Will Cuba See Another Mineral Export Become Less Valuable As Battery Technology Develops? While Diaz-Canel Administration Continues To Strangle Re-Emerging Private Sector.
/Bloomberg (7 November 2024): The world’s No. 1 cobalt miner is sounding the alarm over the rapidly shrinking role of the metal in the energy transition. The reason is the adoption of cobalt-free lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, batteries gaining momentum in recent years because they are cheaper to manufacture. Chinese company CMOC’s bearish view of the market comes amid a glut of the metal that’s been largely created by its expansion of two huge copper-cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
LINK: Cuba Has Nickel And Cobalt. Vehicle Electric Batteries Use Nickel And Cobalt. Cuba Should Benefit. September 25, 2021
London, United Kingdom-based NS Energy: ”Cuba – 500,000 tonnes: Around 7% of the world’s cobalt reserves are based in Cuba, estimated by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) at 500,000 tonnes. The country ranks fifth among the world’s largest cobalt-producing countries, with national output in 2020 of around 3,600 tonnes. Most of Cuba’s cobalt reserves are based in the east of the island in the Moa region, and are primarily extracted alongside nickel, which is a major mining business in Cuba. A joint venture between Canadian miner Sherritt International and General Nickel Company of Cuba produces the metal via open pit mining at deposits in Moa."
London, United Kingdom-based Cobalt Institute: “98% of cobalt is mined as a by product of copper or nickel. Cobalt is mined in several countries, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) being by far the largest producer. Mineral extraction accounts for 90% of the country’s exports and constitutes a core element of the Congolese economy. The majority of all cobalt mined in the DRC comes from large scale mines that are mostly operated by large-scale mining companies. They make a significant contribution to the social and economic development of the country.
COBALT IS A TECHNOLOGY-ENABLING METAL THAT IS PART OF THE SOLUTION TO THE GREEN ENERGY TRANSITION.
It is a key part of the lithium-ion batteries that give electric vehicles the range and durability needed by consumers. It is also used in electronic devices, jet engines and renewable energy storage, to name a few. Additional cobalt chemical properties allow for hard wearing and abrasion resistance, advanced pigment solutions and various other uses. Cobalt can be recycled and reused over and over, playing an essential role in the green energy transition.”
Toronto, Canada-based Sherritt International Corporation
Sherritt International is a recognized world leader in the production of high purity nickel and cobalt metal from lateritic ore. Mining and refining only in non-conflict jurisdictions, through its Moa Joint Venture, the high quality battery and alloy ready nickel and cobalt produced are used worldwide in stainless steel, specialty steel, chemical and welding applications. The high purity nickel and cobalt powder and briquettes are sought after for the most-favoured battery cathode chemistries in the rapidly expanding electric vehicle market. Nickel and cobalt are refined in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada from mixed sulphide intermediate prepared at the mine and processing plant in Moa, Cuba. This 50/50 joint venture, has the capacity to produce up to 35,000 tonnes of nickel and 3,800 tonnes of cobalt (100% basis) per year. In addition, Sherritt offers various other products for sale through its wholly-owned fertilizer business and sulphuric acid and ammonia production facilities.
Cobalt is a hard, lustrous, grey metal that is used in the production of high temperature, wear resistant super alloys, catalysts, paint dryers, cemented carbides, magnetic alloys, pigments, rechargeable batteries and chemicals.
The Moa Joint Venture’s finished cobalt (briquettes and powder) at 99.9% purity, exceeds the LME cobalt specification. In 2019, it supplied 3,376 tonnes (100% basis) or approximately 2.5% of world primary cobalt and was the 4th largest producer of refined cobalt metal and powder (100% basis).
Over the last decade, growth in the chemical sector, primarily in battery chemicals, has increased the demand for cobalt. The rapidly emerging EV (Electric Vehicle) market, as well as the world’s reliance on global communications in the form of mobile phones and tablet technology has been a driving force for increased cobalt consumption. Strong recovery from the superalloy sector has also helped the market remain in relative balance. Over the long term, positive growth is expected in the rechargeable battery sector (hybrid and electric vehicle applications).
Cobalt Briquettes: Cobalt briquettes are suitable for melting applications, high speed steel, super alloy, medical device, fine chemical and battery applications. The briquettes are conveniently sized for easy handling and reduction of dust. The dissolving properties of the briquettes also make this material favoured in chemical applications. [Specifications]
Cobalt Powder: Cobalt powders are suitable for high purity chemical dissolving uses such as paint dryer, catalyst, battery chemical and fine chemical applications. [Specifications]
30 October 2024: TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sherritt International Corporation (“Sherritt”, the “Corporation”) (TSX: S), a world leader in using hydrometallurgical processes to mine and refine nickel and cobalt – metals deemed critical for the energy transition – today reported its financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024. All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.
Leon Binedell, President and CEO of Sherritt commented, “Our Metals division has achieved remarkable progress, with finished nickel production reaching its highest quarterly level in two years. We have successfully reduced our net direct cash costs to US$5.16 per pound, demonstrating a significant year-over-year improvement even with materially lower cobalt by-product prices. Our Power division has also excelled, recording the highest quarterly electricity production in nine years. Additionally, we completed work to bring another gas turbine online, enabling us to generate electricity from new gas wells, including a new well that began production in October. This will further increase production and allow us to realize higher distributions of dividends in Canada going forward.”
Mr. Binedell continued, “Despite this quarter’s lower nickel and cobalt prices, our available liquidity in Canada increased 27% to $71 million. We are beginning to realize savings from the cost reduction initiatives announced in the first half of the year and we made additional workforce reductions in the third quarter to lower our costs further. During the fourth quarter, we expect to receive another significant distribution from Power and the recommencement of dividends from the Cobalt Swap agreement. Looking ahead, phase two of our expansion at the Moa JV is advancing as planned, with commissioning and ramp-up scheduled for the first half of next year which will increase our mixed sulphide production to our refinery, displacing lower-margin third-party feed and maximizing our profitability.”
Financial Times
London, United Kingdom
20 July 2018
Panasonic cuts ties with supplier over Cuban cobalt fears
Japanese group concerned materials in its batteries for Tesla could fall foul of US sanctions
Panasonic has suspended ties with a Canadian supplier amid concerns that Cuban cobalt, a target of US sanctions, was used in batteries it supplied for Tesla’s electric vehicles.
The Japanese battery supplier said on Friday it did not know how much Cuban cobalt was ultimately used in the lithium ion batteries it supplied to the US market for Tesla “due to commingling of sources by its suppliers in several phases of manufacturing processes”.
The company declined to identify its Canadian supplier but a person with knowledge of Panasonic’s supply chain identified the company as Sherritt International. The Canadian company produces cobalt at the Moa mine in Cuba through a joint venture with the Cuban state-owned General Nickel Company. Sherritt declined to comment.
Panasonic said the suspension of ties was a precautionary measure following guidance from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control over the scope of the US ban on Cuban-origin imports, which dates back to 1960. Tesla said it had been informed by Panasonic that a small portion of Model S and Model X batteries may contain trace amounts of cobalt from Sherritt. Only some vehicles produced after February 2018 are affected, and there is no impact on battery cells produced at its gigafactory in Nevada, including for its mass-market Model 3 cars. Panasonic’s move, which was first reported by Reuters, comes as Tesla and other carmakers scramble to secure supplies for an ambitious rollout of electric cars.
The price of cobalt, more than half of which comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, has more than doubled over the past year. It will be increasingly difficult for carmakers to meet their targets without using more cobalt from the DRC, according to Gavin Montgomery, an analyst at consultancy Wood Mackenzie in London. “To reach these kinds of aspirations in terms of gigafactory volumes [of Tesla batteries], it’s going to be a struggle using existing mines or feedstocks,” Mr Montgomery said. “Everyone is going to have to rely on the DRC for cobalt one way or the other.” One consultant who works closely with big companies throughout the electric vehicle supply chain said that it was “surprising” that Panasonic had only now realised that its batteries may contain Cuban cobalt, but added that Sherritt was not a major supplier to the company.
About 4 per cent of global cobalt mined production came from Cuba last year, according to Darton Commodities. Another Tokyo-based expert in the EV supply chain, who is a specialist in cobalt, said that while Japanese companies did not normally use Cuban cobalt — and it was in any case a small component of the Japanese EV supply chain — some certainly did so. Caspar Rawles, a London-based analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, said Panasonic would probably be able to tap into its wide range of suppliers and internal stocks to plug the gap from the suspended Sherritt supply.
“Negotiation season for long-term raw material supply contracts is just around the corner and Panasonic can replace inventory in this period to meet the needs of their Tesla obligations, so it is less likely that they will need to source additional material from the spot market,” Mr Rawles said. The supply issue came to light as both Tesla and Panasonic, its exclusive battery supplier, are working to develop cobalt-free batteries to cut their reliance on the metal.
Yoshio Ito, the head of Panasonic’s automotive business, recently said it would aim to halve the use of cobalt for the type of automotive batteries used for Tesla’s EVs in two to three years. “We have already achieved this at the research and development level,” Mr Ito told reporters in Tokyo. He declined to provide a timeline for the mass production of such batteries, saying safety and quality assurances would take time. In a statement on Friday, Tesla reiterated that the company was “aiming to achieve close to zero usage of cobalt in the near future”.
