https://www.miningweekly.com
Refining|supply-chain|Technology|Products
Refining|supply-chain|Technology|Products
refining|supply chain|technology|products

US takes stake in battery-metals firm to wean itself off China

The Piauí nickel project, in Brazil

The Piauí nickel project, in Brazil

5th October 2020

By: Bloomberg

  

Font size: - +

The US government has taken an equity stake in a battery-metals company in a move that undercuts dependence on China for a key material used in electric vehicles.

TechMet received a $25-million investment from the US International Development Finance Corporation to help develop a Brazilian nickel and cobalt mine, the Dublin-based company said Monday in a statement. Cobalt is an important ingredient in cathodes of most electric-vehicle batteries and its refining capacity is largely under China’s control.

“Investments in critical materials for advanced technology support development and advance US foreign policy,” Adam Boehler, CEO of the government agency, said in TechMet’s statement.

The move is another example of US efforts to reduce reliance on its greatest geopolitical rival for key materials and comes days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to expand domestic production of rare-earth minerals -- another sector China dominates. Such minerals are needed for magnets in a broad range of products including electric vehicles.

TechMet’s main investments include lithium-ion battery recycling plants in Canada and the US, a Rwandan tin and tungsten mine and a US vanadium facility. Most metals targeted by the company fall under China’s influence at some stage of the global supply chain -- a fact TechMet CEO Brian Menell is keen to highlight.

“TechMet represents a real opportunity for its investors not only to profit from the impending supply-demand dislocation for critical metals, but also to invest into ethical sources of supply that are aligned with US interests, thereby playing a part in redressing the supply-chain imbalance,” he said in the statement.

Edited by Bloomberg

Comments

Showroom

Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East
Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East

Weir Minerals Europe, Middle East and Africa is a global supplier of excellent minerals solutions, including pumps, valves, hydrocyclones,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Yale Lifting Solutions
Yale Lifting Solutions

Yale Lifting Solutions is a leading supplier of lifting and material handling equipment in Southern Africa. Yale offers a wide range of quality...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

PGMs and green hydrogen make headlines
PGMs and green hydrogen make headlines
19th April 2024
Magazine round up | 19 April 2024
Magazine round up | 19 April 2024
19th April 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.146 0.195s - 108pq - 2rq
1:
1: United States
Subscribe Now
2: United States
2: