How Miners face supply chain restructuring to meet US EV credit deadline? Washington’s growing financial support for companies that produce metals used in electric vehicles may not bear fruit if the federal government restructures the licensing process for mines, investors, executives and advisers told Reuters.
President Joe Biden last week awarded $2.8 billion to new US miners of lithium, nickel, copper and other minerals for electric vehicles, as well as manufacturers and suppliers. replace the battery part. The grants follow the Inflation Reduction Act, in August, which combines taxes on electric vehicles and minerals mined domestically or from 20 partners.
Both measures aim to boost domestic emissions and bring the country closer to Biden’s goal that half of new American cars will be electric by 2030. But it now takes a decade or more to get a U.S. mining license, a tough process that discourages miners who welcome financial support but need more transparency. The Biden administration has also opposed authorization for many of the proposed missiles. “The US government is saying ‘Go! Go! Go!’, but the environmental review process is very serious,” said Jerry Hicks of ETF Optica Rare Earths & Critical Materials, which owns shares of Albemarle Corp ( ALB.N ). Freeport said. -McMoRan Inc (FCX.N) and Glencore Plc (GLEN.L).
“China has the infrastructure and the space, and it will take a long time for the United States to come close to that.”
Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, failed to push through Congress last month, though another attempt is expected later this year. “What I would like, if I could ask for anything, is predictability,” said Arne Frandsen, managing director of investment group Pallinghurst and director of Talon Metals Corp (TLO.TO) , which received $114.8 million from Biden and a small amount to a nickel processing company in North Dakota that will supply Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ).
“It’s hard to get the money to do it if you don’t know if you’re going to be licensed in 12 months or in five years.”
Some government-sponsored jobs may be easier to get than others. For example, recycled plants are less productive than surface mines.
Private company Nth Cycle Inc is building a refinery in the US Midwest that is expected to produce 5,000 tons of nickel per year by 2025. This is the only time the US nickel is currently preparing to close.
“People have the wrong idea about how we can bring mines online because of the US licensing system,” Nth Cycle President Megan O’Connor said. Albemarle is betting the $149.7 million award it won last week will ease its way to getting a license to reopen a North Carolina lithium mine.
“Hopefully they will help us and speed up some of the elimination process,” said Kent Masters, CEO of Albemarle. Still, many of these US mining projects will be new mines facing widespread pushback, including many from Biden himself.
Lithium Americas Corp’s (LAC.TO) bid to build the largest lithium mine in the United States has run into a legal battle. Piedmont Lithium Inc (PLL.O), which received $141.7 million from Biden, faces opposition to its mining operations in North Carolina.
“What needs to happen is not that the capacity is quiet, but that it is done quickly to ensure that we can build a mine that can supply the car manufacturers,” said Jordan Roberts, a mineral analyst at consulting firm Fastmarkets. . Delaying permits could drive up the cost of electric vehicles by limiting the supply of domestic minerals needed to lower battery costs, said Hicks of ETF Optica Rare Earths & Critical Materials.
The conflict between the American and Chinese ways to finance the electric car donation is now a concern for many policymakers and their advisers in the nation’s capital. “Unless you can create something new on these sites, you won’t be able to use these funds,” said Abigail Wulf of SAFE, an energy-focused think tank.
Source: Reuters
Data: October 24th 2022
Place: Washington (US)
Titile: Miners face supply chain restructuring to meet US EV credit deadline
