Sun. Dec 22nd, 2024

Joint statement on establishing the Minerals Security Partnership Finance Network 

Sep 24, 2024 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New York City,  September 23, 2024

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and Australia, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the European Union (represented by the European Commission) on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, New York:

On 23 September, on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, the Minerals Investment Network for Vital Energy Security and Transition- MINVEST, a public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of State and SAFE Center for Critical Minerals Strategy, hosted development finance institutions (DFIs) and export credit agencies (ECAs) of the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) partner governments in their announcement of the establishment of the MSP Finance Network. This network will strengthen cooperation and promote information exchange and co-financing among participating institutions to advance diverse, secure, and sustainable supply chains for critical minerals.

Partners emphasized that the scope and scale of meeting the rapidly increasing global demand for critical minerals to achieve the clean energy transition is beyond the purview of any single institution. The investment to deliver these goals will require the public sector and private sector to work together to deploy capital into new and existing markets in this sector. DFIs and ECAs have a key role to support MSP objectives through careful coordination to maximize effectiveness, identify and create synergies, and increase impact. The participating DFIs and ECAs discussed, including with representatives from the private sector, how they can work together to meet this challenge.

Creation of the MSP Finance Network reflects a desire to strengthen information sharing, coordination, and collaboration among the network participants. This will drive sustainable investment in global critical mineral supply chains, including by mobilizing private sector capital, in production, extraction, processing, recycling, and recovery projects. The participants also affirmed their commitment to advancing critical mineral projects that are sustainable and adhere to high environmental, social, governance, and labor principles and promote local value creation, with a clear and measurable positive development on local economies and communities. These standards are essential to ensuring that local communities see benefits from the important role critical minerals are playing in the global economy for years to come.

The Network includes the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Export Finance Australia (EFA), Export Development Canada (EDC), Estonian Investment Agency, European Investment Bank (EIB), European Battery Alliance, Euler Hermes, Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), Finnvera, Finnfund, Nordic Investment Bank (NIB), InfraVia Capital, Banque publique d’investissement,  Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Proparco, KfW Group, CDP (Cassa Depositi e Prestiti), SACE, SIMEST, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security  (JOGMEC),  NEXI (Nippon Export and Investment Insurance), Export Finance Norway (Eksfin), Innovasjon Norge, Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation (KOMIR), Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-Sure), Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Exportkreditnämnden (EKN), UK Export Finance (UKEF), and British International Investment (BII), plus the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).

MSP partner DFIs, ECAs, and governments have achieved the following milestones in support of MSP projects, including:

  • Australian Strategic Materials (ASM): In March 2024, EXIM issued a non-binding Letter of Interest to ASM to provide potential debt financing up to US$600 million for the construction of the company’s rare earths and critical minerals Dubbo Project.
  • Electra Ontario Cobalt Refinery: Canadian-based Electra Battery Materials received a U.S. $20 million award in August 2024 from the Defense Production Act Investments (DPAI) office of the U.S. Department of Defense. This award will support the construction and commissioning of North America’s first cobalt sulfate refinery, capable of producing battery grade materials for lithium-ion batteries, at Electra’s facility in Temiskaming Shores, Ontario, Canada. Once fully commissioned, the facility can produce 6,500 tonnes of cobalt per year. In addition to cobalt refining, Electra plans to produce other battery materials at the same refinery complex, and in June 2024, Electra received a U.S. $3.6 (C$5) million award from Natural Resources Canada to advance the next phase of its battery materials recycling project.
  • ESS Inc: In June 2024, EXIM’s Board of Directors authorized $50 million in financing to ESS Inc. for its Wilsonville, Oregon facility, for the construction of several new long-duration iron flow battery storage production lines. The long-duration batteries are purpose-built for bulk storage by solar and wind renewable power providers. EXIM’s financing package consists of a final commitment to finance two production lines in the immediate term, plus a preliminary commitment to finance several additional production lines as ESS Inc. scales up its production capacity to meet customer demand, enabling the tripling of annual production capacity at their facility, to increase exports to Europe, Australia, and Africa. This authorization represents a contribution to the MSP and the global energy transition.
  • Kabanga Nickel: In August 2024, DFC signed a retainer letter with Kabanga Nickel Limited, a subsidiary of Lifezone Metals Ltd. (NYSE:LZM), to begin due diligence for political risk insurance on the Kabanga Nickel underground nickel-copper-cobalt mine site and the Kahama Hydromet refinery site in Tanzania. In September, DFC signed a non-binding letter with Kabanga Nickel Limited that expressed DFC’s interest in considering the project for loans as part of the project’s financing package.
  • Mahenge Graphite Project Tanzania: POSCO International, a major Korean trading firm signed the agreement to purchase shares in Black Rock Mining Ltd. for US$40 million to secure a supply of graphite from a Tanzanian mine. Black Rock Mining will bring POSCO Group’s total ownership to 19.9%. The Agreement will pave the way for the development of the Mahenge mine in Tanzania, owned by Black Rock Mining, with POSCO Group receiving 30,000 tons of graphite annually starting in 2026. The volume is set to reach up to 60,000 tons by 2028, which can be used in the production of 1.26 million electric vehicles. This contract is anticipated to significantly diversify Korea’s supply chain for graphite, helping to mitigate potential disruptions. Debt finance for the mine has been provided by a syndicate comprising the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, Development Bank of South African and Tanzanian based commercial bank CRDB. POSCO has committed to a US$10 million prepayment facility. The project hopes to attract equity support from European and North American investors.
  • Pensana Rare Earths: The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) approved a $3.4 million technical assistance grant for the Pensana Rare Earths project in Angola that will support feasibility studies and testing for expansion of a rare earth elements (REE) mine, as well as feasibility studies for REE refining facilities in Angola along the Lobito Corridor.
  • Queensland Pacific Metals (QPM): In July 2024, the Australian Government awarded QPM an AUD8 million (USD5.4 million) grant to bolster domestic nickel and cobalt production at QPM’s Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub. The Queensland State Government also announced up to AUD8 million (USD5.4 million) of funding to prepare the Project for investment readiness. Previously, QPM had received approximately AUD1.4 billion (USD900 million) in stated interest in debt participation, subject to conditions from financing agencies in Australia, Canada and Germany.

These announcements reinforce the MSP’s shared commitment to diversify global battery value chains.

In addition to MSP partners, like-minded partnering institutions such as the EBRD have achieved the following milestones in support of critical minerals projects around the world:

  • Sarytogan Graphite Limited: EBRD signed an equity investment of AUD 5 million into shares of Sarytogan Graphite Limited, an ASX-listed company involved in the development of Sarytogan graphite deposit in Kazakhstan, one of the largest and highest grade known graphite deposits globally.  The proceeds from EBRD will support the project’s development program, including the preparation of a Bankable Feasibility Study.
  • Esan Eczacibasi: EBRD provided a USD 50 million loan in favor of Esan Eczacibasi Endustriyel Hammaddeler Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. to finance decarbonization and electrification of mining operations and improvements in the operations’ efficiency at the Balya polymetallic (zinc/lead/copper) mine in Türkiye.
  • European Metal Holdings Ltd.: EBRD provided financial support to European Metals Holdings Ltd, an ASX and AIM listed company, focused on developing its lithium-tin Cinovec deposit in Czechia, the biggest hard-rock lithium deposit in Europe and one of the largest undeveloped tin resources in the world. The EUR 6 million investment financed the completion of pre-development works and studies to move the site towards full-scale production.

For previous announcements on other MSP project milestones, please see the following press releases:

Source – U.S. State Department

Forward to your friends