The Critical Minerals Pragmatist

LME week has been all about the copper hype, governments are busy signing MOUs left, right and centre, and mining needs to find over $3 trillion to meet net zero demands. In this issue: 📰 LME musings and news roundup 📣 Michael Saunders shares words of wisdom 🔋 Europe - where dreams come to die | How Europe’s battery hope has become a symbol of the EV bust 🖋️ An enemy of our enemy is our friend | India, US likely to sign pact on critical minerals 🌍 What could have been… | Zijin wants its Africa copper mine to rival the world’s biggest 🇨🇳 Unfair practices | China files appeal to WTO on Canada’s tariffs on EVs, metal products 💸 Make it rain baby | Mining industry needs $2.1 trillion in new investments by 2050 — BloombergNEF 📉 Value-add myths meet reality | Zimbabwe softens stance on local lithium processing after price collapse Latest issue here | https://lnkd.in/e3P3G8hY #criticalminerals #supplychains #energytransition #geopolitics

With UNGA underway and LME Week just around the corner it's partnership announcement and MOU signing time for Western governments. Discussion? Plenty. Action? Missing. In this issue: 🔋 In search for battery domination | Vanadium is the new battery cathode chemistry, says Pure Lithium CEO 💰 The boys are back in town | Trafigura’s new boss is ex-soldier who says profit comes first 🇬🇧 Right lads, make it look like we’re doing something | Indonesia, Britain sign collaboration agreement on critical minerals 🌍 Adding value to China | Marula ships first batch of manganese from Larisoro mine 🇦🇺 Political alignment | Australia eyes completion of US critical minerals pact this year Get your fix here: https://lnkd.in/eXiTg7Dy #criticalminerals #geopolitcs #energytransition

NGOs are raging, courts are blocking mine development, Chinese companies are expanding aggressively, and supply chain diversification looks to be no closer. Another day in critical minerals paradise. 🍹🌴 Get your fix here | https://lnkd.in/eTTtzVy3 Hot takes: 🇰🇿 Investing in Putin’s backyard | Metals-rich Kazakhstan seeks niche in battery supply chain 🔋 Undeterred | China nickel tycoon seeks growth in US energy storage market 💰 Cash is king | Bolivian YLB signs contract with Russian Uranium for direct lithium extraction plant ☭ Socialist critical minerals coming to a board room near you | United Nations-convened panel releases recommendations for governments, industry to guide global energy transition 🚗 Auto treachery | GM in talks to buy EV batteries built with Chinese tech in US, source says 🇿🇲 In search of big wins for China | Ivanhoe to explore Zambia with a view of replicating success in DRC 🇪🇺 Hopes and dreams | EU asks Australia to make foreign investment easier, eyes critical minerals 🌍 Uncomfortable truths | How can African states benefit from the EU Critical Raw Material Act and the UK Critical Minerals Strategy? #criticalminerals #criticalrawmaterials #supplychains #energytransition #geopolitics 

The latest issue has just dropped! Get your fix here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eCSM3RSM Dive into some key highlights – despite August typically being quiet, the critical minerals noise has been constant. 🛤️ Trying to out-railway China | US sees bipartisan backing for Africa critical minerals plan 🔋 Hypocrisy is best served with moral superiority | China lodges WTO complaint over Canada’s EV and metal tariffs ❌ Chokehold |  Arcadium Lithium suspends Mt. Cattlin in Australia 🌍 The Great Chinese African Territory | Xi wants bigger returns, fewer headaches from African debt deals 🇹🇷 West for security, East for folly | Turkey seeks Chinese partnership on rare earth elements for EVs 💰 Treating the symptoms, not the cause | Biden administration weighs price support for US critical minerals amid Chinese pressure ⚡️ Losing the spark | GM delays additional $330m investment in Thacker Pass, Lithium Americas says 🚀 Huston, we have a problem | AstroForge raises $40 million Subscribe, share, and remember…humour is not illegal, yet. #criticalminerals #supplychains #energytransition 

Catch the latest hot take in the Trend is Your Friend! All about the Minerals Security Partnership and Forum, partnerships, alliances, and countering China’s hegemony.

Mehdi Hasan's interview with Victor Gao was a gift that kept on giving: V: "Qin Gang was my good friend for more than twenty years" M: “Where is the former Foreign Minister of China?” [...] M: "This is not a hard question, we're not asking where Rehan's brother in the middle of Xinjiang is that you can dodge. Where is the former Foreign Minister of China?" V: “He is somewhere in China, you will never see him.” The full interview ➡️ https://lnkd.in/egP74X57 https://lnkd.in/eMaVaiPS

Things are getting spicy in the world of critical minerals. If China's antimony restrictions have shown us anything, is that certain commentators should have their keyboards taken away from them... Get your fix here | https://lnkd.in/eVweuNzb In this issue: 🔥 Antimony hot take 🥇 China announces it won the Olympics 🐴 It’s not all black and white | The West's critical mineral policy is putting the cart before the horse ❌ Socialist resources and reserves | Is JORC now a flawed project? 🕸️ The beauty of offshore companies | How Chinese investors tried to take over an Australian mining company 🤝🏻 Friends again | Zambia, DRC reopen their border after successful talks to resolve trade dispute 🌊 Deep sea PR machine | Deep-sea mining is inevitable - miners need to get onboard #CriticalMinerals #Geopolitics #Supplychains #Mining 

Introducing The Critical Minerals Pragmatist newsletter by Olimpia Pilch – your essential guide to the ever-evolving global critical minerals landscape. As the world grapples with political upheavals, market volatility, and shifting power dynamics, the critical minerals sector is facing its own set of challenges and opportunities. This issue offers a deep dive into the ever-evolving global critical minerals landscape. From legislative moves in the US aimed at securing supply chains to the continued dominance of China in the refining sector, Olimpia's analysis keeps you ahead of the curve. Click here to read this edition https://bit.ly/3M8gi7o and please visit here to to stay up to date with the latest developments from The Critical Minerals Pragmatist: https://lnkd.in/eQeqwHmA #CriticalMinerals #RareEarths #Lithium #Nickel

☀️ The sun is shining, the drinks are flowing and the latest Pragmatist is here! ☀️ Whether on the beach, in the garden or hiding under an umbrella somewhere in the UK, your essential reading is in one place. Where are we headed? Does anyone actually know what's going on? The blind might be leading the blind but in the West there's no strategy just vibes 🏝️🍹 Headline shenanigans:  🔋 What battery sector? | Australia’s fledgling batteries downstream sector at a crossroads ✂️ Copper cuts | Zambia closes border with Congo, blocking key copper trade route 💰 £50m to solve all problems | India to offer incentives for critical minerals extraction, govt source says 🐉 The dragon strikes back | Chinese mining firm files judicial review against Ottawa 📈 Buy low, sell high | China drives African lithium surge to lock in key battery metal Get your fix here | https://lnkd.in/ewh7nE82 #criticalminerals #supplychains #geopolitics #energytransition #mining #refining

🇨🇳 China leads critical minerals production "While China is in the lead for critical minerals production, the nation is losing its dominance. For example, the United States and Australia have increased their production of rare earths from 2010 onwards and most recently, Myanmar and Thailand have started to mine far more than before." Ah if only it were true. The devil is always in the detail. US-mined rare earths from Mountain Pass were being shipped over to China, given that the company has been just about surviving thanks to Shenghe Resources, a Chinese state-owned entity. Although things are looking up for the mine thanks to significant DOD backing to process US-mined rare earths in-country. Commercially, the mine stands no chance without government life support. Australia has Lynas thanks to Japanese intervention to create a backup to China’s monopoly and several over-hyped projects raising billions in debt, meanwhile, Myanmar is China’s sandpit. To say that China is losing its dominance is nothing more than wishful thinking. Monopolies are not just limited to geographies. Check out last issue of the Pragmatist here | https://lnkd.in/ePJrayg9