Ridiculous Market Cap and Stock Price, page-22

Why Every Western Automaker Is Visiting This Remote Part of South Africa

The region is home to the largest refiner outside China of manganese used in EV batteries


https://www.wsj.com/business/why-ev...ing-this-remote-part-of-south-africa-39902898

The Wall Street Journal “discovered” manganese this week with a story labeled Automakers Are Flocking to South Africa. The jest of the story is that battery-grade manganese, really MPMSM or high-purity manganese sulfate monohydrate, would be in high demand for EVs. The article pinpointed MMC, the largest EMM producer outside of China, and its plan to produce 30,000 mtpy of MPMSM in South Africa using purchased manganese ore.Quoting MMC’s CEO, Louis Nel, who said that virtually every auto maker was seeking to avoid buying Chinese MPMSM for their EVs. China, however, is by far the largest MPMSM producing country. “We have been inundated by people looking for refined manganese”.. and MMC is in talks with potential buyers. “I have signed more MOUs in the last 10 months than in the last 20 years,” he told the Wall Street Journal. However, MMC’s MPMSM project is only one of many and many are fully integrated with manganese mines. One of the most promising is South32’s Hermosa project in Arizona. The company plans to develop its Clark manganese oxide deposit and will depend on US government assistance. Eramet will supply Mn ore to Vibrantz to produce MPMSM in Mexico. Finally Jupiter Mines has one of a few South African projects to make MPMSM by using its own ore from Tshipi.

"https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/bmw-eyes-ev-future-south-africa-factory"

https://www.reuters.com/business/au...nvest-281-million-hybrid-vehicles-2023-11-08/

South Africa is home to the world's largest supplies of Manganese ore

IDC-funded Canada-Botswana battery manganese demo plant to be built in Joburg

EV Supply Chains May Be Dirtier Than You Think


December 27th, 2023



Most of us know that even the most efficient, long-range EVs generate emissions during the raw materials extraction and production phases, and that’s before we count the logistics required to move everything around the world a few times in the process. The Washington Post recently reported on some of the “dirty parts” of EV manufacturing, and it paints a picture of challenges ahead as more people look to make the shift to electrics.

EV batteries weigh hundreds of pounds and require several minerals and other materials that have to be mined. Many of the extraction locations are in poor parts of the world where the environmental safety and protections aren’t as strong as they are here. Materials like manganese mined in South Africa can have significant negative impacts on local communities and the people doing the mining. Workers in some mines report memory loss and slurred speech related to their work.