March 23, 2018

Glencore faces off against labor group on Congo mine conditions

Glencore defended working conditions at its mines in Congo after an international labor federation said its employees are poorly treated and underpaid.

March 23, 2018

Companies now looking for electric battery metals in the garbage

Soaring cobalt and lithium prices are pushing some companies to dig for them in the recycle bin, which some believe could be even more profitable than mining them.

March 22, 2018

BMW mining deals shelved until EVs can be mass-produced

The German luxury vehicle maker said mass production of EVs is not viable until 2020 when its proprietary electric drive technology is expected to be profitable enough.

March 22, 2018

RNC mulls selling Aussie mine to focus on massive cobalt-nickel project in Quebec

The company's Dumont cobalt and nickel project in Quebec is the world’s largest undeveloped reserve of both metals, with over 1 billion tonnes of reserves and a 33-year mine life.

March 20, 2018

Congo set to overtake US as world no 4 copper producer

DRC's resolve to overhaul mining code shouldn't have surprised the industry – Kinshasa's become too important to global supply for companies to pull sticks.

March 20, 2018

Talks to implement Congo mining code set for Wednesday -govt

The new code opens the door for royalties to increase up to five-fold on metals designated "strategic substances" by the government.

March 20, 2018

Cobalt price: Automakers ‘waking up too late’ as China takes control

Glencore CEO flags China-Congo-cobalt nexus, responsible for 80% of global cobalt chemical production, a crucial ingredient of electric vehicle batteries.

March 19, 2018

This electric metal gem is up 55% in 2018 and investors have hardly noticed

After BMO's star analyst published bullish research notes on vanadium in January (2018), the price of vanadium pentoxide (v2o5) went up another 55%.

March 19, 2018

Congo state miner curbs expectations about code concessions

The operators are pressing the government to row back on some of the reforms President Joseph Kabila signed into law this month.

March 19, 2018

Battery makers descend on Australia, Canada cobalt developers

Nervous Asian battery makers are turning to early-stage cobalt projects in Australia and Canada to lock in supplies of the critical battery ingredient ahead of expected shortages as demand for…