Newsletter June 2022

Dear reader,

Milestone in Corcel

We are very happy to have finally received the independent report for the Corcel project. The report indicates that the Corcel project contains a large Nickel Deposit. Only with the mineral evaluation of Castriz zone indicated in the technical report (i.e. about 5.6 million tons of rock with a 0.23% Ni grade), Eurobattery would be able to manufacture 500,000 car batteries with a capacity of 60 kWh. Everything indicates that Eurobattery is dealing with a deposit, which could easily reach 60 million tons with 0.25 % Nickel. This is not wishful thinking. It is a fact, proven by a technical report which has been set up in accordance with CIM (Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum) guidelines and the regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. We have always believed in it. Now we have the proof!

Great honor

Eurobattery Minerals was appointed as the new Vice-President of the Swedish-Spanish Chamber of Commerce (Cámara de Comercio Hispano Sueca) at its Annual General Meeting in Madrid. The two-year presidency is shared with the renowned Swedish car manufacturer Volvo Cars, which acts as the new President. As part of its vice-presidency, Eurobattery benefits from networking with professionals and representatives of the economy and politics among others. In addition, the company actively promotes the green transition when its battery mineral projects, needed also for zero-emission mobility, receive additional EU funding. Thanks to the Swedish-Spanish Chamber of Commerce for their trust and for appointing us. We look forward to working hand in hand with other Swedish and internationally successful technology companies such as Volvo, Ericsson and Fagerhult to help shape the Spanish-Swedish economic environment. The European Union is supporting small and medium-sized companies operating in Spain with a total of EUR 70 billion to help us drive the ecological transition.

What exactly is "responsible mining"?

I would like to introduce to you the Responsible Mining Foundation (RMF). It is an independent research organisation that encourages continuous improvement in responsible extractive value chains, by developing tools and frameworks, sharing public interest research results and data, and enabling informed and constructive engagement between companies and other stakeholders. The Foundation supports the principle that responsible extractive value chains should benefit the economies, improve the lives of peoples and respect the environments of producing countries, while also benefiting companies in a fair and viable way. The Foundation defines responsible mining as "mining that demonstrably respects and protects the interests of people and the environment and makes an identifiable and fair contribution to the overall economic development of the mining country." Every two years, RFM publishes the Responsible Mining Index, in which it rates mining projects around the world on their performance in terms of environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles. And guess what? The vast majority of the 250 assessed mine sites across 53 countries cannot demonstrate that they are informing and engaging with host communities and workers on basic risk factors such as environmental impacts, safety issues or grievances. Some 94% of the mine sites score an average of less than 20% on the fifteen basic ESG issues assessed. A lot to improve. Let’s be a role model for the mining business.

Visionary and realist

Let’s listen to Thierry Breton for a second, EU Commissioner for the Internal Market. He writes: By 2030, 30 million electric cars are expected to be on our roads. An equal number of batteries will need to be produced, for which access to raw materials is becoming more critical every day. For lithium, cobalt and graphite, Europe remains heavily dependent on supplies from third countries (China in the lead, not to name it), as much as 100% for refined lithium, for example... Whereas we have deposits here in Europe! Without better access to raw materials, our goals of zero-emission mobility are at risk due to raw material shortages or rising costs. Whether we like it or not, the weight of the European Union on the international scene and in relation to its partners and competitors depends on our ability to put our assets on the table and not to be mere "clients" or applicants. We need to build power. It is therefore high time to act.

I believe it is time to enshrine in legislation which raw materials are critical or strategic for Europe. This includes mining in Europe, which is still a taboo at present. Mining is still considered by many to be "dirty". We prefer to import from third countries and turn a blind eye on the environmental and social impact there, not to mention the carbon footprint of our imports. I would therefore like to see an open debate on the potential of deposits in Europe and how to encourage private investment.” Mr Breton, I could not have said it more beautifully. Please have a look on Eurobattery’s engagement in Spanish Corcel and Finnish Hautalampi! We are already where you want others to go!

I wish you all a relaxing and sunny summertime. The next newsletter will float into your inbox at the beginning of September.