Alcoa's New Leadership, American Battery's Lithium Breakthrough And Nucor COO Exercises Options

Dec. 21, 2023: Here are today’s top stories in the mining sector:

1. Alcoa Corporation AA announced that it appointed Matt Reed as its new executive vice president and chief operations officer, effective Jan. 1, 2024. Reed will lead the company’s global operations, including bauxite mines, alumina refineries and aluminum smelters.

Alcoa's President and CEO William F. Oplinger commented on the news, saying, "Matt is a very strong leader who will help us drive a high-performance culture across our assets.… He is guided by integrity and a passion for building capable and motivated teams. He will build on the work he's already accomplished, driving increased stability while successfully managing a range of complex initiatives."

Bank of America analyst Lawson Winder also raised his price target on Alcoa Corporation to $36 but maintained a neutral rating.

2. American Battery Technology Company ABAT announced a positive initial assessment for its Tonopah Flats Lithium Project in Big Smoky Valley, near Tonopah, Nevada. The updated estimate of mineral resources is 18.03 million tons of lithium hydroxide monohydrate, with a mine life of more than 400 years and an average annual production of 33,000 tons of lithium hydroxide monohydrate. The net present value of the mineral resource is $4.41 billion.

"We are excited to have expanded upon our Maiden Resource Report from this past Spring with this Initial Assessment to further refine the analysis of the magnitude and quality of this unconventional, domestic lithium resource, and also to detail the financial competitiveness of bringing this resource and commercial-scale lithium hydroxide refinery to market," American Battery Technology Company CEO Ryan Melsert said. "Enhanced by the support of our U.S. Department of Energy grants, the economics of this project are very compelling and result in a full project payback period of only 2.4 years."

3. According to an SEC filing on Wednesday, Dec. 20, the Chief Operating Officer at the steel manufacturer Nucor Corp NUE, David Sumoski, exercised stock options for 28,768 shares, realizing a total of $3,727,182.

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