JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diversified mining and marketing company Glencore has entered a strategic global marketing relationship with United States Strategic Metals, formerly Missouri Cobalt.

Involved is a long-term offtake agreement for 100% of the US company’s products, which include cobalt and nickel sulphates, lithium products and copper cathode.

Significant embedded prepayment forms part of the deal, which includes both companies also exploring other commercial arrangements relating to recycling and raw materials sourcing to underpin the ramp-up of a  hydrometallurgical processing facility being developed by US Strategic Metals.

As a vertically integrated cobalt and nickel producer, US Strategic Metals is described as being positioned to supply “clean, domestic and ethically sourced battery metals” required to meet the demand for electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries.

The North American company is reportedly in the final stages of constructing a proprietary hydrometallurgical processing facility which will allow it to begin production of large-scale quantities of battery-grade products, starting in the third quarter of this year, Glencore stated in a media release to Mining Weekly.

Glencore US cobalt marketing Ash Lazenby stated in the release that Glencore would be supporting US Strategic Metals towards becoming a leading domestic supplier of battery metals critical to combating climate change and realising the energy transition.

“We look forward to working collaboratively with the US Strategic Metals team and leveraging our complementary skill sets,” said Lazenby.

US Strategic Metals CEO Stacy W Hastie said US Strategic Metals would benefit from Glencore’s customer relationships across the electric vehicle supply chain, including with global auto original equipment manufacturers and battery manufacturers.

Additionally, proceeds from prepayment would allow US Strategic Metals to accelerate the construction and commissioning of its hydrometallurgical processing facility, said Hastie.

OTHER RECENT PARTNERSHIPS

Earlier this month, Glencore clinched a battery recycling joint venture with battery pioneer Britishvolt to develop an ecosystem for battery recycling in the UK. This ecosystem will be anchored at a new recycling plant located at the Britannia Refined Metals (BRM) operation in Northfleet, a Glencore company. The project saw a return to recycling for BRM, securing existing jobs and creating new ones.

Once complete, the recycling facility will have an expected processing capacity of at least 10 000 t/y of lithium-ion batteries, including but not limited to battery manufacturing scrap, portable electronics batteries and electric vehicle packs.

The facility, which will process all Britishvolt’s battery scrap from its factory in Blyth, is expected to be operational by mid-2023, with the long-term aim of being 100% powered by renewable energy.
 
The partnership will also look to develop other recycling activities such as the refining of black mass into battery grade raw materials.

Late last month, Glencore and Managem partnered to produce cobalt from recycled cobalt, nickel and lithium, at Managem’s Compagnie de Tifnout Tiranimine (CTT) hydrometallurgical refinery in Morocco, North Africa.

A five-year tolling agreement for 1 200 t/y of recycled cobalt, as well as nickel hydroxide and lithium carbonate, is planned by Glencore and CTT to support the electric vehicle industry in achieving its metal recycling targets.

The partnership is conditional on a feasibility study to assess the commercial viability of modifying and deploying the CTT refinery for recovering cobalt, nickel and lithium from black mass – a refinery feed comprised of recycled lithium-ion batteries.

The feasibility study will focus on achieving high recoveries and a low carbon footprint. It is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter.

Glencore will leverage its long-established ability in sourcing and recycling cobalt and nickel-bearing products at its Canadian (Sudbury) and Norwegian (Nikkelverk) operations to supply cobalt-containing black mass to the CTT refinery.

Managem will provide the lithium-ion battery recycling technology developed and tested in the pilot plant at the Reminex research and development centre. This technology enables a high recovery rate of cobalt, nickel and lithium from black mass.

Glencore's industrial activities are supported by a global network of more than 30 marketing offices. Its customers are industrial consumers, such as those in the automotive, steel, power generation, battery manufacturing and oil sectors, and its companies employ around 135 000 people, including contractors. Its ambition is to be a net-zero total emissions company by 2050.