It was the turn of the silver metals to shine this week as nickel, silver and palladium all made gains while gold dipped from recent high points.
With a report from Wood Mackenzie speculating that battery raw materials could face a supply crunch by the mid 2020s, and Roskill offering a view that “despite the current hype, nickel prices remain well below recent highs”, the metal needed for EV batteries and stainless steel was on a roll.
Roskill said that while prices still have a long way to go to reach required incentive price levels, “they appear to be on their way”.
Meanwhile Gavin Montgomery, Wood Mackenzie’s Research Director for Battery Raw Materials, wrote in Forbes: “In every electric vehicle (EV) battery, there’s a complex chemistry of metals – cobalt, lithium, nickel and more.
“The electrification of transport is transforming the demand and supply of those battery raw materials. In fact, we expect to see double-digit growth for battery raw materials over the next decade. And our latest research suggests they could face a supply crunch by the mid-2020s, increasing the pressure on the raw material supply chain.”
A report from Indonesia suggested that, due to the need to secure steady supplies, automakers were investing directly in Nickel and other metals mining in the country.
Silver also enjoyed a strong week, especially in relation to gold. An outlook article on Seeking Alpha noted that “after months in the gutter, the poor man's gold is finally movin' on up. Silver popped nicely, rallying nearly 7.5 % from low to high over the past two weeks, beating gold's 4.8% gain. No longer getting solidly trounced by its richer cousin, silver is striking back.”
In Canadian mining news, regulators recommended approval of an oil sands mine proposed by Teck Resources Ltd in northern Alberta, saying economic benefits would outweigh “significant” adverse effects on the environment and indigenous communities.
In a decision released late on Thursday, a joint provincial and federal review panel found the 260,000 barrel per day Frontier mining project, to be situated 110 kilometers (68 miles) north of the oil sands hub of Fort McMurray, would be in the public interest.
In British Columbia, the Chief Gold Commissioner issued a mining lease to Pacific Booker Minerals (TSX-V: BKM) for the area known as the Morrison mine project, 65 kilometres northeast of the town of Smithers. However, the news was not all positive for Pacific Booker: the lease was issued for an initial term of one year and not the maximum 30-year term requested by Pacific Booker in its application - which was made ten years ago. Small steps...
Benchmark Metals (TSXV: BNCH) had better luck. The Government of British Columbia granted the miner a five-year work permit for exploration and drilling at the Lawyers gold-silver project. This 127-square-kilometre project is located in the Stikine Terrane of northern British Columbia, Canada, and falls within the prolific, mineral-endowed ‘Golden Horseshoe.’
The new permit for Lawyers encompasses an expanded scope and scale to explore existing and new targets across the property.