As GM Authority has extensively covered in the past, General Motors has been hard at work signing agreements and making investments to source and secure the materials needed to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles. Now, The General, along with other major automakers, will be attending a mining conference circuit in Hollywood, Florida this week to find long-term partners for battery supplies.
According to a report from Bloomberg, it’s unusual to see major end-users of raw commodities, like automakers, to attend mining conferences. However, the publication notes that the high demand for the necessary raw materials to manufacture electric vehicles has driven automakers to attend such conferences.
“There’s an urgency to it now that wasn’t there a few years ago,” BMO Capital Markets co-head of global metals and mining business Ilan Bahar said in an interview. “If three or four years ago we had invited car companies to our conference, they probably wouldn’t have made it a priority.”
“We’ve seen investments they’ve made directly in mining companies, primarily to secure offtake,” Bahar said. “The nature and capital structure of how people are investing is evolving.”
GM Ultium Cells Plant In Lansing, Michigan
Speaking of investments into mining companies, the Detroit-based automaker signed a $650 million joint investment with Lithium Americas to develop the Tracker Pass mine in Nevada for lithium extraction back in January 2023. Additionally, GM is also seeking to purchase a share in Vale S.A.’s new base metals unit following an agreement with Vale Canada Limited, a Canadian mining subsidiary of Vale S.A. This agreement stipulates that Vale will serve as a supplier of battery-grade nickel sulfate from Vale’s proposed plant in Bécancour, Québec.
With a goal of offering 30 EVs worldwide by 2025, as well as qualifying for Federal tax credits, it comes as little surprise that General Motors has been investing heavily into mining companies as an effort to secure reliable battery mineral supply chains.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more GM business news, GM EV news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
And suddenly, mining is perfectly fine with fickle libbies everywhere. Good grief.
That’s what I’ve been saying for a long time. The liberals are major hypocrites. Now I’m gonna get hate spam or deleted by the obviously left leaning moderators
It is about agendas. You want Oil, Copper or Coal you are evil but about anything else it is game on with lawmakers.
Accept now they are attacking Ford for the Aluminum they are getting from South America. They claim it is polluting the Amazon,. That is like saying someone is polluting the East river.
They’re NEVER satisfied unless the cause fits their self-satisfying world view…
Whenever I read stuff like this, all I see are dollar signs multiplying. Is the Equinox EV really only going to be around $30,000? Mining and sourcing are incredibly expensive, and so are the new capital costs that need to get paid down. With everyone else raising their rates, it would be truly astounding if GM manages to avoid it.
It is not just a Nox Ev but a Gas one is going up in price too.
It is going to be a tough market for a while
But note GM’s system can use different cells so buyers will be able to choose the battery just as we have choose engines. G
No, equinox EV will be around 40-45K. It starts at 30K, but that’s stripped down. The equinox starts at 26, and it’s unlikely that you will pay more than 30.
Course the real problem is that the equinox ICE turns a nice profit, while the BEV is sold at cost on a good day. It will jump in price here shortly.
Mined and shipped by diesel powered machinery most likely. Not windmills and solar.
ICE is too so not much of an argument there either.
This is what I like to see from GM.
If they can get Production Numbers up, I truly believe they are the best positioned Legacy Automaker to survive and maybe even thrive with this massive shift taking place. Execution is always key though. So far they are terrible at EV’s s they cannot Mass produce any Ultium vehicle!!!
Demand for BEV’s is insane and just growing exponentially. GM can sell every single one they make easily as long as the execution is correct.
By the end of 2023 people will be floored that the Tesla Model Y will most likely become the Worlds best selling (Maybe happens in 2024) vehicle by overtaking the Corolla…Let that sink in. The Model Y is probably on average at least 50K vehicle (Higher Probably) and it will surpass all other vehicles on a yearly sales basis!!!
Insane demand, huh Momo?
Sure…
@morrisangelo
Correct. Insane Demand.
Automakers cannot keep up with the Demand. People have been waiting for years because Legacy hasn’t been able to scale manufacturing. GM if and when they scale up will not be able to keep up with the insane demand on their Ultium vehicles.
Also, it is Momolos and not Momo. But I am sure it was simply a Typo.
I promise to never, ever, ever call you Momo again, Momo.
@morrisangelo
Wooooooooow so clever of you. Be honest, did you giggle out loud after you typed that amazing Boomer response?
Tell us you realized you’re clueless about the Industry and had nothing to add to the conversation without having to tell us you realized you are clueless!!!