This was posted on Li mining blog but it also mentions Manganese ....
The Tesla led electric vehicle boom will lead to a tsunami of demand for the EV metal miners

MATTHEW BOHLSEN|JULY 23, 2020|1 COMMENT

The recent electric vehicle (EV) stock prices surge is telling a story. The story is one of change. The change is that electric vehicles are coming much sooner than many think. While EV manufacturer stocks have surged, battery manufacturers have done well, the EV metal miners are yet to jump. This presents one of the biggest investment opportunities of the 2020s decade, as a tsunami of demand hits the EV metal miners.

Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock is up over 8 fold the past 14 months (up 492%the past 1 year) and is now the world’s largest car company by market cap. Tesla is rapidly gaining market share and is severely production constrained, as shown by their over 650,000 Cybertruck orders, not to mention a backlog of orders for Model Y, Roadster 2 and Semi.

In fact it was reported yesterday: “Later this year, we (Tesla) will be building three factories on three continents simultaneously.” This followed the Tesla Q2 earnings release with Tesla now achieving 4 quarters of consecutive profitability making them now eligible to join the S&P500, a move that would typically see a surge of Index funds buying the stock. Meanwhile other pure EV plays are also booming. Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ: NKLA) is up 285% in the past year and NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) is up 250%. Will Fisker (NYSE: SPAQ) be next?

Lithium-ion battery megafactories are being built as fast as they can to meet the surging battery demand. There is currently over 115 Li-ion battery megafactories either built or in planning until 2029. This equates to enough capacity to make39 million EVs per annum by 2029.This is a massive increase on the 2.2 million electric cars sold worldwide last year.

As a result, shares of the leading battery manufacturers are flying higher. LG Chem is 57% higher the past year and Chinese giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (“CATL”) is 174% higher over the past year.

The 2017 boom in EV metals was merely the entree. What is coming this decade is so much bigger. Nickel sulphate battery demand is set to lead the pack with a staggering 14x increase in demand from 2019 to 2030. Aluminum, phosphorous, and iron will also be needed to meet the EV production surge. Copper demand for EVs is forecast to surge 10x due to its use in electric motors, wiring, and charging infrastructure. Finally the other battery metals are all set for a surge in demand. These can perform the best as they are often smaller markets with supply constraints as most investors know with cobalt in particular highly reliant on the volatile and corrupt DRC.

• Graphite – A 10x increase in battery demand from 2019 to 2030.
• Lithium – A 9x increase in battery demand from 2019 to 2030.
• Cobalt – A 3x increase in battery demand from 2019 to 2030.
• Manganese – A 3x increase in battery demand from 2019 to 2030.

Also from a related article ... "For investors the opportunity is now clearer than ever. Buy EV metal miners with quality assets in safe jurisdictions and with ability to scale rapidly to meet surging demand. While current producers are the safest and preferred way, the near term junior producers (developers) can offer tremendous returns, albeit with higher risk."
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All IMHO, DYOR