THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF RARE EARTHS
Argentina to begin lithium battery production in SeptReuters | July 2, 2023 |
Livent’s Fenix operation in Argentina. (Image by Livent).
Argentina’s first plant for lithium batteries will begin operations in September, using metal extracted locally by US company Livent Corp, mining officials said on Saturday.
Livent had agreed earlier this year to supply lithium to the new plant, which was developed by Y-TEC, a unit of Argentine state oil firm YPF.
“We will start to produce the first lithium-ion battery cells in the country,” said Roberto Salvarezza, president of Y-TEC, in a government statement, noting that the batteries will use lithium carbonate extracted by Livent in northern Argentina.
Argentina is the world’s fourth largest producer of lithium and has been attracting investment. Along with Chile and Bolivia, the country is in South America’s so-called ‘lithium triangle’, which holds the world’s largest trove of the ultra-light metal, highly coveted for its use in batteries.
Argentina’s mining minister Fernanda Avila said she hoped it would be an example for future projects.
“The development of the supply around mining activity is a priority for our government,” she said.
(By Jorge Otaola and Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Glencore in talks to back Argentina lithium plant for future supply
Bloomberg News | June 30, 2023
Centenario Ratones lithium project being advanced by France’s Eramet in Argentina. (Image by Argentina’s Minister of Economy, Twitter.)
Glencore Plc is in advanced talks about backing a lithium project in Argentina being developed by French miner Eramet SA, in return for future supplies of the key battery ingredient.
The commodity giant will sign an offtake agreement in exchange for helping to fund the lithium processing plant that Eramet is building with China’s Tsingshan Holding Group Co., according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
The Argentina plant is one of a slew of new projects being developed around the world to meet surging demand for lithium. The metal is vital to the shift to electric vehicles and is facing a supply crunch toward the end of this decade. While sales in the relatively tiny market were historically agreed bilaterally in long-term deals between producers and their customers, commodity traders like Glencore have begun seeking to build up lithium businesses.
It is unclear how much Glencore will invest and how much lithium it will secure from the offtake agreement.
A spokesman for Glencore declined to comment. Eramet said it had received interest from several potential partners including Glencore, and that “talks are continuing to determine which offer is in the best interest of the company.”
As one of the world’s biggest commodity merchants, Glencore regularly signs deals with producers for some or all of their future supply, which it trades alongside production from its own sprawling suite of operations.
The company doesn’t mine any lithium but it does produce the material at its recycling operations and is looking to grow in lithium trading. Chief executive officer Gary Nagle said in December it had set up a desk with two to three traders.
The deal comes as automakers including Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are stepping up efforts to secure future lithium supplies, including by striking direct pacts with miners — a shift from tradition in which they typically bought automotive components or entered into long-term contracts for raw materials at fixed prices.
Eramet is building the 24,000-ton-a-year lithium processing plant with China’s Tsingshan, which is the world’s biggest producer of nickel and stainless steel.
The project has an estimated cost of more than €700 million ($763 million) and is due to start production in the second quarter of next year, with a full ramp-up by mid-2025, Eramet said in a presentation in May. The French company and its Chinese partner plan to decide later this year whether to triple the plant’s capacity.
(By Yvonne Yue Li, Thomas Biesheuvel and Francois de Beaupuy)
Bloomberg News | June 30, 2023
Centenario Ratones lithium project being advanced by France’s Eramet in Argentina. (Image by Argentina’s Minister of Economy, Twitter.)
Glencore Plc is in advanced talks about backing a lithium project in Argentina being developed by French miner Eramet SA, in return for future supplies of the key battery ingredient.
The commodity giant will sign an offtake agreement in exchange for helping to fund the lithium processing plant that Eramet is building with China’s Tsingshan Holding Group Co., according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
The Argentina plant is one of a slew of new projects being developed around the world to meet surging demand for lithium. The metal is vital to the shift to electric vehicles and is facing a supply crunch toward the end of this decade. While sales in the relatively tiny market were historically agreed bilaterally in long-term deals between producers and their customers, commodity traders like Glencore have begun seeking to build up lithium businesses.
It is unclear how much Glencore will invest and how much lithium it will secure from the offtake agreement.
A spokesman for Glencore declined to comment. Eramet said it had received interest from several potential partners including Glencore, and that “talks are continuing to determine which offer is in the best interest of the company.”
As one of the world’s biggest commodity merchants, Glencore regularly signs deals with producers for some or all of their future supply, which it trades alongside production from its own sprawling suite of operations.
The company doesn’t mine any lithium but it does produce the material at its recycling operations and is looking to grow in lithium trading. Chief executive officer Gary Nagle said in December it had set up a desk with two to three traders.
The deal comes as automakers including Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are stepping up efforts to secure future lithium supplies, including by striking direct pacts with miners — a shift from tradition in which they typically bought automotive components or entered into long-term contracts for raw materials at fixed prices.
Eramet is building the 24,000-ton-a-year lithium processing plant with China’s Tsingshan, which is the world’s biggest producer of nickel and stainless steel.
The project has an estimated cost of more than €700 million ($763 million) and is due to start production in the second quarter of next year, with a full ramp-up by mid-2025, Eramet said in a presentation in May. The French company and its Chinese partner plan to decide later this year whether to triple the plant’s capacity.
(By Yvonne Yue Li, Thomas Biesheuvel and Francois de Beaupuy)
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