Tesla: the new client of Goro and the South factory
Antonin Beurrier, CEO of Vale together with the Vale team, have added a competitive advantage to the southern factory and the Goro nickel and cobalt deposit by signing a contract with Tesla, the North American electric car giant, in March 2020.
The meeting between the founder of Tesla and the CEO of Vale-NC took place in California at Tesla's headquarters in Palo Alto. It was held last March, a few days before the closure of air routes to New Caledonia, due to Covid-19.The information was kept confidential, except for those involved in the negotiation of the sale and buyout of the southern plant. In a few months, Tesla cars made in Europe, will have nickel and cobalt batteries from New Caledonia.
Antonin Beurrier, CEO of Vale-NC and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, signed a contract, an offtake agreement for the delivery of intermediate mixed nickel and refined cobalt (Nickel Hydroxide Cake-NHC) produced in New Caledonia. The product will become part of the batteries composition of the electric car manufacturer. The purchased volume remains confidential, but it will contribute to the profitability and reputation of the Caledonian plant.
Photo credits: TESLA
Tesla, the world leader in electric vehicles, will be able to ensure the delivery of nickel and cobalt for the manufacture of batteries for its electric vehicles. Caledonian nickel and cobalt will be mainly intended for the Tesla Giga Factory, under construction in Germany, between Berlin and the Polish border. According to the German press, Tesla Europe recruited in 2019 a Caledonian engineer from Vale-NC to facilitate the purchases and knowledge of products from the Caledonian factory.
With a third of the 110.000 european electric car market share, Tesla is the biggest player. The acquisition of cobalt and nickel from the southern plant will decrease their dependence on China, which remains important for lithium, another component of electric batteries.
Beijing's trade, diplomatic and military tensions with the United States, but also with France and Australia, have undoubtedly helped accelerate negotiations between Tesla and Vale-NC.
Latest LME News
Nickel fell for a fourth consecutive day on the London Metal Exchange. "The market is slowing, facing a temporary drop in demand," said William Adams of Fastmarkets (MB). Nickel reached $13,730 on Monday - the highest since January 22. However, the global nickel surplus was 9,000 tonnes in May, up from 5,100 the previous month, the International Nickel Study Group (INSG) announced.
Nickel price at the close at the LME in London on 07/17/2020:
$ 13,115 / t: -2.07% [Week -3.23%]
Source: https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/nouvellecaledonie/tesla-contrat-nickel-goro-usine-du-sud-854234.html