CO P P E R S U RG E S T O T WO -Y EA R H I G H /6 Geotech_Earlug_2016_Alt2.pdf 1 2016-06-24 4:27:20 PM
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US TOP 10 The companies and projects driving the industry / 9 – 14
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Sourcing cobalt remains a challenge for electric vehicle manufacturers
COBALT |
Metal is the most expensive component of EV batteries
BY FRIK ELS
G
Mining.com
erman luxury vehicle maker BMW signed a US$2.3 billion long-term deal earlier this month with Swedish battery maker Northvolt, the latest of such deals, as European carmakers try to compete with Tesla in the burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) market. Tesla’s gigafactories and battery technology have long given it an edge in the EV market (Northvolt was started by two former Tesla executives), but when it comes to the sourcing of raw material for lithium-ion batteries, the California company faces the same challenges
as traditional carmakers. This makes another, much smaller deal BMW struck more significant in finding an advantage over Tesla and stealing a march on its German and Japanese competitors. The Munich-based carmaker signed a five-year cobalt supply deal on July 10 with Moroccan miner Managem worth US$112 million. Managem owns Bou-Azzer in the Anti Atlas mountains, the only primary cobalt mine in the world and in operation since 1930. BMW says the offtake agreement, first announced a year ago, covers one-fifth of its requirements for the NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese) cathodes in its batteries, which
together with Tesla’s NCA (nickelcobalt-aluminum) represents more than 90% of the market. The other 80% of the cobalt it needs comes from the Murrin Murrin mine in Australia, a Glencore (LSE: GLEN) owned operation, which makes BMW the only carmaker with a direct to mine raw material sourcing approach. Roskill, a metals, minerals and chemical industry research company, estimates approximately 19,600 tonnes of cobalt will be required and provided for by the two sole suppliers, between 2020 and 2025. See COBALT / 3
Hydro unit at Managem’s Bou-Azzer cobalt mine in Morocco. MANAGEM
PM40069240
Endeavour Mining adds to gold resource at Hounde complex BURKINA FASO | Company recently awarded exploitation licence for the Kari Area BY CARL A. WILLIAMS
E
cwilliams@northernminer.com
ndeavour Mining (TSX: EDV) has increased its gold resource by 554,0 0 0 oz. at its Hounde mine in Burkina Faso, located approximately 250 km southwest of the capital Ouagadougou. The updated minera l resource now stands at 74.6 million tonnes grading 1.85 grams gold per tonne for 4.45 million contained oz. gold in the measured and indicated category. Inferred resources also increased to 7.9 million tonnes grading 1.9 grams gold for 481,000 oz. gold, up 24,000 oz. gold from the previous estimate, the company reported. The increase followed further resource delineation at the Kari
Area. It included extensions for the Kari West and Kari Centre deposits plus maiden resources for the adjacent Kari Gap, Kari South and Kari Pump NE deposits. “We are very excited to announce this resource update as it continues to demonstrate the Hounde mine’s potential,” Sebastien de Montessus, the company’s CEO, said in a press release. “Over 2.5 million ounces of indicated resources have now been discovered in the Kari Area, ranking it as the largest resource in the Hounde mine complex.” The Kari Area, the company says, includes a 5 km by 4 km wide area that hosts numerous deposits located 7-10 km northwest of the Hounde processing plant. The area has been the focus of extensive exploration since 2017, with over 400,000 metres drilled
“OVER 2.5 MILLION OUNCES OF INDICATED RESOURCES HAVE NOW BEEN DISCOVERED IN THE KARI AREA.” SEBASTIEN DE MONTESSUS CEO and Chairman Endeavour Mining
and six discoveries made: Kari Pump, Kari Center, Kari West, Kari Gap, Kari Pump NE and Kari South. The company estimates that approximately 20% of the anomaly remains untested. Around 55% of drilling in the
first quarter of 2020, the company says, was focussed on extending and delineating the Kari Center trend, with 15% directed towards delineating Kari Pump NE, and the remaining 30% consisting of infill drilling at Kari West to convert inferred resources into indicated resources and to test deeper extensions of the deposit. “Last year, the 1 million oz. indicated resource delineated at Kari Pump led to a reserve conversion of over 700,000 ounces. We now look forward to quickly completing the work to convert the additional 1.5 million oz. indicated resources delineated for the other deposits,” de Montessus said. “With 84% of the Kari Area See ENDEAVOUR / 2
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