As the US and China wrestle for influence in Africa, their next big battle is taking shape – for control of the continent’s vast supply of the essential minerals used in electronics and batteries for electric vehicles…Tanzania is building a critical minerals processing facility with US backing, as Washington courts resource-rich African nations to help break its dependence on China for the essential supplies…Harris said the plant, based at the Kabanga nickel project in northwestern Tanzania, would deliver battery-grade nickel to the United States and global markets by 2026. The Kabanga mine is said to hold 44 million tonnes of nickel, copper and cobalt…The White House said the arrangement was struck through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), a US$600 billion package adopted by the Group of 7 nations last year at Washington’s urging, in a bid to counter China’s influence in developing countries…Washington acknowledges its blunder in standing by while Chinese interests have dominated the mining and processing of critical minerals. The latest moves are intended to reduce US reliance on China for the resources…China controls most of the market for processing and refining of cobalt, lithium, nickel, manganese, graphite, rare earths and other critical minerals vital for the world’s transition to green energy…Demand is set to increase exponentially for the resources, which are used in solar panels and wind turbines, as well as electric vehicle batteries and even military weapons…Critical minerals are essential for the world’s transition to green energy, with demand set to increase exponentially as carmakers increase electric vehicle production…The DRC is by far the world’s largest exporter of cobalt, accounting for about 70 per cent of global production. It is also rich in diamonds, gold, copper, tin, tantalum and lithium, as well as the largest copper producer in Africa…Zambia is rich in copper and cobalt. Chinese companies have made massive investments in both countries, with China sourcing 60 per cent of its cobalt from the DRC…While China’s relationship with the DRC is arguably indispensable, President Félix Tshisekedi’s government believes it may be getting short-changed by foreign mining firms and is investigating contracts signed during the previous administration…McDonough said the biggest geopolitical and global macro issue of the next 10 or 20 years would be the control of critical minerals or battery metals, with Africa a key battleground…“Our world saw first hand that dependence on Russia for our oil and gas is not a safe or sound plan,” he said…“We cannot allow China to become the Opec of lithium, copper, cobalt and nickel, or else any future development of this green energy capacity will be completely dependent on their permission and price creation, which isn’t good for free trade or innovation – but is sadly the reality we all face.”…Chris Berry, president of ¬commodities advisory firm House Mountain Partners in New York, said it would be years – perhaps a decade – before the US had a chance of achieving a battery mineral supply chain that did not “touch” China in any way…“China controls too much of the battery supply chain currently, specifically mineral refining, to think that Western markets can be truly independent of Chinese influence,” Berry said…Legislation – like Washington’s Inflation Reduction Act could help – but was not an overnight fix, he added…“Companies are likely to have more of an impact by building supply chains closer to home in North America to serve the large consumer market and also take advantage of the benefits from the Inflation Reduction Act.”…Shinn said China’s state-owned companies (SOEs) would take greater risks – especially when directed by the government or the ruling Communist Party – and even absorb losses on investments that affected key Chinese security interests.

A significant scaling up of both production and international trade of critical raw materials is needed to meet projected demand for the green transition and achieve global net zero CO2 emissions targets…While the production and trade of most critical raw materials has expanded rapidly over the last ten years, growth is not keeping pace with projected demand for the metals and minerals needed to transform the global economy from one dominated by fossil fuels to one led by renewable energy technologies…Lithium, rare earth elements, chromium, arsenic, cobalt, titanium, selenium and magnesium recorded the largest production volume expansions - ranging between 33% for magnesium and 208% for lithium - in the last decade, but this falls far short of the four- to six-fold increases in demand projected for the green transition…“The challenge of achieving net zero CO2 emissions will require a significant scaling up of production and international trade in critical raw materials,” OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said. “Policy makers must closely scrutinise how the concentration of production and trade coupled with the increasing use of export restrictions are affecting international markets for critical raw materials. We must ensure that materials shortfalls do not prevent us from meeting our climate change commitments.”…Production of critical raw materials is becoming more concentrated amongst countries, with China, Russia, Australia, South Africa and Zimbabwe among the top producers and reserve holders…Export restrictions on critical raw materials have seen a five-fold increase since the OECD began collecting data in 2009, with 10% of global exports in critical raw materials now facing at least one export restriction measure…China, India, Argentina, Russia, Viet Nam and Kazakhstan issued the most new export restrictions over the 2009 to 2020 period for critical raw materials, and also account for the highest shares of import dependencies of OECD countries.

The prices for standard-grade cobalt metal in China and Europe narrowed on Wednesday April 5, sparked by weaker market sentiment resulting from a fall in cobalt intermediate prices in Asia..Fastmarkets’ daily price assessment for cobalt, standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, was $16.50-17.40 per lb on April 6…Others said that while the chemicals sector was well supplied throughout the supply chain, market participants in other sectors had been finding it more challenging to secure cobalt metal on a spot basis throughout the week…“All the feed has gone to batteries – whatever is produced is being sold there,” a fourth trader said, adding that finding material for shipment within the current quarter, directly from producers, was difficult…Fastmarkets’ daily price assessment for cobalt, alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, was $17.75-18.75 per lb on April 6.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday proposed sweeping emissions cuts for new cars and trucks through 2032, a move it says could mean two out of every three new vehicles automakers sell will be electric within a decade…The proposal, if finalized, represents the most aggressive U.S. vehicle emissions reduction plan to date, requiring 13% annual average pollution cuts and a 56% reduction in projected fleet average emissions over 2026 requirements. The EPA is also proposing new stricter emissions standards for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks through 2032…Automakers and environmentalists say the administration is moving quickly in order to finalize new rules by early 2024 to make it much harder for a future Congress or president to reverse them…. By 2032 the proposal would cost about $1,200 per vehicle per manufacturer, but save an owner more than $9,000 on average on fuel, maintenance, and repair costs over an eight-year period…John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation representing General Motors, Volkswagen, Toyota and others, said "factors outside the vehicle, like charging infrastructure, supply chains, grid resiliency, the availability of low carbon fuels and critical minerals will determine whether EPA standards at these levels are achievable."…The proposal is more ambitious than President Joe Biden's 2021 goal, backed by automakers, seeking 50% of new vehicles by 2030 to be electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrids…Under the EPA proposal, automakers are forecast to produce 60% EVs by 2030 and 67% by 2032 to meet requirements - compared with just 5.8% of U.S. vehicles sold in 2022 that were EVs…California in August moved to require all new vehicles sold in the state by 2035 be electric or plug-in electric hybrids, but must still seek an EPA waiver to proceed. 

Ford Motor Co said Tuesday that next year it will start retooling its sport utility vehicle assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario to produce electric vehicles, fulfilling a promise made to Canada's Unifor union during contract bargaining in 2020…Ford plans to begin overhauling the Oakville complex in the second quarter of 2024, idling most of the factory's production workers until the new EV assembly system starts up in late 2024, company officials said Tuesday during a conference call…As part of the C$1.8 billion ($1.34 billion) overhaul, the 70-year-old complex will get a new battery pack assembly operation, said Dave Nowicki, Ford's director of manufacturing operations for electric vehicles…The Oakville plant currently builds combustion Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus SUVs. The makeover of the factory is part of a $50 billion investment program through 2026. Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley has said Ford will have the ability to assemble 2 million EVs globally by 2026…Battery cells for the Oakville-built EVs will come from a factory Ford and battery partner SK On plan are building in Kentucky, Nowicki said. It is too early to tell whether the batteries will meet domestic content requirements to qualify for U.S. Inflation Reduction Act purchase subsidies, he said.

Mercedes-Benz Group sales rose moderately in the first quarter of the year, boosted by electric vehicles (EV) and premium cars, the German carmaker said on Wednesday…Worldwide sales increased 3% to 503,500 vehicles, with Europe posting the strongest growth at 8%...EVs were the main growth driver in the quarter, with sales almost doubling to 51,600 units.