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Production of battery grade cobalt blows up First Cobalt's stock

Published: 09:14 05 Apr 2019 BST

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05 April 2019

 

 

Video commentary for April 4th 2019

 

 

Eoin Treacy's view

A link to today's video commentary is posted in the Subscriber's Area. 

Some of the topics discussed include: platinum breaks out, palladium pulls back, Wall Street quiet ,China firm, Europe steady, bitcoin pull back, 

 

 

Musings from the Oil Patch April 3rd 2019

Thanks to a subscriber for this edition of Allen Brooks’ ever interesting report for PPHB. Here is a section on coal to gas power plant conversions:

With an investment of roughly 50% of the value of an operating coalfired power plant, the benefits of converting to natural gas for fuel can make economic sense, based on our estimates.  However, as every technical article we read discussing fuel conversions pointed out, each project is different and requires an extensive analysis before reaching a conclusion.  We will not bore you with the extended lists of issues to be considered.  Natural gas makes for a cleaner environment and operating facility, and also requires less ongoing maintenance.  Gas plants are also less labor intensive, which may become a greater consideration in the future with a tighter labor market and an aging labor force.  

Given the amount of natural gas resources in the world, it would be nice to say that this conversion option is a panacea for the expensive decarbonization efforts currently being proposed.  A global coal-to-gas conversion effort is not likely, even though we suspect many more switches could (may) be justified.  As the economics of the Joliet conversion highlights, the plant moved from a baseload to peaking status, which could be justified by current energy economics.  We doubt all regions have similar economics that facilitate such a move.  The world will continue to remain dependent on an “all of the above” energy slate for ensuring everyone has access to cost-effective electricity.  

 

Eoin Treacy's view

Natural gas prices went negative in Texas over the last couple of days, as a result of a surge in supply from the Permian. A couple of years ago there were negative electricity prices in the same region as a result of all the wind power. These market anomalies help to highlight just how prolific production can be. Meanwhile US oil production is in excess of 12 million barrels a day.

 

 

Production of battery grade cobalt blows up First Cobalt's stock

This article from Mining.com may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

“Producing a battery grade cobalt sulfate is one of our most significant accomplishments as the majority of refined cobalt for the electric vehicle market is produced in Asia. With no cobalt sulfate production in North America today, First Cobalt stands to become the first such producer for the American electric vehicle market," Trent Mell, President & CEO said in the press release.

“Electric vehicle demand in North America will keep growing," Henrik Fisker, First Cobalt director and CEO of electric vehicle manufacturer Fisker Inc., said. "Companies such as Fisker continue to introduce new, affordable EV models to the market. Automakers and battery manufacturers have a responsibility to ensure any materials we use in our batteries are sourced in an ethical way.  The restart of the First Cobalt Refinery is an important step towards producing battery materials in America with a clean record from mine to machine.”

 

Eoin Treacy's view

Cobalt has bubbly characteristics by the time it peaked last year. One of the oldest adages in the commodity markets is “the cure for high prices is high prices” and the surge in cobalt prices encouraged new production and a drive towards greater consumption efficiency. The peaceful transition of power in Congo, the world’s largest producer, represented an additional bearish sign and contributed to the crash.

 

 

Fastest Electric Car Chargers Waiting for Batteries to Catch Up

This article by David Stringer for Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

“The charging capacities of electric vehicles have doubled in the space of a few years,’’ Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen said in an email. “We expect that fast-charging in public spaces will become the norm.’’

Tesla, which has more than 12,000 chargers globally, is boosting the speed of its own refueling units to cut time at the pump by as much as half. The upgrade promises to add as much as 75 miles of charge in five minutes -- still lagging the ultra-fast models.

The speed at which current EVs can recharge is limited by such factors as the size of their battery, the voltage the pack can accept and the charger’s current.

While it may be years before battery packs able to handle the power surge from ultra-fast chargers go mainstream, some new EVs -- including Hyundai Motor Co.’s Kona Electric and Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc’s I-Pace -- already can recharge faster than previous generations.

Volkswagen’s Porsche brand will introduce its electric Taycan sports car later this year. It’s the first vehicle capable of taking full advantage of the fastest chargers, with a larger battery and the ability to operate at a higher voltage.

“The cars are coming,” said Marty Andrews, CEO of Chargefox Pty, which installed ABB’s fastest units at some Australia charging stations. “The carmakers want ultra-rapid chargers because they want this to be future-proof. This is not a six-month plan, it’s a 10-year plan.”

 

Eoin Treacy's view

Refueling infrastructure during the era of internal combustion engines was built out by the oil companies and they still own large parts of the filling station market. What was particularly interesting about Royal Dutch Shell’s announcement last month that it aims to become the world’s largest power producer by 2030, is that this dovetails with the proposed increase in demand from electric vehicles. 
That has little to do with the environmental impact of the move and more to do with protecting a significant portion of its business from terminal decline.

 

 

A Belief in Meritocracy Is Not Only False: It's Bad for You

This article by Clifton Mark for medium.com may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

Perhaps more disturbing, simply holding meritocracy as a value seems to promote discriminatory behavior. The management scholar Emilio Castilla at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the sociologist Stephen Benard at Indiana University studied attempts to implement meritocratic practices, such as performance-based compensation in private companies. They foundthat, in companies that explicitly held meritocracy as a core value, managers assigned greater rewards to male employees over female employees with identical performance evaluations. This preference disappeared where meritocracy was not explicitly adopted as a value.

This is surprising because impartiality is the core of meritocracy’s moral appeal. The ‘even playing field’ is intended to avoid unfair inequalities based on gender, race and the like. Yet Castilla and Benard found that, ironically, attempts to implement meritocracy leads to just the kinds of inequalities that it aims to eliminate. They suggest that this ‘paradox of meritocracy’ occurs because explicitly adopting meritocracy as a value convinces subjects of their own moral bona fides. Satisfied that they are just, they become less inclined to examine their own behavior for signs of prejudice.

Meritocracy is a false and not very salutary belief. As with any ideology, part of its draw is that it justifies the status quo, explaining why people belong where they happen to be in the social order. It is a well-established psychological principle that people prefer to believe that the world is just.

However, in addition to legitimation, meritocracy also offers flattery. Where success is determined by merit, each win can be viewed as a reflection of one’s own virtue and worth. Meritocracy is the most self-congratulatory of distribution principles. Its ideological alchemy transmutes property into praise, material inequality into personal superiority. It licenses the rich and powerful to view themselves as productive geniuses. While this effect is most spectacular among the elite, nearly any accomplishment can be viewed through meritocratic eyes. Graduating from high school, artistic success or simply having money can all be seen as evidence of talent and effort. By the same token, worldly failures become signs of personal defects, providing a reason why those at the bottom of the social hierarchy deserve to remain there.

 

Eoin Treacy's view

I’m a believer in hard work, commitment and ingenuity but I agree it would be hubristic to discount luck or even serendipity in some of the events that have led to personal success. Nevertheless, to discount meritocracy because it does not provide an egalitarian outcome would be folly. Attempting an equal sharing of rewards is what communist systems do and we know how that works in terms of production, personal creativity and corruption.

Meritocracy might not be perfect but it is certainly better than believing that no matter what you do,you will do nothing to better your circumstances. That would be truly disastrous but it is the risk faced by the political establishment because of the populism which has gestated from the unequal returns created by quantitative easing.

 

 

Eoin's personal portfolio: precious metal long initiated March 8th

 

 

Eoin Treacy's view

Details of this trade are posted in the Subscriber's Area. 

 

 

2019: The 50th year of The Chart Seminar

 

 

Eoin Treacy's view

I have had word from the inestimable Mrs. Fuller that the London Philharmonic Orchestra are planning a memorial concert on October 5th at the Royal Festival Hall. It is envisaged that there will be drinks and canapes afterwards. Since this is the 50th year of The Chart Seminar we will be conducting the event on October 3rd and 4th.

I also plan on holding a New York event, potentially in June, and am in discussions with a partner in how best to organise it.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, would like to attend, or have a suggestion for another venue please feel to reach out to Sarah at sarah@fullertreacymoney.com.  

The full rate for The Chart Seminar is £1799 + VAT. (Please note US, Australian and Asian delegates, as non-EU residents are not liable for VAT). Annual subscribers are offered a discounted rate of £850. Anyone booking more than one place can also avail of the £850 rate for the second and subsequent delegates.

 

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