Category Archives: Supply Chain

Plight of the PRA and how Benchmark became the lithium industry’s reference price

Batteries, Chile, China, Disruptive technology, Energy storage, EV, Lithium, Minerals, Supply Chain, Uncategorised

Since its inception in 2014, the rise of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence as the lithium industry’s reference price has been the ideal case study for how the commodities publishing industry is changing. Scandals such as libor and credit ratings fixes have brought scrutiny (and with it a police raid) on commodity price publishers. This has resulted … Continue reading Plight of the PRA and how Benchmark became the lithium industry’s reference price →

China’s battery push and Elon Musk’s Tesla – Benchmark quoted in Bloomberg article

Batteries, Supply Chain, Tesla

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence was recently quoted in an article written by Bloomberg News renewable energy correspondent, Joe Ryan. The article focuses on lithium-ion battery production in China, and in particular how despite Elon Musk and Tesla attracting many of the headlines, their plans modest when compared to China. By 2020 installed lithium-ion cell production capacity … Continue reading China’s battery push and Elon Musk’s Tesla – Benchmark quoted in Bloomberg article →

Cobalt brings tech giants’ supply chains into the spotlight

Apple, Batteries, Benchmark, Cobalt, conflict minerals, Minerals, Supply Chain

A new report by Amnesty International has uncovered human rights abuses by one of the world’s leading cobalt producers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Ltd, a mining group partly owned by the Chinese government, has been accused of selling cobalt sourced from child labor into major battery production facilities in China, Japan and South Korea. … Continue reading Cobalt brings tech giants’ supply chains into the spotlight →

Goldman Sachs: Wind & solar the “new shale gas”

Albemarle, Batteries, Cobalt, EV, Graphite, Lithium, Solar, Supply Chain, Tesla

Leading investment bank publishes The Low Carbon Economy // Benchmark advises on the lithium and battery supply chains // Solar and wind “the new shale gas” // Albemarle and Tesla identified as investment targets // ——————————— Goldman Sachs has declared wind and solar power industries the “new shale gas” in its first ever published opinion on … Continue reading Goldman Sachs: Wind & solar the “new shale gas” →

Europe’s conflict minerals conundrum

Apple, Batteries, Cobalt, conflict minerals, Graphite, Lithium, Supply Chain

The EU will have to tread carefully when considering which minerals and countries to include in its upcoming conflict minerals legislation. Many of these industries are niche and inflexible meaning any swift and significant change will likely have a negative impact on the EU and on the source country that the legislation is designed to … Continue reading Europe’s conflict minerals conundrum →

Benchmark #2 launched: Europe’s conflict crackdown

Apple, Batteries, China, Cobalt, conflict minerals, EV, Gigafactory, Graftech, Graphite, Lithium, Rare earths, Supply Chain, Tesla

Download our Q2 magazine which analyses the crackdown on conflict minerals in Europe, the fragile structure of these markets and the logistics involved in transporting them around the world With Europe set to follow in US footsteps with the introduction of conflict mineral legislation, the sustainability of critical mineral markets is set to come under renewed … Continue reading Benchmark #2 launched: Europe’s conflict crackdown →

Mineral Supply Chain

Disruptive Technology: Supply Chain Impact

Benchmark, Report, Supply Chain, ,

As part of our Supply Chain 20/20 initiative, Benchmark launches a new white paper examining the impact of disruptive technology on critical raw materials As leading global companies such as Apple, Google and Tesla Motors push forward with the commercialisation of new, disruptive technologies, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence analyses the impact this is having on critical raw … Continue reading Disruptive Technology: Supply Chain Impact →

Benchmark Magazine launches

Apple, Batteries, China, Cobalt, EV, Gigafactory, Graphite, Lithium, Supply Chain, Tesla

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has launched its first magazine issue which is free to download. The quarterly publication is part of an annual Membership that specialises in critical minerals and metals, disruptive technology and emerging markets. Benchmark will go beyond the news which is widely reported and direct to the core of trends that are effecting our industry today. … Continue reading Benchmark Magazine launches →

A new generation for critical minerals

Apple, Batteries, Cobalt, conflict minerals, EV, Gigafactory, Graphite, Lithium, Supply Chain, Tesla

It is not easy to find a tipping point: that one moment that can signify a definitive and fundamental change. In the past, true change in minerals and metals has happened over a longer period of time through a series of trends. But where our industry stands today in 2015, these trends are becoming shorter … Continue reading A new generation for critical minerals →