西方矿商寻求稀土金属溢价以打破中国的控制
https://www.euractiv.com/section/circular-economy/news/western-miners-seek-premium-pricing-for-rare-earth-metals-to-break-china-grip/
Euractiv.com 与路透社 2023 年 11 月 9 日
加拿大、德国和澳大利亚的少数关键矿产勘探商计划对电动汽车中使用的关键金属收取高价，承诺质量和一致性，以换取摆脱对主要生产国和价格制定者中国的依赖。
中国控制着稀土金属 95% 的生产和供应，而稀土金属是制造电动汽车 (EV) 和风电场磁体不可或缺的一部分，这种垄断使中国能够决定价格，并通过出口管制在最终用户中引发混乱。
公司官员告诉路透社，目前，在多伦多证券交易所上市的 Aclara Resources 和澳大利亚 Ionic Rare Earths 等矿业公司正在讨论可能放松中国对关键矿产市场控制的计划，转向由市场决定价格。
知情人士称，加拿大矿业公司 Neo Performance Materials 和德国 Vacuumschmelze 也在讨论类似的计划。 当路透社联系到这两家公司时，他们没有发表评论。
“（中国）对战略矿产的控制持续升级，如果稀土成为下一个，也就不足为奇了，”正在智利开发重稀土项目的阿克拉拉资源公司首席执行官拉蒙·巴鲁阿表示。
Aclara 正在寻求开采镝等重稀土金属，并正在与原始设备制造商 (OEM) 就溢价进行谈判，作为长期承购协议的一部分。
此前未报道的计划出台之际，矿商正寻求从七国集团 (G7) 国家激励矿商和汽车制造商在国内或从友好国家生产和采购关键金属的举措中受益。
作为交换，这些矿工希望最终用户支付溢价。 他们认为，西方和中国之间的地缘政治紧张局势危及稀土矿物的可靠供应。 如果中国坚持出口限制，就像对锗和石墨等大宗商品那样，供应可能会进一步受到影响。
新欧盟联盟旨在实现关键原材料的“战略自主”
欧盟委员会周二（9月30日）成立了一个新的行业联盟，旨在加强欧盟在稀土等原材料方面的“战略自主权”，稀土被认为是欧盟绿色和数字化转型的关键。
稀土是由 17 种元素组成的一组元素，因其磁性和电子特性而被用于电动汽车、风力涡轮机和消费电子产品等各种产品中，在北京上个月宣布从 12 月起对某些石墨产品实施出口许可证要求以保护国家安全后，稀土再次受到关注。 ，以国家安全为由。
例如，用于制造世界上最强大磁铁的钕目前的价格在每公斤 73 美元至 520 美元之间，公司表示，中国以外的价格可能比当前报价高出 30%。
阿克拉拉的巴鲁亚表示，如果依赖中国的价格，西方稀土元素的供应就不会发展。
“西方将能够供应对环境负责且可追溯的稀土，但成本结构与中国不同，因此价格昂贵，”他说。
个人退休账户杠杆
矿商们认为，由于新的环境、社会和治理相关立法以及美国通胀削减法案等税收激励措施，制造商将承担额外成本，并认为可靠和可持续采购的稀土价格溢价是有道理的，这是向稀土过渡的关键。 更清洁的能源。
对于任何 OEM 来说，差别定价的困境在于能否判断支付更高价格所带来的可量化价值。
“我们作为原始设备制造商想要的是一个全球公平的竞争环境，这意味着拥有透明、可持续和可靠的定价，”格兰富首席专家 Badrinath Veluri 说道。格兰富是一家总部位于丹麦的原始设备制造商，生产使用稀土磁体的水泵。
韦鲁里补充说，如果任何供应商声称他们通过收取更高的价格来带来价值，他希望了解这种说法的具体优点。
“来自中国或西方国家的任何金属（稀土或其他）的价格都是相同的，那么为什么稀土的定价应该不同呢？” 维鲁里问道。
Veluri 表示，关于定价的讨论在稀土行业协会中经常出现。他也是该全球组织的主席，其合作伙伴代表了整个稀土价值链。
总部位于美国的 MP Materials 和澳大利亚莱纳斯是中国以外全球最大的两家稀土公司，记者未能立即联系到其置评。
欧盟旨在通过《原材料法》减少对中国的依赖
欧盟委员会主席乌苏拉·冯德莱恩宣布了一项新的立法提案，即《关键原材料法案》，以解决原材料方面对中国不断变化的依赖问题，并确保供应链更具弹性。
开发稀土开采项目可能需要数十年的时间，投资者的风险厌恶情绪已经破坏了中国境外一些项目的可行性。 虽然越南、马来西亚和缅甸提供了中国的替代品，但它们的最终产量仍然遥远。
公司提出了定价替代方案，例如按生产成本加资本成本出售稀土精矿，以确保矿山保持盈利。 另一种选择是限制中国稀土制造商提供的价格，保护原始设备制造商免受价格剧烈波动的影响。
另一种选择是考虑中国稀土制造商提供的价格并设定上限，因此即使稀土价格上涨100%，原始设备制造商最终也不会为这些波动买单。
这些机制可能会使电机中使用稀土磁铁的电动汽车的成本增加至少 30-50%。
“一切最终都与权衡有关，”离子稀土公司董事总经理蒂姆·哈里森说。 哈里森补充道：“如果你想要一款与可持续性指标、最大限度减少碳足迹等相关的产品，那么显然这是有成本的，并且需要反映在供应链准备支付的价格中。”
“原始设备制造商可能不会为大量购买的产品支付更高的价格，例如锂，”汽车零部件制造商协会主席弗拉维奥·沃尔普说，该协会是代表加拿大零部件和设备原始设备制造商生产商的游说团体。
沃尔普补充道：“但对于钴、铜或稀土金属等，可以与采矿合作伙伴找到一个很好的战略策略。”
关键原材料：专家称中国领先15年
一位专家表示，中国在绿色转型方面的战略准备要充分得多，并且在为净零排放行业提供动力的关键原材料的开采和加工方面具有至少 15 年的优势。
Western miners seek premium pricing for rare earth metals to break China grip
Euractiv.com with Reuters Nov 9, 2023
A handful of Canadian, German and Australian critical mineral explorers plan to command premium prices for key metals used in electric vehicles, promising quality and consistency in exchange for shifting reliance away from China, the dominant producer and price-setter.
China controls 95% of the production and supply of rare earth metals, integral to manufacturing magnets for electric vehicles (EVs) and wind farms, and this monopoly has allowed China to dictate prices and stir turmoil among end users through export controls.
Now, mining companies such as TSX-listed Aclara Resources and Australia’s Ionic Rare Earths are discussing plans that may loosen China’s grip on the critical minerals market, moving towards market-determined prices, company officials told Reuters.
Canadian miner Neo Performance Materials and Germany’s Vacuumschmelze are also discussing similar plans, people familiar with the matter said. The two companies did not offer comment when reached by Reuters.
“The controls on strategic minerals (by China) continues to escalate, it comes as no surprise if rare earths are next,” said Ramon Barua, CEO of Aclara Resources, which is developing a heavy rare earth project in Chile.
Aclara is looking to mine heavy rare earth metal, such as dysprosium, and is in talks with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for a premium pricing as part of a long-term offtake deal.
The previously unreported plans come as the miners seek to benefit from the Group of Seven (G7) countries’ move to incentivise miners and automakers to produce and procure critical metals domestically or from friendly nations.
In exchange, these miners expect end users to pay a premium. They argue that geopolitical tensions between the West and China risk the reliable supply of rare earth minerals. If China persists with export restrictions, as it has with commodities like germanium and graphite, supply could be further compromised.
New EU alliance aims for 'strategic autonomy' on key raw materials
The European Commission launched a new industry alliance on Tuesday (30 September) aimed at strengthening the EU’s “strategic autonomy” on raw materials like rare earths, which are considered key for the bloc’s green and digital transitions.
Rare earths, a group of 17 elements used in various products including EVs, wind turbines, and consumer electronics due to their magnetic and electronic properties, garnered renewed attention after Beijing last month announced export permit requirements for some graphite products from December to protect national security, citing national security concerns.
For instance, the current price of neodymium, used to make the most powerful magnet in the world, varies between $73 to $520 per kg and companies say ex-China prices could be 30% more than the current quoted price.
Aclara’s Barua said that Western supply of rare earth elements will not develop if it depends on Chinese prices.
“The West will be able to supply environmentally responsible and traceable rare earths, but the cost structure is different to the Chinese and hence it comes at a premium,” he said.
IRA leverage
The miners believe manufacturers will absorb extra costs due to new environmental, social and governance-related legislation and tax incentives like the US Inflation Reduction Act and argue that a premium price is warranted for reliable and sustainably sourced rare earths that are key to the transition to cleaner energy.
For any OEM, the quandary of differential pricing is about being able to judge a quantifiable value that paying higher price brings.
“What we as OEMs want is a global level playing field, and that means having a transparent, sustainable and reliable pricing,” Badrinath Veluri, chief specialist at Grundfos, an OEM based out of Denmark that manufactures water pumps that use rare earth magnets.
Veluri added that if any supplier is claiming that they bring value by charging higher prices, he wants to see the specific merits of that claim.
“The price of any metal (rare earth or otherwise) that is coming from China or from western countries has the same pricing, so why should rare earth pricing be different?” Veluri asked.
The discussion on pricing has come up often in the Rare Earth Industry Association, said Veluri, who is also the president of the global organisation with partners representing the whole rare earth value chain.
US-based MP Materials and Australia’s Lynas, the world’s two biggest rare earths companies outside of China, were not immediately available for comment.
EU aims to lessen dependency on China with Raw Materials Act
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new legislative proposal, the Critical Raw Material Act, to tackle the evolving dependency on China when it comes to raw materials and ensure more resilient supply chains.
Developing rare earth mining projects can take decades, and investor risk aversion has derailed the viability of some projects outside of China. While Vietnam, Malaysia, and Myanmar offer alternatives to China, their final production remains distant.
Companies have suggested pricing alternatives such as selling rare earth concentrates at their cost of production plus capital cost, ensuring mines remain profitable. Another option is to cap prices at those offered by Chinese rare earth makers, protecting OEMs from drastic price fluctuations.
The other option is taking into account the price offered by Chinese rare earth makers and putting a ceiling to it, so even if there is a 100% jump in rare earth prices, OEMs do not end up paying for those fluctuation.
These mechanisms could boost the cost of an EV, which uses rare earth magnets in its motor, by at least 30-50%.
“Everything ultimately is about trade off,” said Tim Harrison, managing director of Ionic Rare Earths. “If you want a product tied to sustainability metrics, minimising carbon footprints etc, then obviously that is being delivered with cost and that needs to be reflected in the price that supply chain is prepared to pay,” Harrison added.
“The OEMs probably won’t pay a higher price for stuff that they buy in high volumes, such as lithium,” said Flavio Volpe, president of Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association, the lobby group that represents Canada’s OEM producers of parts and equipment.
“But for things like cobalt, copper, or rare earth metals there is a good strategic play to find with a mining partner,” Volpe added.
Critical Raw Materials: China 15 years ahead, expert says
China is strategically far better prepared when it comes to the Green transition and has an edge of at least 15 years when it comes to the mining and processing of critical raw materials that will fuel the net-zero industry, according to an expert.
