China's third largest cobalt refinery Jinchuan Group is on track to raise its production capacity for nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) precursors used in lithium-ion batteries in Jinchang in northwest China's Gansu province…The 100,000 t/yr project will be developed in three phases. The first phase of 30,000 t/yr began production this month. The firm will start constructing the second phase of 30,000 t/yr at the end of 2022 and launch production in 2023. It has yet to decide the construction schedules and launch dates for the third phase of 40,000 t/yr…Jinchuan's total capacity for NCM precursors will rise to 120,000 t/yr from 50,000 t/yr, including the first phase of 30,000 t/yr, when the remaining two phases are put into operation…Jinchuan is a state-controlled company and mainly produces nickel, copper and cobalt. It is one of the first cobalt refineries in the world, with refining capacity of 14,000 t/yr of metal equivalent including metal and tetroxide, as well as 50,000 t/yr for NCM precursors…Jinchuan owns four mines including Ruashi, Musonoi, Kinsenda and Lubembe in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), after acquiring South Africa's Metorex Mining in January 2012…Ruashi is already in operation with 60,000 t/yr metal equivalent capacity for copper feedstock and 5,000 t/yr metal equivalent for cobalt feedstock. Musonoi is under construction and expected to enter production in 2023 with a capacity of 35,000 t/yr metal equivalent for copper and 6,500 t/yr metal equivalent for cobalt. 

The demand for critical minerals is “growing at a pace that no one alive has ever seen,” Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s Simon Moores told a House of Commons committee earlier this year. It was one of six recent meetings on the topic for the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, which last month released its recommendations to overhaul Canada’s critical mineral strategy…The committee’s report is another in a growing number of announcements about the sector: an alliance with the EU, new national security reviews for investments, an interactive map to help encourage exploration, and a revised list of minerals Ottawa considers essential for Canada’s security and for the fate of key industries like electric-vehicle manufacturing, both domestically and for “our partners.”…Canada says it has a wealth of minerals needed for electric-vehicle batteries, solar panels and defence technology. But as long as they remain stuck in the ground, Canada is behind rivals like China, and risks falling behind allies like Australia, too. That has Canadian companies and officials considering sharing these critical resources with the U.S. to line up buyers for burgeoning miners…The intensifying focus on these minerals reflects the last several years of trade troubles with China, supply chain challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and growing anxiety over losing a chunk of Canada’s economy as demand for petroleum wavers…The opportunity in the electric-vehicle industry alone has huge potential: new EVs are projected to go from 2.7 per cent of sales to 58 per cent by 2040, Electric Mobility Canada told the committee. By Natural Resources Canada’s assessment, the country is “the only nation in the Western hemisphere with all the minerals and metals needed to produce advanced batteries for electric vehicles.”…But as of 2019, China was among the top three nations that dominated the market for copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare-earth elements by processing volume, according to the International Energy Agency. The IEA’s projections for some of the top minerals suggest that by 2025, China will remain a major producer, while Canada is on track to be a major producer only of nickel…As recently as February, China was reportedly considering an export ban over security concerns…Canada has stores of some critical minerals — ranking sixth as a supplier of nickel and cobalt, fourth in aluminum and third in graphite, according to Clean Energy Canada — but few of its deposits are being mined. Getting a mineral from the discovery stage to production can take well over 15 years, the IEA estimated…The desire to make up for lost time has Canadian lawmakers and industry alike considering what they dub the “continental” approach, which would include the United States in its supply chain. It’s a move experts said would help Canada with training, research and waste recovery…The White House has released an aggressive plan to secure its own critical-mineral supply chains, and the U.S. Department of Energy has published its own nine-year plan for a lithium-ion battery supply chain. Despite goals to create U.S.-based jobs and manufacturing, the U.S. battery plan also extends its 2030 goals to its “partners,” and its supply chain report highlights at least two existing alliances with Canada…The committee report identifies missing links in Canada’s domestic supply chain for batteries, including intermediate mineral processing and manufacturing. 

LG Chem will invest 10 trillion won ($8.7 billion) until 2025 to develop eco-friendly materials, rechargeable battery parts and pharmaceutical products. The leading chemical company views those three businesses as its new growth engines, CEO Shin Hak-cheol said Wednesday…Of the 10 trillion won, 3 trillion won will be spent on eco-friendly materials, 6 trillion won on rechargeable battery parts and 1 trillion won to develop new drugs…Among the 10-trillion won investment plan, the largest amount of money will be used to develop materials for batteries to capitalize on the fast-growing electric mobility battery business. Under the scheme, LG Chem will focus on improving the production capacity of various materials for batteries such as cathodes, anodes, separators and adhesive products…LG Chem aims to become the industry-leading cathode material company as it begins construction of a cathode-making plant in Gumi starting this December. With the new factory, which will have an annual production capacity of 60,000 tons, LG Chem's cathode production capacity will rise to 260,000 tons in 2026 from around 40,000 tons last year…The company added it is currently in talks to set up a joint venture to secure a stable supply chain of metals for lithium-ion batteries. 

Manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. will team up with SES Holdings Pte, a hybrid lithium- metal rechargeable battery supplier based in Singapore, to develop the next generation of batteries for electric vehicles…To forge the partnership, Taiwan-based Hon Hai, known as Foxconn internationally, said it will participate in a private placement to be launched after the merger of SES and Ivanhoe Capital Acquisition Corp…The combined company, which will continue to be called SES, will be worth US$3.6 billion, and it will launch a private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal worth US$200 million to set up a strategic partnership with a group of investors…In addition to Hon Hai, the PIPE partnership will also include Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp., and LG Technology Venture of South Korea, China's Geely Holding Group. and SIAC Motor Corp., U.S.-based General Motors, Fidelity Investments Canada ULC (certain funds), and mutual fund management firm Franklin Templeton…Through the partnership with SES, Hon Hai intends to upgrade its technology to develop next-generation EV batteries, the company said. Sources close to the deal told CNA that Hon Hai will take advantage of the investment in SES to develop high-performance hybrid lithium-metal batteries, and explore opportunities to work with car developers to unveil long haul EV models in the future…The EV battery investment is part of Hon Hai's "3 plus 3" initiative to diversify its contract manufacturing business into hardware and software integration…One of the "3" is the development of electric vehicles and building an EV supply chain. EVs have been placed at the top of Hon Hai's business agenda in 2021, according to chairman Liu Young-way.