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Copper may be one of the earliest identified metals – there is evidence of Stone Age societies between 9000 BC to 2000 BC using it (without smelting) and it had its own archaeological period a long time ago — but its versatile properties make it one of the most sought-after materials even today, and perhaps more than ever.

Its conductivity makes it a key component of decarbonization and electrification technology ranging from solar power to hydro, thermal and wind energy, as well as energy storage and transportation.

The looming copper gap, to which ARPN called attention years ago, has prompted industry and academia to once more harness the materials science revolution providing advances in materials exploration and development, to join forces to identify sedimentary hosted copper deposits.  According to a newly-founded consortium of stakeholders led by the University of Western Australia’s Centre for Exploration Targeting (CET), these deposits offer a “promising and more sustainable alternative for meeting the increasing global demand for this energy transition critical mineral.”

According to mining.com, the deposits “account only for 20-25% of the world’s total copper production today and offer several advantages compared to non-sedimentary alternatives (…) being globally more widely distributed [and] present ESG opportunities by promoting economic distribution and reducing transport emissions.”

The sedimentary deposits are said to require less energy-intensive processing methods, and, as an added benefit in light of surging demand of battery critical materials against the backdrop of the green energy transition, sedimentary hosted copper deposits also contain significant amounts of cobalt.

The consortium, which also comprises the University of Warsaw, First Quantum Minerals, Teck Resources, BHP and Getech, a locator of subsurface resources, has launched a three-year Kupferschiefer project to create maps of promising areas within the Central European Basin using “proprietary gravity and magnetics data, as well as Globe earth model and spatial analytical expertise.” 

The materials science revolution appears to once more deliver, and the project is a promising endeavor with long-term prospects.  However, as followers of ARPN well know, the looming copper gap warrants immediate action.

The Financial Times predicted that copper’s growing application in this field will result “in it being dubbed the ‘metal of electrification’, with forecasts that it will double to a 50mn tonne market by 2035 compared with 2021 levels, according to S&P Global, which predicts a ‘chronic gap’ between supply and demand.”

U.S. import reliance for copper hovered around 30 to 35 percent in the 2010s, but in the 2020s, that number has gone up to more than 40 percent in the 2020s, according to the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries. 

In addition to looking to turning to newly unlocked (courtesy of the materials science revolution) deposits the Wall Street Journal outlined earlier this fall that mining companies are also targeting “a new but also old source – closed mines, also known as brownfield sites.”  The Journal points to Sweden-based miner Bluelake Mineral, seeking to reopen a mine site in northern Norway that closed 25 years ago, as well as to Rio Tinto’s Resolution Copper project near Superior, Arizona.

As ARPN outlined earlier, the project is considered one of the most significant undeveloped copper deposits in the world and would reuse the historic Magma Mine which started production in 1910 and operated until 1996. While the project has strong support from the surrounding community, and began the permitting process in 1997, it is still awaiting permits to begin operation.

For all its uses and growing demand profile, copper incredulously has not (yet) been added to the overall U.S. government’s critical minerals list (though the Department of Energy recently designated the material a critical material as part of its 2023 Critical Materials Assessment).

However, with demand and geopolitical volatility surging, securing key mineral supply chains becomes more pertinent than ever, and stakeholders should look to embrace a multitude of opportunities – both traditional and new – to diversify away from our adversaries and unleash our domestic mineral potential where possible.

As China tightens its export control ratchet yet again this week (see our latest post), here comes another visual reminder of why Beijing’s actions are relevant and concerning:

Our friends at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence have put together a new infographic illustrating China’s critical mineral supply dominance specifically for graphite anodes.

Before Beijing unleashed its latest salvo of export restrictions – this time for Rare Earths – graphite was the lastest material to find itself in the Tech War crosshairs with the announcement that to protect national security, China would require export permits for certain graphite products – a move analysts saw as a play “to control supplies of critical minerals in response to challenges over its global manufacturing dominance.”

As the largest component by volume and mass in EV batteries, graphite is considered a battery critical and has been deemed the “unsung player” in the battery supply chain. According to Benchmark data, Chinese production accounts for 74% of the total supply chain for graphite anodes, posing a risk for anode producers in South Korea and elsewhere.

Diversifying supply away from China represents a massive challenge as China “is on track to retain over 85% of the global anode market share by the end of the decade,” according to Benchmark analyst Tony Alderson.

For a full size look at the infographic, which clearly illustrates not only the scale of the graphite challenge, but also provides a window into technical and sustainability questions surrounding it, and for more detail on synthetic versus natural graphite, click here.

Over the course of the past few years, the U.S. has taken several important steps to decouple critical mineral supply chains from China, especially those for battery materials and chip manufacturing, ranging from DPA Title III designations and subsequent Department of Defense funding of projects to federal legislation providing funding for projects from the U.S. Department of Energy.

In the graphite realm, projects currently underway are expected to qualify for the IRA credits, and ultimately help “domesticate” the graphite supply chain, including Graphex’s pitch coating facility coming online in Michigan, and Graphite One Inc.’s effort to establish an all-American mine-to-manufacturing supply chain. Graphite One’s Graphite Creek deposit near Nome, Alaska was recently recognized by the U.S. Geological Survey as the largest U.S. graphite deposit and among the largest in the world, and, since July, the company has been selected for two Department of Defense grants, under the Defense Production Act’s Title III authorities and by the Defense Logistics Agency.

Positive moves in each case, but, as the infographic clearly demonstrates, more remains to be done – particularly in light of China’s obvious readiness to weaponize its dominance in the critical minerals realm.

Only weeks before a planned November summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, U.S. President Joe Biden, China’s commerce department has announced a new set of critical mineral export restrictions against what Nikkei Asia refers to as “a backdrop of domestic calls for a response to stricter limits on U.S. semiconductor exports to China.” According [...]

When it comes to the EV revolution, there really isn’t any doubt — it’s happening, and it’s accelerating.  But what does that mean for a society in which the automobile has become a central element in the social and economic structure, and in which the “the personal computer and personal car are co-equal in their transformative impacts? And [...]

Trade policy in an integrated global economy can take some unexpected twists and turns.  Today’s post highlights returns to one development under discussion that could lead to a result diametrically opposed to the original intent, in this case, of the U.S. Congress and Biden Administration. Earlier this month, in a letter to Biden Administration officials, U.S. [...]

As geopolitical and trade tensions continue to flare across the globe, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators is sounding the alarm on supply chain challenges for nickel, one of the key battery criticals. In a letter to Biden administration officials, the senators, led by U.S. Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Tina Smith (D-MN), express their concerns [...]

In keeping with its known penchant for weaponizing trade, Beijing is tightening its export control ratchet again this week. Now in the Tech War crosshairs:  Graphite. According to Reuters, China announced today that to protect national security, it will require export permits for certain graphite products – a move analysts see as a play “to control supplies of critical [...]

As Western nations continue their push to reduce their over-reliance on China for their critical mineral needs, some of the key players, including the United States and the European Union, have increasingly turned their eyes on Africa, a continent that is home to an estimated 20% of the metals and minerals required in EV battery [...]

Against the backdrop of surging demand for critical minerals and increasing geopolitical tensions, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is forging ahead with its efforts to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base. The Department is stepping up its efforts to award funding for projects to encourage domestic development of the Battery Criticals (lithium, graphite, cobalt, [...]

Earlier this moth, the European Parliament’s industry committee voted to endorse the EU’s draft Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA – see our coverage here) which sets benchmarks to increase domestic capacity for critical minerals extraction in an effort to reduce the EU’s over-reliance on supplies from China and other countries. The vote is a timely one and [...]