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Cobalt & Bismuth
 
The Globe and Mail - April 21, 2025
It would be a mammoth mistake to downplay the ‘great escalation’ in U.S.-China relations
It would be a mammoth mistake to downplay the ‘great escalation’ in U.S.-China relations

From a national security standpoint, and this is where “bean counting” does not matter in terms of the lopsided export-import data, the fact that China has hit back on rare earths is a vitally important matter because the U.S. is highly reliant on the imports of crit¬ical minerals including gal¬lium, ger¬manium, bismuth, antimony, graphite, tantalum and other mater¬i¬als with mil¬it¬ary applic¬a¬tions (China not only mines most of the world’s rare earths, it is home to most of the world’s capacity for refining them)…Consider that there are 50 minerals in total that the U.S. government deems “critical.” This file is completely played but hugely important because American communication networks, energy production and military applications very much depend on China’s extraction and processing of these materials. For example, every F-35 fighter jet contains around 900 pounds of rare earth materials, and various submarines require more than 9,200 pounds…No wonder Greenland and Canada have been on the President’s radar screen, because although America is a global leader in so many areas, it lacks domestic reserves of many critical minerals. This is where Canada does indeed hold some important “cards” in any future U.S. negotiations, assuming Trump’s “51st state” taunt was no more than a playful joke.

 
Reuters - April 22, 2025
Chinese and U.S. flags flutter outside the building of an American company in Beijing, China April 8, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo ...
Chinese and U.S. flags flutter outside the building of an American company in Beijing, China April 8, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo ...

Beijing recently asked South Korean companies not to ship products containing China's rare earth minerals to U.S. defence firms, the Korea Economic Daily reported on Tuesday, citing government and company sources…The report had initially said China's Ministry of Commerce warned Korean companies they could face sanctions if they violated the export restrictions. The ministry delivered the message in letters to Korean companies which make power transformers, batteries, displays, electric vehicles, aerospace and medical equipment, the report said…Early this month, China placed export restrictions on rare earth elements as part of its sweeping response to U.S. tariffs, restricting the supply of minerals used to make weapons, electronics and a range of consumer goods…Exporters must now apply to the Ministry of Commerce for licences, a relatively opaque process that can range from six or seven weeks to several months…Senior South Korean government officials are set to meet their U.S. counterparts in Washington on Thursday to discuss tariffs. China on Monday warned countries against striking a broader economic deal with the U.S. at its expense.

 
Reuters - April 23, 2025
A screen displays the logo and ticker symbol for Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New ...
A screen displays the logo and ticker symbol for Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New ...

Prices of battery materials lithium and cobalt assessed by consultancy Benchmark Minerals Intelligence (BMI) will be used for contracts launched by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in June, BMI told Reuters…For BMI, a price reporting agency (PRA), this is an important step in having its prices used to settle derivative contracts traded on exchanges, an area dominated by information firms Fastmarkets and S&P Global Commodity Insights…An agreement between BMI and ICE signed earlier this year covers prices of lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, spodumene concentrate and cobalt hydroxide, BMI said. Spodumene concentrate contains lithium…They are all crucial materials for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, a key plank of the global energy transition…BMI said the contracts will be cash-settled and listed in London on ICE Futures Europe…In March, ICE Futures Europe President Chris Rhodes told the FT Global Commodities Summit in Switzerland that the exchange was planning to launch lithium, cobalt and spodumene derivatives in London this year.

 
 
EVs & Energy Storage
 
Reuters - April 23, 2025
Indonesia’s energy minister Bahlil Lahadalia gestures while delivering his speech during a signing ceremony for a Memorandum of ...
Indonesia’s energy minister Bahlil Lahadalia gestures while delivering his speech during a signing ceremony for a Memorandum of ...

China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt is replacing South Korea's LG Energy Solution as a strategic investor in one of Indonesia's major EV battery projects, the country's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on Wednesday…LGES on Monday announced its withdrawal from the 142 trillion rupiah ($8.42 billion) project…Indonesia is keen to develop domestic processing industries to produce batteries and EVs to take advantage of its rich mineral resources…Huayou would be collaborating with Indonesian state-controlled companies on the project.

 
Bloomberg - April 23, 2025
... (Bloomberg) -- Nissan Motor Co. has committed to invest an additional 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in China and says it sees the nation’s ...
... (Bloomberg) -- Nissan Motor Co. has committed to invest an additional 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in China and says it sees the nation’s ...

Nissan Motor Co. has committed to invest an additional 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in China and says it sees the nation’s intensely competitive automobile market as fertile ground to help it develop electric vehicles, an area where it needs to improve in order to get back on its feet. “With China moving so fast, we want to stay and we want to compete,” Stephen Ma, the head of Nissan’s operations in China, said on Wednesday during a press conference at the Shanghai auto show. The investment will be made by the end of 2026.…Local competition from BYD Co. as well as Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. and its Zeekr brand have forced many legacy automakers to significantly dial back their presence in the world’s largest car market and a poor showing there is a major reason why Nissan is facing its worst financial crisis in 26 years.

 
 
fortuneminerals
For further information about the NICO Project and its Mineral Reserves, please refer to the Technical Report on the Feasibility Study for NICO, entitled "Technical Report on the Feasibility Study for the NICO-Gold-Cobalt-Bismuth-Copper Project, Northwest Territories, Canada", dated April 2, 2014 and prepared by Micon, which has been filed on SEDAR and is available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com.

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

The materials appearing in this email contain forward-looking information. This forward-looking information includes, or may be based upon, estimates, forecasts, and statements as to management’s expectations with respect to, among other things, the size and quality of the Company’s mineral resources, progress in permitting and development of mineral properties, timing and cost for placing the Company’s mineral projects into production, costs of production, amount and quality of metal products recoverable from the Company’s mineral resources, anticipated revenues, earnings and cash flows from the Company's mineral projects, demand and market outlook for metals and coal and future metal and coal prices. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is given, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. These factors include the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties, uncertainties with respect to the receipt or timing of required permits and regulatory approvals, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological data, fluctuating metal and coal prices, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, the possibility that production from the Company's mineral projects may be less than anticipated, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, uncertainties related to metal recoveries and other factors. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred mineral resources are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that mineral resources will be converted into mineral reserves. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information because it is possible that predictions, forecasts, projections and other forms of forward-looking information will not be achieved by the Company. The forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no responsibility to update them or revise it to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.