Battery Metals now considered “critical minerals”

The following AFR article highlights the structural shortages in the battery metals sector which is increasingly becoming a problem for a world that is looking to embrace electric vehicles (EV’s).

Read the full article here.

Below are our key takeaways from the AFR article:

• Governments all around the world have signed up to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 which is spurring demand for electric vehicles (EV’s).
  
  
• Sales of electric vehicles, including fully electric and plug-in hybrids, doubled in 2021 to a record of 6.6 million.
• The Russia/Ukraine conflict has caused the prices for critical battery metals like lithium, nickel and cobalt to rise.
  
  
• China currently produces three-quarters of all lithium-ion batteries and has 70 per cent of the production capacity for cathodes and 85 per cent for anodes, both of which are essential components of batteries.
  
  
• Supply chain anxiety in the west has meant governments are looking to reduce reliance on china for these battery metals.

Basically battery metals have now become “critical minerals” and governments globally are preparing to throw capital at exploration/development companies that are looking for these metals to secure domestic supply chains.

Below are the Investments we hold across all three of these commodities - Nickel, lithium and cobalt:

Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX:VUL) - Next Investors Portfolio

• Zero Carbon Lithium development stage, Germany (European Union)

Kuniko (ASX:KNI) - Next Investors Portfolio

• Cobalt, exploration stage , Norway (European Union)

Galileo Mining (ASX:GAL) - Next Investors Portfolio

• Nickel, exploration stage , Western Australia

European Metals Holdings (ASX:EMH) - Wise Owl Portfolio

• Lithium, development stage, Czech Republic (European Union)

Latin Resources (ASX:LRS) - Catalyst Hunter Portfolio

• Lithium, exploration stage, Brazil

Ragusa Minerals (ASX:RAS) - Catalyst Hunter Portfolio

• Lithium, exploration stage, Northern Territory