News
European Critical Raw Materials Act announced
Blue View 15 Sep 2022In her 2022 State of the European Union address, European Commission President von der Leyen noted that without secure and sustainable access to the necessary raw materials, Europe’s ambition to become the first climate-neutral continent is at risk.
Vale Indonesia signs HPAL deal with Huayou Cobalt
Blue View 14 Sep 2022The partners have agreed to build a second HPAL plant to produce MHP in Indonesia.
TISCO and Vale invest in JV for Indonesian ferronickel
Blue View 14 Sep 2022PT Vale Indonesia and China’s Taiyuan Iron & Steel (TISCO) are setting up a 49:51 JV in Bahodopi, in the Morowali district in Indonesia, to produce 73-80ktpy of ferronickel. The ferronickel plant is planned to be commissioned in 2025 at an estimated cost of US$21Bn.
European steel: switched off
Blue View 13 Sep 2022During the past few weeks, a large number of steel mills have stopped their operations, because of higher electricity prices and weaker demand.
Oman Chromite Company ramps up mine output in H1 2022
Blue View 13 Sep 2022Oman Chromite Company (OCC) produced 25.9kt of chromite ore in H1 2022, up 177% year-on-year. Profits were up 145% year-on-year, supported by higher ore prices in H1 as well as lower costs, according to the company.
Ferroalloy production cuts announced in Spain
Blue View 12 Sep 2022FerroAtlantica, the Spanish subsidiary of Ferroglobe, has announced the suspension of the last two furnaces in operation at its ferromanganese and silicomanganese plant in Boo.
Tesla eyes lithium refinery in the USA
Blue View 12 Sep 2022The EV maker is considering the construction of a lithium hydroxide refining facility in Texas.
Ferrochrome furnace suspensions in Finland and Zimbabwe
Blue View 08 Sep 2022Outokumpu, the integrated Finnish stainless steel producer, and Zimasco, the Chinese-owned ferrochrome producer in Zimbabwe, have announced suspensions of ferrochrome furnaces at their flagship operations.
Redwood Materials advancing on expansion into European markets
Blue View 08 Sep 2022Redwood Materials, a Li-ion battery recycler and parts remanufacturer, is seeking further expansion into Europe, a move that would allow it to strengthen and expand its newly formed collaboration with VW America.
Tesla reportedly behind on its 4680 cell plans
Blue View 07 Sep 2022Tesla is reportedly having issues ramping up its 4680 battery cell production.
AMG Lithium signs lithium hydroxide deal with European cathode plant
Blue View 07 Sep 2022AMG’s German plant will provide EcoPro’s Hungarian cathode plant with battery-grade lithium.
First Solar to invest US$1.2Bn in USA
Blue View 06 Sep 2022First Solar has announced plans to invest in scaling US production of photovoltaic (PV) solar modules.
Ford leads push to shorten US mine permit review process
Blue View 06 Sep 2022The automotive giant asked for faster mine permitting, greater transparency in the review process and a boost in federal funding for geological mapping.
Stainless steel output in Europe scaling back in the face of high energy costs
Blue View 05 Sep 2022Stainless steel producers in Europe have announced several cutbacks and shutdowns at operations, citing high energy prices as the major challenge.
Cobalt Blue advances sample program for potential global partners
Blue View 05 Sep 2022Cobalt Blue completed the extraction of 4,000-5,000t of ore from the Broken Hill Cobalt Project (BHCP) in New South Wales for processing at its Demonstration Plant.
Baltic Sea wind energy supply to increase 7-fold by 2030
Blue View 01 Sep 2022A meeting on offshore wind energy held by the Baltic Sea bordering nations (excluding Russia) agreed to increase offshore wind capacity to 20GW by 2030 and to over 90GW by 2050.
Wyloo Metals follows up its step into battery materials with a stake in rare earths
Blue View 01 Sep 2022With a AUD150M (~US$100M) investment, Wyloo Metals has become a strategic investor in Hastings Technology Metals. The funds are earmarked for Hastings to acquire a 22.1% stake in Neo Performance Materials.
Key takeaways from the SAIMM Battery Raw Material Conference
Events 31 Aug 2022The SAIMM hosted a Battery Raw Materials conference in South Africa with sessions on value chain, technology, sustainability, processing, and recycling of lithium-ion and other battery technologies.
A test site for liquid metal energy storage systems in Colarado
Blue View 31 Aug 2022Colorado utility Xcel Energy will test the use of Ambri’s liquid-metal energy storage technology in a demonstration project of calcium-antimony liquid metal batteries’ ability to interact with renewable energy.
Hydrogen trains in Germany starting to replace diesel locomotives
Blue View 30 Aug 2022Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen has started replacing diesel locomotives with hydrogen-powered trains on a 100km stretch track in northwestern Germany.
Winds of change in the shipping industry
Blue View 30 Aug 2022Global shipping giants including Cargill, Maersk Tankers, and Mitsui are tacking into wind to cut emissions.