The Industrial editor at the Telegraph:
The opening of America’s first cobalt mine for decades, marked with pomp and a ribbon-cutting ceremony, was supposed to be a step towards better energy security.
Instead, the facility in Idaho, built by Jervois Global, has become a victim of the problem it was meant to solve – reducing the West’s dependence on China for critical minerals, as Beijing seeks to dominate them.
“We are an unfortunate case study,” says Bryce Crocker, chief executive of Jervois. “I’d rather not be, but we are.”
…
Yet six months after opening, Jervois was forced to mothball the new facility as the price of cobalt plunged so low it became impossible to make a profit.
As Tim Newman will tell you, very loudly, the problem was Jervois screwing up the design of the refinery over contaominant elements in the ore. Which then, of course, leads to this:
Even on that score, Jervois’s Crocker sounds a positive note. His company is currently working with the Pentagon to expand the size of the US’s mine and open a potential refinery, helping to make the overall proposal more economically viable.
“We don’t need a 90pc market share, just a share that allows the portion of the product that goes into certain industries, which are genuine and critical, not to be cut off in the event of geopolitical unrest,” he adds.
“It’s an insurance policy. And I guess, since Covid and Ukraine, people are starting to realise that insurance policies matter.”
Plus the usual “Please Mr. PentagonMan, can I have some money”?
This also has the ring of a lot more hope than sense about it:
In Tyneside, one company seeking to do just this is Tees Valley Lithium. From 2026, the company hopes to begin producing lithium hydroxide and carbonate at a refinery near Redcar that will supply UK battery factories.
Paul Atherley, chairman of Alkemy Capital, the company’s parent, says he is “agnostic about the lithium price” to a degree because his company will be seeking to deal with car makers who sell to wealthier customers, not those looking for cheaper, entry level cars.
“We’re targeting that premium market, where anybody who is consumer-facing has to make a value decision about the product and the supply chain that goes into it.
“Customers also want to re-align their supply chains, so they’re not totally dependent on [China].”
You just try charging a substantial premium for local lithium for local people matey. You’re not gonna get far.
But to me the joy is here:
the price of cobalt plunged so low it became impossible to make a profit.
Over the past two years the metal’s value has tumbled from around $19,000 per tonne to less than $5,000, according to data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence,
No, that’s not the cobalt metal price, which remains in the $25 to $30k per tonne range. Probably one of the salts.
Two years ago, the global price of nickel peaked at around $7,000 per tonne. Now it is below $4,000 per tonne following a significant boost in production by Chinese-owned mines in Indonesia.
Eh?
And, you know, if you’re that far out on the prices – which can be looked up real easy – then the strategy and real story stuff is going to be…..