of Field,
located approximately 15 km to the east of the Project. It is assumed
that electrical power will be provided by the local utility via either
of these overland power lines. Diesel generators will be used to supply
emergency power.
Project Enhancement Opportunities
The PEA demonstrates that River
Valley has the potential to be economically viable. The PEA also
outlines several opportunities to enhance Project value. Additional
opportunities include:
Area of Focus
Opportunities to Explore
Management Target
Geotechnical study
– Geotechnical logging of drill core,
with new geotechnical holes to create a 3D geomechanical block model
and estimate pit wall slope angles
– Estimate pit wall slopes
Hydrogeological study
– Estimate water in-flows to the open pits and generate a site water management plan
– Site water management plan
Increase the Project Mineral Resource base
– Additional drilling in the footwall to expand the Mineral Resource.
After the ground proofing and surface exploration program conducted in
Summer 2018 which followed up on the most recent induced polarization
geophysical survey by Abitibi, NAM management has designed a 3-phase
5,000 metre drill program to test the new geophysical anomalies. See the
map figure below which shows these new geophysical anomalies and
potential targets for the next stage of drilling at River Valley
superimposed over the upper 4 kilometres of the project map.
Click Image To View Full Size
– Drilling near the defined open pit shells to increase the mine life.
– Drilling deeper to test the open-ended deposit at depth. Average drill hole depth is 220 metres below surface.
– Increase tonnes, grade and mine life of Project
– Continue to drill recent footwall discoveries
– Add additional Mineral Resources to the Project.
Mineral Resource
– In-fill drilling to convert Inferred Mineral Resources to Indicated Mineral Resources
– Improve Mineral Resource classification
Mineral Resource
– Step-out drilling to increase the Mineral Resource Estimate
– Increase the size of the Mineral Resource Estimate
Metallurgical testing
– Advanced metallurgical testing to
confirm or potentially improve process recoveries and more accurately
estimate concentrate grades produced
– Achieve a process recovery equal or greater than 80%.
Geophysical surveys
– Continue with induced polarization
geophysical surveys over the 12.5 kilometres of the contact / footwall
that has not been surveyed in the 2017 and 2018 programs
conducted on the Project. This work can be carried out in phases as
funding is available or until the contact / footwall is covered, see the
map figure below that shows a proposed scenario for how to phase the
work.
Click Image To View Full Size
– Outline new targets highlighting new potential footwall discoveries over the entire Project
Advanced sampling for Rhodium
– Re-assaying existing core for
Rhodium. Rhodium has been identified, however, insufficient assaying in
the past has not allowed for Rhodium’s inclusion in the Mineral Resource
Estimate.
– Quantify the amount of Rhodium in the Project and add this to the existing Mineral Resource Estimate
Pre-Feasibility study
– Updated Mineral Resource Estimate,
optimize the mine plan, process plant design, and Project economics.
Address environmental aspects.
– Update the Project study to a higher level of precision
Qualified Persons and NI 43-101 Disclosure
The PEA was prepared under the supervision
of Eugene Puritch, P.Eng. of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. The Mineral
Resource Estimate was prepared by Todd McCracken, P.Geo. of WSP Canada
Inc. Metallurgical testwork and process plant design and cost estimates
were prepared by Jim Kambossos, P. Eng. of DRA Americas
Inc. All three are independent Qualified Persons in accordance with NI
43-101. Mr. Puritch has reviewed and approved the technical information
in this release. Michael Neumann, P.Eng. Managing Director for NAM is
the company 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
For further information on New Age Metals,
please contact Harry Barr and/or Anthony Ghitter, Business Development
at 613-659-2773, or [email protected]
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.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:52 AM on Tuesday, June 25th, 2019
SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc. The company’s Lithium Division has already made significant acquisitions in Canada and the USA. The company also owns one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in Sudbury, Canada. Updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate 2,867,000 PdEq Measured and Indicated Ounces, with an additional 1,059,000 PdEq Ounces in the Inferred. Learn More.
NAM: TSX-V
———————
China’s breaking up the EV battery monopoly it carefully created
As China phases out subsidies
for electric vehicles next year, it’s also ending a related policy that
effectively shut out foreign battery makers, creating the domestic
monopoly we see today.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced yesterday
(June 25, link in Chinese) it is dropping its practice of publishing
lists of battery makers that met technical standards. The policy, put in
place in 2015, was meant to help develop the industry. Supplying the
information to get on the list was supposedly voluntary
(link in Chinese), but in reality, using the batteries on the
ministry’s lists made it more likely car makers would qualify for
government subsidies. As of 2016, the last time the list was updated, it
included a total of 57 companies—none of them foreign firms.
As a result, the top 10 battery makers powering the world’s largest EV market are all Chinese
(link in Chinese), according to 2018 data from the China Battery
Industry Association. That means China dominates the value-added chain
for domestically made electric vehicles, since batteries contribute 40%
of the cost of an EV—quite a contrast to the value added when China assembles an iPhone.
Financial newspaper Economic Observer noted
(link in Chinese) in April last year that Chinese car makers made their
component decisions from the lists, while local governments and
investment firms also consulted them. “Associated with subsidies, these
became known as the ‘white lists,’†the newspaper said.
The lists included CATL, the world’s largest EV battery maker
(Quartz membership), which supplies Chinese and foreign carmakers that
include state-owned BJEV, one of the country’s biggest manufacturers,
Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW, Honda, and Shanghai-based startu NIO.
The world’s biggest EV manufacturer, BYD, is also the country’s
second-biggest battery supplier, since it makes the batteries for its
own electric cars—last year it sold some 100,000 of them. Both BYD and CATL could supply batteries to Toyota cars soon. In third place is Guoxuan High Tech, a major supplier to state-owned carmaker BAIC Motor, the parent company of BJEV.
Taking away the lists could benefit established foreign battery
makers. “It’s a gesture of China opening up, along with pressure from
G20 and trade,†says Qiu Kaijun, who runs an EV news blog
(Quartz membership). Chinese president Xi Jinping is set to discuss
US-China trade tensions with US president Donald Trump on the sidelines
of the G20 meeting of leaders of top economies, which begins in Japan
Friday.
Before the policy was put in place, when China’s EV market was starting to take off, foreign firms like LG and fellow South Korean major Samsung were about to expand
(link in Chinese) in China. In 2015, LG had opened a battery factory in
China’s eastern city Nanjing that could supply to more than 100,000 EVs (link in Chinese), yet it never got on the white list and the factory ended up being sold to Zhejiang-based carmaker Geely in 2017 (link in Chinese).
“Earlier, all the subsidies went to those using Chinese EV
batteries—if you use LG and Samsung, you won’t get subsidies,†said
Angus Chan, a Shanghai-based auto analyst at Bocom International, “When
2020 comes, it will be free-market competition. It’s straightforward for
carmakers—energy density, safety, and price… Everybody is on the same
racing starting point in the post-subsidy era.â€
China began reducing its massive subsidies two years ago, and will move to a credit system next year.
The scrapping of the battery lists comes at a time when China has
rolled out the welcome mat for foreign EV firms in other ways. China last year said it would phase out
foreign investment limits for car manufacturing, a rule that earlier
made it impossible for foreign car makers to set up shop in China
without a local partner. That reform began with manufacturers of
electric vehicles, allowing Tesla to become the first foreign car maker
with a wholly-owned plant in China. Located in Shanghai, it is taking
orders for the first made-in-China Teslas, which are expected to roll out in the next six months.
Other new rules limiting the number of new factories in a province
mean Tesla’s factory has put a spanner in the works for local
manufacturers who were also hoping to set up near one of the country’s
most important cities for EV sales. It’s clear China’s EV industry is
going to put under greater pressure as a result of these moves—which
could improve their technologies, or kill off some of the weaker firms.
“What happens after the typhoon passes?†asked Zeng Yuqun, CATL’s founder, in an internal email (link in Chinese) in 2017. “Can a pig really fly?â€
He was referring to a Chinese allegory—“When the typhoon comes, the
pig will flyâ€â€”comparing the government subsidies to strong winds lifting
the company’s fortunes, and warning of a possible heavy landing once
those winds die down.
Looking for more in-depth coverage? Sign up to become a member and read more in-depth coverage of China’s electric-car boom in our field guide.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:58 AM on Tuesday, May 28th, 2019
The River Valley Project is the largest
undeveloped primary Platinum Group Metal (PGM) mineral resource in
North America. The Project has excellent infrastructure and is within
100 kilometres of the Sudbury Metallurgical Complex. The Project is 100%
owned by New Age Metals.
The Project’s first economic study a
Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) is underway and management plans
to release the summary press release by the end of the second quarter.
The price of an ounce of Palladium
represents a 35% price increase in the last 12 months. As such, for
2019, precious metals consultancy, Metals Focus believes
that professional investors will eventually return to palladium, with
an annual average price of US$1,490 per oz. in 2019. Rhodium, which is
also present at River Valley, has seen a price increase of over 15% this
YTD at US$2,860 per oz.
For Platinum, a turnaround in investor
sentiment stimulated heavy buying of platinum Exchange Traded Funds
(ETF’s) in early 2019. Investors were motivated by supply disruption
risks and an improving outlook for auto demand.
Drill permits for our Lithium Two and
Lithium One Projects in Manitoba have been applied for and the company
is in the final approval process from the province of Manitoba.
The Company is actively seeking a strategic partner for our Genesis PGM/Polymetallic Project in Alaska
May 28th, 2019 / Rockport, Canada – New Age Metals Inc. (TSX.V: NAM; OTCQB: NMTLF; FSE: P7J.F) Harry Barr, Chairman & CEO, stated; “We are pleased to update our shareholders and interested parties as to our ongoing activities in both our PGM and Lithium divisions. Specifically, give a progress update on the River Valley Project Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). This update will detail our exploration and development plans for both the PGM and Lithium divisions in 2019. Furthermore, we will highlight the current PGM market and particularly Palladium and Platinum price trends.”
Update on the PEA
NAM commissioned
both P&E Mining Consultants (P&E) and DRA Americas (DRA) to
complete the River Valley Project’s first economic study, a Preliminary
Economic Assessment (PEA) in August 2018.
The company has been informed by its engineering consultants that the preliminary
PEA mine plan, production schedule and financial model is nearing
completion, and we plan to release the highlights of the study in a
press release before the end of the second quarter this year.
At this
stage, the PEA is focused on investigating the mining potential of the
project, including the latest discovery, the Pine Zone and other
footwall mineralization potential. The study will also help define areas
of the project that require additional exploration and development.
The objective of
the PEA would be to create a conceptual mine plan, mine schedule, a
capital cost estimate, and operating cost estimate incorporated into a
financial model to provide total cash flow, net present value (NPV), and
internal rate of return (IRR).
River Valley PGM Project Goals & Objectives
During 2019, the company’s exploration & development objectives are as follows:
1.Complete the re-stated resource calculation (Q1 2019);
2.Complete the Projects first economic study, PEA (Q2 2019);
3.Complete surface exploration on
additional target areas based on recommendations of the updated 43-101
and the 2017/2018 geophysics (slated for Q3-Q4 2019);
4.Arrange additional funding for continued development of the project (ongoing);
5.Conduct a 5000-metre drill program focusing in the northern portion of the Project;
6.Solicit a strategic partner to aid in
further exploration and development of the Project. Potential major
partners are waiting for the PEA results to complete additional due
diligence on River Valley.
Palladium, Platinum, Rhodium Price & Performance
There are various reasons why the Palladium
(Pd) price movement has occurred and more to suggest that Pd price may
continue to rise. First, there are continued supply deficits forecasted
for Pd and in 2019 alone Johnson Matthey (JM) expects that it could
exceed a million ounces (PGM Market Report – May 2019). Emissions
standards are increasing worldwide as is the preference for larger
vehicles, both of which require more Pd to be used in the catalytic
converters.
The PGM’s Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium
are extensively used in catalytic converters to convert harmful gasses
like hydrocarbon emissions into less harmful substances. The allowable
limits of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) from gasoline
passenger vehicles in China will be reduced by 60% by 2025 (SFA Oxford,
2019).
The Chinese emission standard story alone
tends itself to the increase in Pd demand to grow by 500,000 ounces by
2021. To summarize, the Palladium fundamentals and forecasts align well
with the timeline for development of our River Valley Project.
The platinum market is expected to move
into deficit in 2019, with a resurgence in investor activity outweighing
modest falls in industrial and jewellery demand. Johnson Matthey also
expects a tentative recovery in autocatalyst consumption, as stricter
heavy duty emissions legislation is enforced first in China and then in
India. JM forecasts a modest increase in primary supplies, but this
could be tempered by electricity shortages and, potentially, industrial
action in South Africa, while growth in recycling may be dampened by
processing capacity constraints in some regions.
Both Platinum and Palladium are considered
precious metals, like Gold and are used as a store of value. Rhodium,
which is also present at River Valley, has seen a price increase of over
15% this year at US$2,860 per oz.
2019 Mineral Resource Update
On January 9, 2019 NAM filed its latest
Mineral Resource Estimate on the River Valley Project. The May 2018
Resource Estimate presented a global mineral inventory. The January 2019
Resource presents a pit constrained mineral resource that shows
reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The results of
the updated Mineral Resource Estimate are tabulated in Table 1 below
(0.35 g/t PdEq open pit and 2.0 g.t PdEq underground cut-off). This
43-101 Technical Report is available on SEDAR. See page 4.
Table 1: Results from the January 2019 NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate.
Click Image To View Full Size
Class
PGM + Au (oz)
PdEq (oz)
PtEq (oz)
Measured
1,394,000
1,701,000
1,701,000
Indicated
983,000
1,166,000
1,166,000
Meas +Ind
2,377,000
2,867,000
2,867,000
Inferred
841,000
1,059,000
1,059,000
Notes:
1.CIM definition standards were followed for the Mineral Resource Estimate.
2.The 2018 Mineral Resource models used
Ordinary Kriging grade estimation within a three-dimensional block model
with mineralized zones defined by wireframed solids.
3.A base cut-off grade of 0.35 g/t PdEq
was used for reporting Mineral Resources in a constrained pit and 2.00
g/t PdEq was used for reporting the Mineral Resources under the pit.
6.Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have economic viability
7. The Inferred Mineral Resource in this
estimate has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an
Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral
Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred
Mineral Resource could be upgraded to an Indicated Mineral Resource with
continued exploration.
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure
1: The Yellow Band represents the footwall potential area of the River
Valley Deposit based on the results of the Pine Zone where footwall
mineralization was noted to extend 150 metres eastward from the Pine
Zone/ T3 main deposit.
At
present the only area that has confirmed footwall mineralization is in
the Pine Zone (defined from 2015 to 2017 drilling). Geophysics and
exploration continues
to test other areas of the Deposit. Management’s specific focus is to
outline a potentially economic Mineral Resource in the northern portion
of the Project that can be subsequently developed as a series of open
pits (bulk mining), crushed,and concentrate on site, with concentrate shipped to a smelter in Sudbury.
2019 Exploration Plan – River Valley PGM Project
To date an approximate 160,441 metres (481,323 feet) in 710 drill holes have
been conducted by the company as operators on the River Valley Project.
Several independent 43-101 compliant resource estimates have previously
been generated for the deposit through the exploration and development
phases. The River Valley Deposit’s
present resource, with approximately 2.9M PdEq ounces in Measured Plus
Indicated mineral resources and near-surface mineralization, covers a
total of 16 kilometers of strike. The company continues to explore and enhance the River Valley PGM Deposit.
After the ground proofing and surface
exploration program conducted in the Summer/Fall of 2018, (which
followed up on the most recent induced polarization survey by Abitibi
Geophysics) NAM management has designed a 5,000 metre drill programs to
test the new geophysical anomalies. See Figure 2 below, which shows these new geophysical anomalies and potential targets for the next stage of drilling at River Valley superimposed over the upper 4 kilometres of the project map.
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 2:
Northern portion of the project with superimposed 2018 merged IP at
-100m level. Retrieved from River Valley Geophysical review by
Geoscience North (Alan King, P. Geo., M.Sc.)
2019 Exploration Plans for Lithium Division
The Company has eight pegmatite hosted
Lithium Projects in the Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field, located in SE
Manitoba. In 2018 NAM conducted surface exploration programs on our
Lithman East, Lithman North, Lithium One and Lithium Two projects. The
programs consisted of reviewing, characterising and sampling the known
surface pegmatites. Samples were taken from the Eagle and FD5 pegmatites
on Lithium Two and returned results of up to 3.8% Li2O. On Lithium One,
samples were taken from the known Silverleaf and Annie pegmatites and
returned significant Li20 assays of up to 4.1%.
In 2019, the Company plans to drill the Lithium Two Project first. Drill
permits have been applied for and the company is awaiting approval from
the province. The application has been accepted by the relevant parties
to date and is in the final stages of the approval process. The first
drill permit is expected to be issued in June 2019.
Genesis PGM / Polymetallic Project
On April 4th, 2018,
NAM signed an agreement with one of Alaska’s top geological consulting
companies. The company’s stated objective is to acquire additional PGM
and Rare Metal projects in Alaska. On April 18th, 2018,
NAM announced the right to purchase 100% of the Genesis
PGM/Polymetallic Project, NAM’s first Alaskan PGM acquisition related to
the April 4th
agreement. The Genesis PGM/Polymetallic Project is a road accessible,
under explored, highly prospective and multi-prospect drill ready
Palladium (Pd)- Platinum (Pt)- Nickel (Ni)- Copper (Cu) property. A
comprehensive report on previous exploration and future phases of work
was completed by Avalon Development of Fairbanks Alaska in August 2018
on Genesis. (available here).
A 2019 sampling program will be conducted to continue to outline
additional mineralization along the 800-metre by 40-metre mineralized
zone. Management is actively seeking an option/joint-venture partner for
this road accessible PGM and multiple element Project using the
Prospector Generator business model.
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If you have not done so already, we encourage you to sign up on our website (www.newagemetals.com) to receive our updated news.
QUALIFIED PERSON
The contents contained herein that relate
to Exploration Results or Mineral Resources is based on information
compiled, reviewed or prepared by Carey Galeschuk, 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
For further information on New Age Metals,
please contact Anthony Ghitter or Cody Hunt, Business Development at
613-659-2773, or [email protected]
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.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 3:16 PM on Monday, May 27th, 2019
SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc. The company’s new Lithium Division has already made significant acquisitions in Canada and the USA. The company also owns one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in Sudbury, Canada. Updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate 2,867,000 PdEq Measured and Indicated Ounces, with an additional 1,059,000 PdEq Ounces in the Inferred. Learn More.
NAM: TSX-V
———————
The lithium industry needs a $17b injection to meet 2025 demand – here come the deals
One expert says at least US$12 billion ($17.3 billion) needs to be invested in new lithium projects by 2025 if the industry is to have any realistic hope of matching supply with demand
Corporate deals in the lithium industry are heating up at a time when
there is a predicted multi-billion-dollar cash injection needed to ramp
up supply to meet rapidly growing demand.
One expert says at least US$12 billion ($17.3 billion) needs to be
invested in new lithium projects by 2025 if the industry is to have any
realistic hope of matching supply with demand.
US lithium expert Joe Lowry told delegates at the Latin America
Downunder mining conference in Perth that the ‘Big Four’ global lithium
producers – SQM, Albemarle, Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium and Tianqi – could
not alone meet 2025 lithium demand.
“Overall, the industry faces a lack of financing and needs to inject
more than US$12 billion within five years to have a chance of meeting
demand,†he said.
“This requirement is exacerbated further by known and emerging
failures in lithium start-ups which have demonstrated a lack of
necessary skillsets – high profile failures that have discouraged sector
investment.
“There will not be any significant lithium chemical oversupply
anytime soon. While there have been many optimistic supply forecasts,
recent results speak for themselves.â€
He dismissed the forecasts of oversupply as a myth.
“The ‘myth’ is driven by reports from ‘big bank’ analysts and
supported by statements by Chilean regulator, CORFO, after its revised
agreements allowing Albemarle and SQM to produce more material from the
Atacama brine resource,†Lowry said.
“The reality is increasing production quickly is not so easy.”
Last year there was about 270,000 tonnes of lithium demand and Lowry estimates that will rise to about 1 million tonnes in 2025.
“It’s pretty much not argued anymore that e-mobility is happening —
whether it’s EVs or scooters or ferries in Scandinavia, the transition
to e-mobility is on,†Lowry said.
“My numbers are actually some of the lower numbers out there.â€
Battery-related lithium demand in 2018 accounted for 60 per cent, up from 25 per cent five years earlier.
“So this market is becoming a battery-related market. There’s really no question about that,†Lowry said.
But new lithium supply is hard to bring online and SQM, Albemarle,
Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium and Tianqi are likely only be able to maintain
their 68 per cent market share, according to Lowry.
“Almost every lithium project that has ever started with optimism has
taken three or four years longer to reach full capacity and that’s what
we’re seeing,†he said.
“That means there’s a lot of juniors or smaller companies around the world that need to get financed and need to get moving.â€
The cash injection gives Galaxy a roughly 11.5 per cent interest, and
a blocking stake, in Alliance, managing director Mark Calderwood told Stockhead.
Galaxy’s investment was part of a larger $32.5m placement at 20c per
share, which also included $10m from a subsidiary of Jiangxi Special
Electric Motor Co.
Jiangxi has about a 9.9 per cent stake in Alliance.
“I guess from [Galaxy’s] point of view it’s stopping us from being a
target for someone else to come and grab, and we were the cheapest
lithium miner in the market,†Calderwood said.
“Both Jiangxi and Galaxy are a lot bigger than we are, they’re both
experts in their sectors so that’s good for us and it enables us to be
cooperative in the future.
“Both parties have either a blocking stake or almost a blocking stake.â€
Australia’s downstream gaining momentum
Right now, Australia has absolutely zero per cent share of the global
lithium chemical market, but the Galaxy-Alliance deal is another step
towards building the country’s downstream industry.
“I think [Galaxy] has desires to go further downstream as well, and
Jiangxi [Ganfeng Lithium] already has that joint venture with Jiangxi
Special Electric Motors, which is downstream, but there’s other things
we can do as well,†Calderwood said.
The research partnership of 58 industry, academic and government
partners will address industry-identified gaps in the battery industries
value chain.
The goal is to expand battery minerals and chemicals production and
develop opportunities for manufacturing batteries in Australia.
Good time to invest
Lowry says rapidly rising demand and the difficulty in bringing new
lithium supply online supports his “thesis†that the market is going to
outgrow supply.
“Anyone who is interested in investing in the lithium market has a
great opportunity now because share prices are very, very depressed,†he
said.
“If you look at the market caps of some of the Australian companies,
even the ‘Big Four’ companies, their market caps are very much down from
where they were a couple of years ago.
“So if you’re interested in lithium, I would tell you now’s a good time to get in.â€
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 3:19 PM on Thursday, May 9th, 2019
SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc.
The company’s new Lithium Division has already made significant
acquisitions in Canada and the USA. The company also owns one of North
America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in Sudbury,
Canada. Updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate 2,867,000 PdEq
Measured and Indicated Ounces, with an additional 1,059,000 PdEq Ounces
in the Inferred. Learn More.
NAM: TSX-V
———————
EV ‘arms race’ revs up Murkowski’s old minerals bill
E&E News staff Energywire: Thursday, May 9, 2019
The Tesla Model S (left) and Model X charging side by side. Steve Jurvetson/Wikimedia Commons
An old proposal to jump-start American mining has been recharged by a
newfound focus on electric vehicles and the elements needed to power
them.
Congress has bandied about ideas for mining more “critical minerals”
for as long as the United States has been losing ground to other
nations, namely China, in supplying elements used in military, energy
and emerging technologies.
But a different narrative took center stage when Sen. Lisa Murkowski
(R-Alaska) introduced her latest critical minerals bill last week:
fixing the EV supply squeeze (Energywire, May 3).
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairwoman
advocated helping the United States “compete in growth industries like
electric vehicles and energy storage,” while her co-sponsor and
committee ranking member, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), said he was “very
much concerned” about lithium-ion batteries.
Sources traced the new emphasis to a recent closed-door summit of automakers, mining companies and federal officials.
Murkowski teased her bill at a Washington, D.C., event organized by
Benchmark Minerals, a consulting firm specializing in battery mineral
supply chains.
Despite its small size — 26 employees — Benchmark has increasing influence on Capitol Hill.
Reached by phone yesterday, Benchmark founder Simon Moores declined
to say who attended the summit, but he said the fact that Murkowski
highlighted lithium, cobalt, graphite and nickel was “a reaction” to his
testifying to her committee twice in as many years.
“For me, the most important development is that focus on these four
[minerals]
for electric vehicles,” he said. “And that is a big step
forward in my eyes because it refines the focus and refines the
discussion.”
Robert Mintak, CEO of Canadian mining company Standard Lithium Ltd.,
also declined to go into detail about the Benchmark summit, only saying
it was “well-attended across numerous agencies.”
“The narrative is being curated to make the current state of the
nation understand that it isn’t a tree-hugging narrative,” he said.
“There’s an opportunity you need to get in front of.”
The strategy
The EV rebranding appears to be a marketing maneuver, said Jim
Constantopoulos, a geology professor at Eastern New Mexico University
and director of its Miles Mineral Museum.
“Those folks that would be more likely to drive an EV … would
normally be opposed to any sort of mining, let alone a bill that would
eliminate roadblocks to mining,” Constantopoulos said. “By referring to
it as an EV bill, they might garner some support from that sector.”
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Environmentalists have generally condemned critical minerals
legislation as an excuse to slash environmental standards. Murkowski’s
bill would task federal agencies with streamlining mine permitting.
President Trump has ordered his administration to do the same. Under
an executive order, the U.S. Geological Survey created a list of 35
critical minerals and the Department of Commerce set to work drafting a
report of policy recommendations to mine more of each of them.
The report was due in November, but industry advocates expect the White House to publish its findings as soon as next week.
“I know we’re getting close on the strategy, but to my knowledge, the
White House is still deciding on a rollout date,” USGS spokesman Alex
Demas said.
The White House declined to speculate on any announcement.
‘Barely even in the game’
Benchmark says about 1.7 terawatt-hours’ worth of battery factory
projects are in the development pipeline — or roughly the equivalent of
24 million to 26 million EVs, depending on the battery pack.
“We are in the midst of a global battery arms race in which the U.S.
is presently a bystander,” Moores told lawmakers in February (E&E Daily, Feb. 6).
Most of the world’s lithium comes from a region in South America
crisscrossed by massive salt flats. About 1% of the world’s raw lithium
comes from the United States. North America’s only active lithium
operation is the Silver Peak mine in Nevada, although the Los Angeles Timesreported this week about a battle brewing over a second one in Death Valley.
“Despite significant domestic resources, we’re barely even in the
game,” said National Mining Association President and CEO Hal Quinn.
As for cobalt, about 68% comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo,
where a small percentage of the mineral is illegally mined using child
labor, according to a 2017 Amnesty International report.
The industry is actively looking to cut back on cobalt, but even if
they are successful, new battery production will still increase demand.
“There’s no way that entire battery industry can just abandon cobalt
as a critical element for their cathode,” Benchmark consultant and
former Tesla employee Vivas Kumar said at another recent event in New
York.
Where do companies stand?
Automakers have generally supported previous critical minerals bills, and this year is no different.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a powerful trade group that
represents Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co., has not changed its
stance since testifying in support of the bill in 2014.
“Whether it’s the aluminum in automotive frames, the platinum in
catalytic converters, or the lithium and nickel in electric vehicle
batteries, minerals are vital components in every automobile on the road
today, and future models,” spokesman Wade Newton said in an email.
But Tesla declined to comment, as did Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. A Ford spokeswoman redirected inquiries to the Auto Alliance.
The Electric Drive Transportation Association, which advocates for
electric vehicle makers and other companies in the electric and hybrid
vehicle industry, said it had yet to thoroughly examine Murkowski’s
legislation.
“We appreciate the bipartisan effort to reinforce the supply chain
for electric vehicles and are currently reviewing the bill,” spokesman
Jake Styacich said.
While the talking point has changed, China remains the foremost national security concern.
In 2015, the Chinese government published a plan for its
manufacturing sector, Made in China 2025, which identified battery
minerals as a key area in which to seek dominance.
Robbie Diamond, president of Securing America’s Future Energy, a
group fighting foreign oil dependence, called it a “wake-up call.”
“We do not want to go from dependence on oil and troubles in the Middle East to dependence on China for batteries,” he said.
Diamond cited Moores’ February testimony as evidence.
He added: “Anybody who takes our security seriously has to ask themselves the question: Can we fall this far behind?”
Reporters Dylan Brown, Kelsey Brugger, Timothy Cama, David Iaconangelo and Maxine Joselow contributed.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 12:16 PM on Thursday, April 18th, 2019
SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc. The company owns one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in Sudbury, Canada. Updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate 2,867,000 PdEq Measured and Indicated Ounces, with an additional 1,059,000 PdEq Ounces in the Inferred. Learn More.
NAM: TSX-V
———————
Supply And Demand Outlook Favors Palladium Vs. Platinum
Palladium has outperformed platinum ever since the fundamentals of
supply and demand have changed due to the diesel emissions scandal.
The gap between platinum and palladium has shrunk in recent weeks,
which would break the current trend of palladium outperforming platinum
if it continues.
Both the fundamental and technical pictures point to the trend
staying in place relative to platinum and palladium despite the recent
hiccup.
The biggest source of demand for platinum (PPLT) and palladium (PALL)
is the automotive industry where emission standards are becoming
increasingly stringent. These standards are driving demand for platinum
and palladium due to their ability to help reduce harmful emissions. The
result has been a sort of competition between the two of them.
However, the competition has become somewhat one-sided ever since the
platinum market was rocked in 2015 by the emissions scandal or “Diesel
Gate†involving Volkswagen (OTCPK:VWAGY).
The reason is because platinum is heavily used in vehicles with diesel
engines. On the other hand, palladium is associated with gasoline
engines.
Cars powered by diesel engines have since fallen out of favor, and
people are now turning towards cars powered by gasoline engines. This
trend does not look to change anytime soon, but it’s set to continue for
the foreseeable future. This is bullish for palladium and bearish for
platinum. The result can be seen in the supply and demand equation for
palladium and platinum.
The market for palladium has a deficit with a surplus for platinum
The emissions scandal has fundamentally altered the landscape for
vehicles powered by diesel and gasoline engines and, by extension,
platinum and palladium. The former is seeing demand decrease, and the
latter is seeing demand increase as there is a shift away from
diesel-powered cars towards gasoline-powered cars.
The two tables reveal that the platinum market has a surplus, with
supply exceeding net demand. Except for industrial demand, every other
segment, including autocatalyst, jewelry, and investment, is in decline.
While supplies from mining have stayed roughly the same, platinum
recycling is adding to the surplus of platinum in the market. The trend
is clearly bearish for platinum.
Platinum supply and demand (Unit: 1000 oz)
Supply
2016
2017
2018
South Africa
4392
4449
4471
Russia
717
703
657
Others
988
953
980
Total supply
6097
6105
6108
Demand
Autocatalyst
3342
3218
3052
Jewelry
2412
2400
2363
Industrial
1806
2022
2321
Investment
620
361
89
Total demand
8180
8001
7825
Recycling
-1934
-2072
-2215
Net demand
6246
5929
5610
Surplus/deficit
-149
176
498
Source: Johnson Matthey
The opposite is true for palladium. Supply of palladium falls short
of net demand and is driven primarily by the increased demand in the
autocatalyst segment. Recycling has made more palladium available, but
supplies have yet to eliminate the deficit in the market for palladium.
Overall, the trend for palladium looks to be a lot better compared to
platinum.
Palladium supply and demand (Unit: 1000 oz)
Supply
2016
2017
2018
South Africa
2570
2550
2590
Russia
2773
2406
2840
Others
1417
1405
1450
Total supply
6760
6361
6880
Demand
Autocatalyst
7951
8428
8655
Jewelry
191
173
166
Industrial
1875
1832
1855
Investment
-646
-386
-555
Total demand
9371
10047
10121
Recycling
-2491
-2899
-3212
Net demand
6880
7148
6909
Surplus/deficit
-120
-787
-29
The forecast for 2019 calls for more of the same, assuming there are
no unforeseen events that could disrupt the supply and demand equation.
Platinum will have a surplus, and palladium, a deficit. The trend
established in recent years as shown in the two tables is not expected
to change. That is bullish for palladium, but bearish for platinum.
Divergence in prices for platinum and palladium
As a result of a favorable outlook, palladium prices have vastly
outperformed platinum. While platinum used to command a much higher
price than palladium, the roles have now been reversed, and palladium is
now worth more. The chart below tracks the relationship between
platinum and palladium prices.
Notice that at its peak in March, a troy ounce of palladium was worth
almost two ounces of platinum. That ratio has now come down, and
palladium is now worth 1.5 ounces of platinum. A significant change, but
still far removed from the days when platinum was more expensive than
palladium.
However, the fact remains that the gap between platinum and palladium
has shrunk with platinum outperforming palladium during this time
frame. The gap could continue to shrink, but it could also begin to
widen as before. Which of the two is more likely to happen will depend
on a few factors that should be taken into consideration.
Can platinum and palladium be substituted for one another in the manufacture of an autocatalyst?
The short answer is yes, but only to a certain extent. While platinum
and palladium are more suitable and preferred in diesel and gasoline
vehicles, respectively, it is not absolutely necessary. The more
expensive palladium becomes relative to platinum, the more manufacturers
may be inclined to look into replacing palladium with platinum in the
manufacture of an autocatalyst. Not necessarily completely, but at least
partially.
In theory, this should act as a cap on palladium relative to
platinum. If the gap in prices between the two becomes too extreme,
precious metal substitution could force the ratio between palladium and
platinum to reverse and narrow. There would be less demand for palladium
and demand for platinum would increase under these conditions. However,
in practice, it is difficult to replace more expensive palladium with
cheaper platinum.
The two precious metals are only needed in trace amounts, and the
price difference would have to be very severe to make a noticeable
difference in the final cost of a vehicle. It also takes a lot of time
and expense to test that changes in precious metal composition in an
autocatalyst meet desired specifications. In a nutshell, while it’s
possible, it’s almost certainly not worth the trouble to replace
platinum with palladium or vice versa.
Why gold prices affect platinum more than palladium
Unlike palladium, platinum prices are more prone to being influenced by the price of gold (GLD).
The reason is because platinum is heavily used in jewelry, much more
than palladium. Because of this, platinum is in direct competition with
gold. In fact, people often have to decide which of the two, gold or
platinum, they will select in a purchase.
People will more often than not pick gold, but they may be tempted to
go for platinum if the former is much more expensive than the latter.
Rising gold prices are, therefore, good for platinum because it makes
platinum a more attractive substitute. But if gold prices fall, then
there is less need for platinum because most people tend to prefer gold.
It’s, therefore, necessary that we look at gold when considering
where platinum will go relative to palladium. The ratio between gold and
platinum prices has changed recently as gold prices have gone down. A
previous article discussing why gold is likely to face pressure can be
found here.
The chart above tracks the relationship between platinum and gold
prices. Notice that while an ounce of platinum was roughly equal to 60%
of gold at its low, the ratio has gone up and is now at almost 70%. What
this basically means is that platinum’s appeal as an alternative has
declined versus gold. This should be seen as a negative for platinum
demand, which could put downward pressure on the price of platinum.
Palladium looks to be priming itself for a big move
Palladium prices have been going sideways after a big drop from their
recent highs. In fact, the chart pattern for palladium resembles that
of a symmetrical triangle or a coil. If this technical analysis is
correct, then a big move may be coming once consolidation is done. The
triangle could resolve to the downside, but it’s more likely to continue
the long-term trend, which is up.
Both the fundamental and technical pictures suggest that a move to
the upside is the most probable outcome. In contrast, platinum is being
held back by a number of issues as a previous article explains here. This would reverse the narrowing of the spread between platinum and palladium and, instead, widen the gap that exists.
The ratio between palladium and platinum has been stuck at around
1.5, as previous charts reveal. This ratio could decrease further, but
the most likely path is for the ratio to resume its previous uptrend
after the time it has spent consolidating. This would be consistent with
the price of palladium outperforming that of platinum.
Palladium will outperform platinum
It’s important to mention that the long-term picture for platinum and
palladium in terms of demand is not a good one. Recent research
suggests that it will one day be possible to make an autocatalyst
without the need for any precious metals such as platinum and palladium.
If this happens, then both metals will be left without their biggest
source of demand.
Furthermore, electrical vehicles are on the rise, and they do not
emit the harmful emissions that platinum and palladium are tasked with
reducing. The challenge for platinum and palladium will be to find new
applications where they can be used. Otherwise, the future of platinum
and palladium does not look all that bright.
Having said that, palladium is most likely to outperform platinum
with both charts and supply and demand in its favor. There is still a
shortage of palladium that the market will not be able to resolve in the
short term. The supply deficit, combined with the recent consolidation
in prices after a major correction, will most likely result in palladium
rising again.
On the other hand, gold is under pressure, and it’s hard to see
platinum doing well when gold is struggling. There is also a surplus of
platinum that will not go away anytime soon. Therefore, barring a major
supply disruption, such as a major strike that drastically reduces
supplies, platinum is highly unlikely to do as well as palladium.
Platinum may have outperformed palladium in recent weeks, but that
should soon reverse.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 11:20 AM on Wednesday, March 20th, 2019
SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc. (TSX-V: NAM) owns one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in Sudbury, Canada. Learn More.
NAM: TSX-V
———————
Palladium prices hit yet another fresh record high Tuesday, topping $1,600 an ounce for the first time, and traders are looking for still more gains in a market described as tight.
“Palladium has rapidly run on a broad supply shortage, seeing prices rise almost 90% since the bull run accelerated from August last year,†said a research note from commodities brokerage SP Angel.
Palladium, historically the cheapest of the precious metals, has
raced to large price premiums over both gold and platinum. As of 10:08
a.m. EDT, spot palladium was trading up $14.20 to $1,590.55 an ounce
after peaking overnight at $1,601.45.
“Palladium has rapidly run on a broad supply shortage, seeing prices
rise almost 90% since the bull run accelerated from August last year,â€
said a research note from commodities brokerage SP Angel.
One of the most recent drivers of higher prices is news reports that
Russia is planning to stop exports of scrap precious metals from May to
November. Along with South Africa, Russia is one of two largest
producers of palladium in the world.
The worries about supplies come at a time when automotive demand for
palladium in catalytic converters has been robust. Even when car sales
weaken, analysts point out that yet another factor is boosting demand –
increased loadings of metal in each vehicle in order to meet more
stringent anti-emissions regulations in a number of key nations.
One U.S. desk trader commented that time will tell whether the Russia
development will have a meaningful impact on palladium, but
nevertheless said that “nerves are fragile,†and thus market
participants feel most comfortable holding long, or bullish positions.
“Availability of metal is very scarce,†Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at trading house MKS (Switzerland) SA., told Kitco News.
Still, he added, the continued backwardation is not as dramatic as it
was a month ago. Backwardation in any commodity occurs when nearby
prices are more expensive than deferred contracts, showing that users
are willing to pay a premium in their efforts to get the commodity right
away.
“In addition to the growing supply angst, large automakers have
announced price cuts to their vehicles sold in China after the nation
announced that it will reduce the VAT [value-added] tax by three points —
spurring hopes that car sales in the Middle Kingdom, which have been
horrible of late, could see a path towards recovery,†said a research
note from TD Securities.
Analysts with Commerzbank attribute much of palladium’s strength to speculative buying interest.
Johnson Matthey last month issued a report saying that the market
remained in a supply/demand deficit in 2018. The firm reported record
demand of 8.66 million ounces for the metal in automotive catalysts and
also strong consumption by the chemicals industry.
Some of the demand was met by disinvestment from exchange-traded
funds, Johnson Matthey said. However, with ETFs holding only 730,000 at
the end of 2018, compared to nearly 3 million at their peak in 2014,
there is not enough metal to bridge the gap between industrial demand
and supplies, Johnson Matthey said. Thus, the deficit in the palladium
market is likely to “widen dramatically in 2019,†the firm said.
“Excluding investment, the underlying ‘structural’ deficit in
palladium is forecast to approach 1 million ounces in 2019; even if all
remaining ETF holdings were liquidated, this would not be sufficient to
fill the shortfall,†Johnson Matthey said.
Gero and Nabavi are among those who look for more gains.
Nabavi commented that the $1,600 area might act as resistance for a
while. But if this is breached, “we could head to much higher levels,â€
he said. This especially will be the case as long as there are not new
sources of supply, but demand remains robust, he added.
Some analysts have even suggested that $2,000 an ounce is possible,
Nabavi said, but he added that this will “take a bit of time.†He
described the price rise as having order on the charts, with prices
coming back to fill any chart gaps that get left behind.
“I expect more of the same,†Gero told Kitco News. “I expect
tightness. I expect continued higher prices as we see less bars coming
to the [New York Mercantile) Exchange for delivery.â€
Palladium tends to end up in “sponge,†a powdery/grainy form that can
be used by industry, he explained. And, he continued, strong demand is
coming from China for both batteries and automobiles.
Tags: palladium, PGM, stocks, tsx, tsx-v Posted in New Age Metals | Comments Off on New Age Metals Inc. $NAM.ca – Record-Setting Palladium Outshines Gold, Other Precious Metals $WG.ca $XTM.ca $WM.ca $PDL.ca $GLEN
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:00 AM on Monday, March 11th, 2019
SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc.
(TSX-V: NAM) The company’s new Lithium Division has already made
significant acquisitions in Canada and the USA. The company also owns
one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in
Sudbury, Canada. Learn More.
analysts added that they see prices rising as high as $2,000 an ounce.
June palladium futures last traded at $1,473.40 an ounce
(Kitco News) – Renewed strength in the U.S. dollar, trading near a three-week high, is weighing on the entire precious metals market but that won’t be enough to stop the long-term uptrend in palladium, one bank says.
The precious metal has fallen from its record highs above $1,500 an
ounce, but analysts at Bank of American Merrill Lynch (BoAML) said that
it still has plenty of opportunities to move higher. The bank is lifting
its price forecast this year, saying it sees the metal averaging $1,800
an ounce, a 22% increase from its previous estimate.
The analysts added that they see prices rising as high as $2,000 an
ounce. June palladium futures last traded at $1,473.40 an ounce, down
0.87% on the day.
“In our view, palladium is firmly supported by fundamentals on the physical market,†the analysts said.
The bank said that prices will rise as inelastic demand is coming to a head with inelastic supply.
“For years, this has not been an issue, but persistent inventory
declines have increasingly raised apprehension over the availability of
the precious metal,†the analysts said. “Inelastic supply and demand,
combined with market deficits, meant that there was no price at which
the market would have cleared.â€
While supply continues to tighten, the analysts at BoAML said that
they don’t see demand shifting anytime soon as automakers continue to
focus on reducing emissions. Palladium is a critical component in
catalytic converters in cars with gasoline engines.
The analysts said although higher prices could force some automakers
to substitute palladium with cheaper platinum, they don’t see it
happening en masse. Quoting industry research, the analysts said that
palladium is slightly more effective compared to platinum.
“We understand that car producers will at least for another 12 month
retain the immediate focus on emissions, rather than reducing palladium
costs,†the analysts said. “This implies that demand will likely remain
supported, even when factoring in the recent underperformance of global
auto sales.â€Source: https://www.kitco.com/news/2019-03-07/Palladium-To-Hit-2-000-In-2019-Bank-of-America.html
Tags: palladium, PGM, stocks, tsx, tsx-v Posted in New Age Metals | Comments Off on New Age Metals Inc. $NAM.ca – Palladium To Hit $2,000 In 2019 – Bank of America $WG.ca $XTM.ca $WM.ca $PDL.ca $GLEN
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 3:10 PM on Friday, March 1st, 2019
SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc.
(TSX-V: NAM) The company’s new Lithium Division has already made
significant acquisitions in Canada and the USA. The company also owns
one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in
Sudbury, Canada. Learn More.
NAM: TSX-V
———————
Riding the palladium wave, Implats to build new mine in 2021
This has all been down to a massive supply deficit that has existed since 2012 and the situation is expected to remain this way for the next few years.
JOHANNESBURG — The price of palladium
has been on a tear in recent months, overtaking the gold price. This
has all been down to a massive supply deficit that has existed since
2012 and the situation is expected to remain this way for the next few
years. Amid this backdrop, miner Implats
believes palladium isn’t in a bubble and that demand for the metal
could continue for the next few years to come. That’s why Implats is now
building a new palladium mine in the Waterberg that will come online in
2024. South Africa’s mining sector will certainly welcome this
development and, hopefully, it will help breathe new life into the
sector. Helping fuel Cyril Ramaphosa’s drive for jobs. – Gareth van Zyl
By Felix Njini
(Bloomberg) – Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd.
plans to start building a new palladium mine that could begin producing
as soon as 2024 as the company’s outlook for metals turns bullish.
Implats, as the second-biggest platinum miner is known, plans to start work on the Waterberg project
in South Africa in 2021, Chief Executive Officer Nico Muller said. The
producer is also considering boosting output at its jointly held Mimosa
mine in Zimbabwe by 30% as it bets on a long-term shift in
platinum-group metals prices, Muller said.
A surge in palladium prices
and a weaker rand is dispelling the gloom that gripped South African
miners just a year ago. The metal used in pollution-control devices for
car engines is forecast to remain in deficit for an eighth straight year
in 2019, and Implats isn’t the only company seeking new sources of
supply. The world’s top platinum supplier, Anglo American Platinum Ltd.,
is studying plans to ramp up palladium output through the expansion of
its flagship Mogalakwena mine.
“I believe the change in PGMs is structural and not cyclical, so we
are fully confident that the buoyant market we see today is going to
prevail for the next 10 years,†Muller told reporters in Johannesburg
after announcing earnings Thursday. “When you contemplate a project like
this, you have to have a long-range view, and we have a very bullish
position at the moment.â€
Despite a stronger market for platinum-group metals and improved liquidity, Implats is sticking with plans to restructure loss-making mines
at its Rustenburg complex, Muller said. Implats will evaluate options
to boost output in existing businesses and may consider assets outside
its current portfolio, the CEO said.
The shares have rallied 63% this year.
Implats will exercise its options to increase its stake to more than
50% from 15% of the Waterberg project, which is being developed jointly
with Platinum Group Metals Ltd. and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National
Corp. The deposit could produce about 450,000 ounces of palladium and
about 290,000 ounces of platinum a year, initial studies show. The high
proportion of palladium means raising money is unlikely to be a major
concern, Muller said.
“I don’t see financing to be a material barrier to our ability to execute the project,†Muller said.
Tags: palladium, stocks Posted in All Recent Posts, New Age Metals | Comments Off on New Age Metals Inc. $NAM.ca – Riding the #palladium wave, #Implats to build new mine in 2021 $WG.ca $XTM.ca $WM.ca $PDL.ca $GLEN
