How Ethical Is The EV Industry's Supply Chain? Here's How This Company Aims To Shift The Mineral Supply Closer To Home

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash

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Demand for lithium batteries skyrocketed in 2021 as interest in electric vehicles (EVs) rose to all-time highs. 

This demand was reflected in the stock of EV operators Lucid Group Inc. LCID, Tesla Inc. TSLA, Ford Motor Co. F and Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology Co. Ltd XPEV, all of which explosively rose to all-time highs in 2020 and 2021. 

Macro-level statistics reflect the enthusiasm for EVs in the stock market. One Gartner report, for example, concluded that global EV sales more than doubled to 6.6 million in 2021, and another report by Energy Agency showed that the EV market share doubled in the last two years, too. Despite its aggressive rise to fame, the EV industry has a supply chain that has at times been fraught with financial and ethical complications.

The search for cobalt – an essential ingredient in lithium batteries – has led to significant human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it’s mainly sourced. In Chile, lithium mining activities have left an unnaturally blue hue in some water reserves, leaving farmers unable to grow crops. In Tibet, a lithium leak from a nearby mine created a spectacle of floating fish, cow and yak carcasses along the Liqi River, an event that was heavily protested by Tibetan locals.

On the other hand, the price of nickel has more than doubled in the last couple of days due to a short-squeeze that has forced the London Metal Exchange (LME) to halt trading in metals used in stainless steel and batteries for EVs. The LME halted nickel at about $80,000 a tonne, but it had risen to a record $101,365 a tonne just before. 

The unstable supplies of essential commodities, as well as the unethical sourcing of these materials, necessitates a financially feasible and ethically driven alternative.  

Understanding the necessity for these resources, companies such as Global Energy Metals Corp. GEMC GBLEF 5GE are looking for ways to build a strong portfolio of ethical mining operations aimed at supplying the EV industry for years to come. 

Bites By Numbers

GEMC as an example uses a “consolidate, partner, invest” approach to building a portfolio of companies with direct ties to the resources needed for the EV industry to flourish. So far, the company has reported:

• Well leveraged to the rising commodity price environment with direct interest in nickel, cobalt & copper as these strategic metals near or surpass all time highs.
• GEMC has a diversified, highly-prospective property portfolio holding ten projects focused on Nickel, Copper, and Cobalt, a 1% NSR royalty on a past producing nickel mine and currently holds significant equity positions in other mining companies that are advancing high-quality assets associated with the battery metals sector. 
• Sustainable, ethical and high-potential projects in Canada, Australia, Norway and the U.S. 
• Managed by an executive team with investment management and venture capital experience over multiple decades, we demonstrate a unique analysis of macro dynamics by spotting opportunities and acting decisively to capture value overlooked by others.
• Partnership with GoldSpot to apply artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to optimize exploration targets, allowing GEMC to better focus drilling efforts and unlock value across its significant landholdings in Nevada.
• A strategic partnership with American Battery Technology Company that in combination of utilizing ABTC’s leading-edge extraction technology development processes with Global Energy’s portfolio of nickel and cobalt projects is creating mutually beneficial opportunities that could bolster and secure a much needed supply of minerals deemed “critical” by the Canadian and US governments.

Up next the company is looking toward:

• Follow-up exploration activities on GEMC’s project portfolio with emphasis on a Phase 2 exploration program at the nickel-cobalt-copper rich Lovelock Mine project in Nevada, USA.
• Initiating a Phase 1 drilling program at the & Treasure Box project in Nevada, USA.
• Continued exploration at the Monument Peak Copper-Silver- Gold project in Idaho, USA.
• Benefit from partner funded programs to see non-core assets advanced in Australia, Norway and Canada.
• Further monetize existing projects through partnership strategy to unlock value and advance projects without dilution to the company while maintaining exposure to the project potential.
• Continue to evaluate strong projects in the battery metals sector with the outlook of complementing existing portfolio with further acquisition.
• Engage and work with key marketing and strategic partners to strengthen the market value and in turn GEMC’s share price and market cap.

Speaking directly to Benzinga, GEMC said: “There is an incredible opportunity for GEMC and our shareholders.  The realisation that the shift to a sustainable low-carbon economy is important and consequently securing the critical minerals necessary for it is just as vital is translating into investment and building of new sources of supply.  At GEMC, we are accomplishing just that and are part of the solution to the pressing issue of future supply and in doing so are advancing a diversified pipeline of battery mineral project holdings in safe, top-tier mining jurisdictions in close proximity to the end-use market, providing shareholders with a way to accelerate investment and gain exposure to the electrified future.”

For more on GEMC, click here.

This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice.