Domestic Supply Chains

Feb 25, 2021 News:
President Biden has signed a fresh executive order mandating a 100-day review of critical product supply chains in the U.S., focused on semiconductors, key minerals and materials, active pharmaceutical ingredients and advanced batteries like the ones used in electric vehicles.

The Biden administration may also work with "carrot and stick" approach, meaning financial incentives for companies that manufacture items domestically or limiting some imports for those who don't. In a letter to Biden, Sens. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) and Chris Coons (D., Del.) recommended he invoke the Defense Production Act to "incentivize or, if necessary, require American companies to retain their domestic capacities during this time."

reports suggest China is exploring whether it can hurt U.S. defense contractors by limiting the export of rare earths.

Monazite: a brown crystalline mineral consisting of a phosphate of cerium, lanthanum, other rare earth elements, and thorium.


 * UUUU的U矿也有稀土资源

LAKEWOOD, Colo., Dec. 14, 2020 /CNW/ - Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a three-year supply agreement with The Chemours Company (NYSE: CC) ("Chemours") to acquire a minimum of 2,500 tons per year of natural monazite sands, one of the highest-grade rare earth element ("REE") minerals in the world. Energy Fuels expects to process this monazite at its 100%-owned White Mesa Mill starting in Q1-2021, recover the contained uranium, and produce a marketable mixed REE carbonate, representing an extremely important step toward re-establishing a fully-integrated U.S. REE supply chain.

Upon a successful ramp-up of this program, Energy Fuels will be the first U.S. company in several years to produce a marketable mixed REE concentrate ready for separation on a commercial scale. We estimate that the amount of REEs contained in the monazite sands to be supplied by Chemours will equal close to 10% of total current U.S. REE demand, as contained in end-use products.

CC提供原材料. UUUU负责处理.

UUUU Q1 2021 Update:


 * This year, we expect to produce an intermediate rare earth product containing rare earths equal to 10% of U.S. requirements, and we're very proud of that. But we're not just comfortable with 10%. We're targeting 50% of U.S. requirements soon.
 * And it shows uranium production in the United States over the last 15 years. And it shows uranium production by some of the uranium producers in the United States. The two most noteworthy is Cameco is sort of in that light gray it says a $25 million. That's Cameco's production from the U.S. assets. And in the blue is from Energy Fuels assets $16.2 million. And if you look at both our assets and Cameco's assets combined 85% of the uranium produced in the United States, over 15 years was produced by two companies. If you add Ur-Energy, that's a $2.7 million, and you add Uranium One at $2.6 million. Between four companies 97% of the uranium produced over the last 15 years as come from four companies. So we believe that those with a successful history of producing uranium in the United States are best place to produce uranium in the future.


 * CC

Large monazite producers in the United States include Chemours Co CC.N, a titanium dioxide maker spun off from DuPont DD.N in 2015, and privately held Southern Ionics Minerals.


 * LYC.AX

California's privately held Mountain Pass mine is the only operating U.S. rare earths facility, while Australia's Lynas Corp Ltd LYC.AX in May agreed to build a rare earth processing facility in the country with Texas-based Blue Line Corp.


 * MDL.V Canada's Medallion Resources Ltd

Vancouver-based Medallion said it is seeking proposals from contractors to help build a plant to process the metals from the reddish-brown phosphate mineral monazite, a sand containing high concentrations of rare earths. -- 2019


 * NEO.V

Energy Fuels (NYSEMKT:UUUU) +3.6% pre-market after announcing a rare earth production initiative with Neo Performance Materials (OTCPK:NOPMF) spanning the European and North American critical material supply chains. --march 2, 2021


 * DEFN.V

Defense Metals Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition of mineral deposits containing metals and elements commonly used in the electric power market, military, national security and the production of “GREEN” energy technologies, such as, high strength alloys and rare earth magnets. Defense Metals has an option to acquire 100% of the 1,708 hectare Wicheeda Rare Earth Element Property located near Prince George, British Columbia, Canada.


 * RCK.VN

We are building the bridge from resource-rich Canada to process-focused Europe. We are building our own chemical plant in Europe, becoming a fully-integrated producer of battery-grade Lithium Hydroxide and a strategic partner for the electric vehicle and battery storage industries in Europe.

稀土现状：

Source: https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-56226634


 * 中国在稀土分离冶炼方面的能力居世界先进水平.
 * 世界稀土储量为1.3亿吨，中国的储量为5500万吨，居世界第一.
 * 2019年中国出口的17种稀土材料占全球稀土市场需求的85%-95%，而中国稀土出口当中的一半原料来自缅甸.
 * 中国稀土储量的90%集中在内蒙古的白云鄂博稀土矿.
 * 2010年供应危机的教训是：北京会用稀土作为地缘政治武器，稀土供应来源多样化绝对有必要.
 * 到2015年，中国的稀土矿和冶炼企业被整合到了北方稀土、中国五矿、厦门钨业等六大稀土集团.
 * 澳大利亚的稀土企业莱纳斯（Lynas）稀土公司已经成为中国以外唯一的大型稀土生产企业.
 * 现在莱纳斯公司在澳大利亚韦尔德山稀土矿每年开采将近20,000吨稀土氧化物，并且在马来西亚的工厂加工. 莱纳斯的稀土产量已经能够满足美国的所有需要，包括国防设备生产所需的500吨稀土原材料. 美国国防部还资助莱纳斯公司在美国得克萨斯州建造一个新的年产5千吨的稀土分离设施.
 * 在北美唯一开采的稀土矿芒廷帕斯矿山. 中国企业拥有经营该矿的MP Materials 10%的股份
 * 仅澳大利亚的韦尔德山稀土矿和美国加州的芒廷帕斯矿山的稀土产量就达到了全球稀土供应的1/4，而中国在全球稀土供应市场份额已经从2010年的98%下降到2020年的58%
 * 由于稀土加工连带高昂的环保成本，芒廷帕斯矿山稀土矿都被运到中国进行加工. 在2019年5月后 ，美国才开始在本土建立稀土加工能力.

U.S. looks to Canada for minerals to build electric vehicles
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-mining-canada/exclusive-u-s-looks-to-canada-for-minerals-to-build-electric-vehicles-documents-idINKBN2BB052?edition-redirect=in


 * The U.S. government is working to help American miners and battery makers expand into Canada, part of a strategy to boost regional production of minerals used to make electric vehicles and counter Chinese competitors.
 * On March 18, 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce held a closed-door virtual meeting with miners and battery manufacturers to discuss ways to boost Canadian production of EV materials,
 * department officials did stress the need to act now to build a U.S.-Canada EV supply chain, much like Europe has been doing and Asia has already done,
 * Canada’s Fortune Minerals Ltd (FT.TO), which is developing a cobalt mine in the Northwest Territories, has also held funding talks with the U.S. Export/Import Bank,
 * Lithium-ion batteries are dangerous to transport over long distances, so automakers prefer to have them built near assembly plants.
 * That should aid efforts by Ontario and Quebec to develop their own battery cell plants with both provinces close to U.S. automakers in Michigan and Ohio, industry executives said.
 * Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc (NOU.V, NMGRF) which is building a graphite mine and an anode plant in Quebec.
 * Pallinghurst joined Livent (LTHM) last November to buy the Nemaska lithium project in Quebec, in what will be North America’s largest lithium mine.
 * Livent (LTHM) has supply deals with BMW and Tesla.
 * Piedmont Lithium Ltd (PLL) which in January bought 20% of Sayona Mining Ltd, a developer of a Quebec lithium project.
 * Canada’s First Cobalt Corp (FCC.V) is building the continent’s only cobalt refinery, part of an effort to wean the EV industry off supplies from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where child labor has been used. Cobalt is used to make battery cathodes.
 * privately-held USA Rare Earth invested in Search Minerals Inc’s rare earths project in Newfoundland in eastern Canada.

美国未来将依靠加拿大、澳大利亚和巴西等国供应其生产电动车所需的大多数关键原材料，同时确保将这些原材料转变为计算机芯片和电池的更高价值的工作岗位留在美国国内.
June 8， 2021

白宫周二发布长达250页的关键供应链战略报告，以解决相关领域供需失衡问题. 在电动车领域，白宫要求美国必须与盟国合作，确保电动车生产所需金属矿石供应，同时聚焦在美国本土将原材料加工成电动车零部件.

在官方声明中，白宫表示美国必须与盟友和伙伴进行合作，以使生产供应链多样化.

新战略措施还包括通过美国开发金融公司提供新的资金，以扩大对电动汽车金属项目的国际投资，以及通过回收电池增加供应的新举措. 白宫还将成立一个工作小组，以明确用于电动汽车电池的矿物可以在美国国内哪些地方生产和加工.

生产电动车必须的铜、锂等其他原材料矿石供应是拜登政府积极推进电动车战略面临的主要障碍，由于环保等其他监管因素影响，美国国内相关矿山生产供应严重不足.

作为整体战略的一部分，拜登已被建议分步骤恢复美国国家矿产储备，并扩大资金以扩大国内可供使用的矿产资源.

拜登所在民主党正推动激进的气候目标，到2030年时多数美国生产的汽车将为电动车；到2040年时所有在路上奔跑的汽车全部为电动车.

路透此前报道称，白宫已经放弃将美国打造成电动车原材料主要供应国的计划. 美国未来将依靠加拿大、澳大利亚和巴西等国供应其所需的大多数关键原材料，同时确保将这些材料转变为计算机芯片和电池的更高价值的工作岗位留在美国国内.

白宫的新战略将对美国矿商造成打击，后者原先期待拜登将扩大发放美国矿商许可，以提高在美国国内供应的原材料金属.