chico237
12 hours ago
HUGE NEW TAX CREDITS & MORE ~ OCT. 24th 2024 ~Treasury slashes taxes to boost critical minerals
https://www.eenews.net/articles/treasury-slashes-taxes-to-boost-critical-minerals/
The Biden administration expanded a critical tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act on Thursday to juice the production of critical minerals — a response to growing bipartisan anxiety on Capitol Hill that could offer a boost for at least one vulnerable Senate Democrat.
The Treasury Department’s final rules for the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit, also known as 45X, now includes a 10 percent tax cut for mineral production, following a steady drumbeat of calls to tweak and expand the credit to boost domestic mining.*
The rules also cut taxes for producers of solar and wind components, batteries and certain critical mineral projects.
Top Biden officials expect the new rules to incentivize critical mineral production in the U.S. in the face of a yearslong Chinese stranglehold over global mineral supply, they said during a call with reporters Wednesday. China currently accounts for 60 percent of worldwide production of critical minerals and 85 percent of the world’s processing.
“The U.S. has major deposits of critical minerals, like lithium and palladium. Extracting and processing them here in America, as opposed to relying on China, Russia and other countries with weak worker and environmental protections, is an economic and national security priority for us,” said Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo.
“The Biden-Harris administration understands how important onshoring the production of critical minerals [is] to developing a secure clean energy supply chain, and today’s rules represent a major step forward in that effort,” Adeyemo said.
But while many clean energy and domestic manufacturing advocates applauded the final credit Thursday, the mining community said the rules are helpful but fall short.
“Treasury’s decision to limit the credit to those producers who also refine materials will prevent many important projects from benefiting from the credit as Congress intended,” said Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association.
Most troubling to the mining sector is that companies that only mine in the U.S. — but don’t process the ore themselves — won’t have access to the tax credit. Under the rule, processing plants can also import raw materials from abroad.
“The Treasury Department and the IRS decline to amend the final regulations to expressly include the term ‘extraction,’ as the action of extraction alone does not produce an eligible component,” the rule reads.
The tax credits come less than two weeks from the presidential election, as the Biden administration races to issue billions of dollars of clean energy grants. Officials said the credits and grants will help decarbonize the U.S. economy by midcentury.
Democratic contender for the White House Vice President Kamala Harris is likely to push forward the Biden agenda on clean energy if she wins, while a victory at the polls for GOP nominee Donald Trump could mean more federal support for fossil fuels. On the campaign trail in recent days, Trump has criticized wind, solar and hydrogen energy.
Inflation Reduction Act tax credits directly impact the profit margins for clean energy projects.
In the final months of the administration, lawmakers and companies are pressuring Treasury to tweak other credits, like one for geothermal energy.
Experts say more than $75 billion has been invested since the passage of the IRA in U.S. clean energy systems that are now operational.
“Make no mistake about it: The real power of the Inflation Reduction Act is that it’s private-sector led,” said John Podesta, a top climate adviser to President Joe Biden. “We need literally trillions of dollars of investment if we’re to stave off the worst effects of the climate crisis.”
Solar Energy Industries Association CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said the credit is “one of the most influential policies we have to onshore the solar supply chain.”
Earlier in the week, Treasury finalized a similar credit under the CHIPS and Science Act, a 2021 law to boost semiconductor production.
The final tax credit language Thursday also gives a $35 credit per kilowatt-hour for battery cell producers and perks for offshore wind that industry hopes can boost the fledgling sector.
Montana politics
The critical minerals component could provide a boost for Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, who is facing a difficult reelection against Tim Sheehy, a combat veteran and businessman.
Earlier this month, international mining company Sibanye-Stillwater announced it was laying off hundreds of workers at its platinum and palladium mines in Montana, blaming cratering prices, “Russian dumping” and weak tax incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act — namely 45X.
Within hours, Tester called on the administration to expand the credit to include the cost of mining and floated legislation to block Russian imports.
“The Montanans working at the Stillwater mine are the best in the business and I had the honor of sitting down with many of them recently in Columbus to get their input on how best to support them,” Tester said in a statement Thursday.
“Bolstering domestic mining will not only boost our economy — it will strengthen our supply chains and our national security. I’m glad to see the Administration is listening to our calls to ensure American mines like the one in Stillwater receive additional support and keep more Montanans in their jobs,” Tester added.
But Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, an outspoken critic of the administration’s mining policies, said in a statement that the new rules are insufficient to boost the mining sector and accused the Biden administration of pursuing a “radical environmental agenda” that prompted layoffs in his state.
“While this announcement is a positive step, it falls short of putting American miners before foreign suppliers and has every appearance of a cynical and desperate political attempt to get votes right before the election,” said Daines. “Montana’s mining families will see through it. If Biden and Harris were serious about helping our miners they would have reversed their anti-mining policies years ago.”
Some experts think control of the Senate next Congress could be determined by the Montana race. Nevada and Arizona — also mining states — also face tight Senate races this cycle.
Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada also applauded the Biden administration for tweaking the tax credit. “I’m happy to see the administration heed my call [to] make much-needed updates to their 45X tax credit guidance,” she said. “Now, this credit will do what we intended for it to do — create jobs, reduce our reliance on China and power our whole clean energy economy.”
Adeyemo with the Treasury Department said the final rules allow material costs to be included when calculating the 45X credit for critical minerals and electrode active materials, as well as mining and extraction costs, the official said.
The final rules also clarify the definition and confirm credit amounts for eligible components, including solar energy components, wind energy components, inverters, qualifying battery components and applicable critical minerals. Lastly, he said the language includes safeguards to prevent potential fraud, waste or abuse, including safeguards against duplicating credits of the same component.
White House national climate adviser Ali Zaidi called the final rules for the 45X credit a “game changer” for the nation’s ability to cultivate and rely on minerals mined and processed in the U.S.
What about mining?
The Treasury rules are being lauded as a boost for processing and smelting but insufficient for a U.S. mining sector that’s lagged for years.
Abigail Hunter, executive director of SAFE’s Center for Critical Minerals Strategy, said the Treasury language supports domestic processing facilities and creates reliable buyers for miners, helping the U.S. compete in the short term.
“The final rule is a game-changer for companies refining, smelting and processing materials at home — especially in today’s low-price market,” Hunter said.
“The midstream is the most concentrated node of the supply chain — and also where the United States can compete in the short term without resource constraints,” she added. “Supporting domestic processing facilities creates reliable buyers for miners, or alternatively incentivizes them to co-locate future mining and processing operations domestically.”
Ben Steinberg, spokesperson for the Battery Materials & Technology Coalition, welcomed Treasury including the direct and indirect raw material costs in the production tax credit for both applicable critical minerals and electrode active materials. “We applaud Congress and the administration for their e?orts to make this production tax credit a viable tool for industry over the long term,” he said.
But Nolan with the National Mining Association said supply chain security “begins in the mine” and criticized Treasury’s decision to limit the credit to those producers that also refine materials.
“We have an urgent need to level the playing field for American producers against Chinese and Russian efforts to dominate global mineral supplies by flooding the markets with oversupply of cheap minerals produced under questionable environmental, labor and safety standards; by making U.S. processed, foreign sourced materials available for the credit we’re not solving the problem,” Nolan said in a statement.
“Made-in-America should also mean mined-in-America,” he continued. “And the miners who secure the very first link in our supply chains should benefit from the same credits as the entities that refine their materials.”
In recent years, U.S. authorities have been ramping up efforts to assess domestic mineral supply. A U.S. Geological Survey report this week shows big lithium deposits in Arkansas.
FOR CONTEXT SEE: Repost of Jims/Niocorp response on the 45X tax Credit as follows from April 5th 2024
"There are two separate tax credits referenced here: 45X and 45C.
Regarding 45C, that program required applicants to seek a credit for projects that could be constructed and put into operation within 24 months. Thus, we were not eligible for the tax credit for the Elk Creek Project.
Regarding 45X, this was designed by Congress to provide minerals producers and processors with a 10% production tax credit for domestically produced critical minerals. Unfortunately, the Biden Administration has proposed to disallow application of the credit to the cost of extracting or acquiring critical minerals, and to allow its application only to the “processing” of critical minerals. This would essentially defeat the purpose of Congress’ intent with this provision and would, perversely, encourage companies to mine critical minerals overseas, instead of the U.S. This philosophy is also reflected, in general, in the Administration’s push to send taxpayer dollars to support overseas mining projects. Fortunately, the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. is charting its own path in terms of seeking to finance domestic critical minerals mining and processing projects.
NioCorp joined with many hundreds of other companies and associations to push back on this policy and to encourage the Administration to stick to Congressional intent and allow this 10% tax credit to apply to both the mining and processing of critical minerals in the U.S. See this: https://www.niocorp.com/niocorp-joins-with-major-automotive-manufacturers-to-urge-action-by-biden-administration-on-mining-tax-incentive/
A 10% production tax credit covering the costs of both mining and processing our critical minerals in Nebraska would deliver substantial financial benefits to the Project, once the Company begins paying federal taxes.
Jim"
(NIOCORP WILL/SHOULD NOW HAVE BOTH! 10% FOR MINING & 10% FOR DOMESTIC PROCESSING!!)***
FOR CONTEXT SEE:
OCT. 24th, 2024 ~U.S. Department of the Treasury Releases Final Rules to Onshore Clean Energy Technologies, Strengthen Critical Minerals Supply Chains, and Expand U.S. Manufacturing Base as Part of Investing in America Agenda
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2671
****SEE ALSO ~ October 24th, 2024 ~ STATEMENT: SAFE Experts Applaud Strengthened Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit
https://secureenergy.org/statement-safe-experts-applaud-strengthened-section-45x-advanced-manufacturing-production-tax-credit/
ALSO HUGE NEWS IN THE MAKING ! OCT. 24th, 2024 ~US is working with allies on mineral marketplace amid energy transition
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/sullivan-us-is-working-with-allies-on-mineral-marketplace-amid-energy-transition/ar-AA1sNPg9?ocid=BingNewsSerp
The U.S. is working with allies to build a standardized international marketplace for metals and minerals central to the ongoing energy transition, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Wednesday.
The marketplace will likely seek to pull some capacity on mineral processing and refinement away from China, which has traditionally been dominant in the field and has adapted much of its overall production strategy to alternative energy technologies.
Details on market structure have yet to emerge, but the initiative could also have an effect on supply and value chains, which have come under scrutiny in the aftermath of the pandemic as officials discussed “near-shoring” and “friend-shoring” as an alternative to more established trade routes between the U.S. and Asia.
“We are working with [our partners] to create a high standard, critical mineral marketplace, one that diversifies our supply chains, creates a level playing field for our producers, and promotes strong workers rights and environmental protections,” Sullivan said during an event at the Brookings Institution.
He added that movement on the marketplace initiative could take place in a matter of weeks.
“We’re driving towards tangible progress on that idea in just the next few weeks,” Sullivan said.
Calls for a Western-led market infrastructure around minerals have been growing following the announcement of a derivatives trading desk at Ganfeng Lithium, a dominant Chinese firm in the industry.
“By injecting liquidity into a Chinese market infrastructure, the move will likely deepen the country’s already dominant grip in the market and could threaten the US’ attempts to build a resilient supply chain for critical minerals,” Arnab Datta, director of infrastructure policy at the Institute for Progress, a think tank in Washington, wrote for the Council on Foreign Relations over the summer.
At the international level, discussions have been ongoing about opening up the seafloor to mining operations — a move that could have huge environmental consequences.
Research and exploration initiatives from the government and private sector have been turning up some big finds in minerals recently.
Just this week, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced it had discovered “hidden treasure” in the form of lithium beneath of soils of Arkansas in a vast region known as the Smackover brine.
The discovery could have a major impact on the diversification of energy sources that is expected to take place in coming decades.
“The low-end estimate of 5 million tons of?lithium present in Smackover brines is … equivalent to more than nine times the International Energy Agency’s projection of global lithium demand for electric vehicles in 2030,” the USGS said in a Monday release.
The U.S. currently imports around 25 percent of its lithium, an important metal in batteries. The USGS said Smackover reserves could make the U.S. self-sufficient in terms of lithium
“We estimate there is enough dissolved lithium present in that region to replace U.S. imports of lithium and more,” said Katherine Knierim, a USGS hydrologist, in a statement.
“It is important to caution that these estimates are an in-place assessment,” she cautioned. “We have not estimated what is technically recoverable based on newer methods to extract lithium from brines.”
FORM YOUR OWN OPINIONS & CONCLUSIONS:
Chico
chico237
4 days ago
Still here Norcal! I have not sold a share...& "yes" I do check in from time to time.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2024/10/21/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-proposes-to-further-strengthen-made-in-america-with-shortest-exception-list-in-history/
"It seems & I am speculating"...
The current administration is establishing/continuing a framework (if passed/continued) to apply/allow enhanced price preferences (fixed pricing for U.S./Allied sourced materials?) (allows/intending possibly with U.S. govt. future support & INCENTIVES see attachments) to domestically sourced, mined & processed Critical Minerals & end products. (Which include all the USGS Critical Minerals listed in 2020) and final components (Magnets to Powders & MXENES etc...to be used by Govt. & Private entities like the DoD & Nasa to Stellantis etc...). All geared to strengthen & channel all users to prioritize & utilize domestic sourcing and supply chains first.
Setting the table for future administrations (Harris or Trump T.B.D.) to continue the work on establishing/adding domestically supplied sources to the DoD stockpile, further Tax credits & enforcing Traceability of (critical minerals). All companies must disclose & better track non-domestic critical minerals if acquired from sources that may not utilize ESG principles or adhere to World Mining values moving forward.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-25/harris-vows-to-create-us-critical-minerals-stockpile-incentives
See also
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/29/biden-minerals-price-support-china-00176777
China subsidizes all/most of its critical minerals. Norcal- It sounds like the U.S. & Allies are finally setting the table to do the same on a worldwide basis with those countries that will adhere to ESG principles, Mining Carbon Friendly norms etc. EXIM has commitments to several players in the U.S. including Perpetua & Niocorp amongst others. Additional Tax incentives other than 45X appear to be gaining ground as does other critical mineral legislation from both parties.
https://www.okenergytoday.com/2024/09/us-senate-passes-lankfords-bill-aimed-against-red-chinas-critical-minerals/
Yes- I am holding here. I am looking for Niocorp (at the very least) to achieve some quality $$$$ ($10-$25M or more via grant or other means) before the AGM 2024 to UPDATE & COMPLETE (see Jims recent comments below) the final F.S. pay off the loans while completing the EXIM process in 2025. EXIM suppling @$800M, the German loan guarantee $200M that still leaves $400plus M shortfall. Will the DoE/LPO or other entities commit? Many DOTS in play.... All remains to be seen.
GIVEN RESPONSES ON SEPT. 9th, 2024 ~ To recent relevant questions as we all wait for material news on a host of outstanding topics..
Jim: Could you please offer an update/comment once again on several of the questions (phrased similarly) & asked previously "IF" possible?
1) To Date: Does the U.S. Govt. & other Entities share a continued interest in working with Niocorp towards a “circular critical & traceable minerals economy” utilizing all/many of Niocorp's Critcal Minerals pending finance?
RESPONSE:
********** "Yes."*************
Can/Will you be offering an updated comment as to how this IS/might be working for Niocorp's planned future products moving forward?
RESPONSE:
*** "When we have material developments to announce, we will certainly do so."****
2) Are several entities such as (DoD, U.S. & Allied Governments & Private Industries) “STILL” Interested securing Off-take Agreements for Niocorp's remaining Critical Minerals (Titanium, Niobium 25%, Rare Earths, CaCO3, MgCO3 & some Iron stuff) - Should Financing be secured??
RESPONSE:
*** "Yes, across all of our planned commercial products."***
3) Can/Will you offer an update on the Stellantis Off-take process? As material news becomes available?
RESPONSE:
*** "Not until we have a material agreement to announce."***
GIVEN: STELLANTIS'S INTEREST AS WELL AS THE U.S. GOVT & OTHER PRIVATE ENTITIES....
4) What does Niocorp foresee as any final obstacles to achieve a final Project Finance commitment moving forward as the final quarter of 2024 approaches?
RESPONSE:
**** "We remain very optimistic that we will be able to secure the project financing required to get this project into construction and commercial operation, although there can be no guarantees of success in this effort."****
GIVEN: EXIM BANK & POSSIBLE TITLE 17 POSSIBILITIES....
NEW Question:
5) Could Niocorp offer an update on the status/progress/financing of the "early as possible" 2024 F.S. moving forward.
RESPONSE:
***** "As soon as financing is obtained, we will be able to proceed on a faster path to completing the work remaining for a Feasibility Study update. Government funding is likely to help us in this effort, and we will announce that when the details are finalized."*****
OPINION ARTICLE Election Implications for Clean Energy, Climate and Critical Mineral Programs at DOE
https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2024/10/energy-department-shares-election-implications-for-clean-energy
FROM YOUR OWN OPINIONS & CONCLUSIONS ABOVE:
Many have been invested 10 years or more... Those holding shares are in the Mining Industries "Sweet Spot" for the Elk Creek mine to become a reality (Should they achieve a FINANCE??? T.B.D.)
https://www.opens.co/articles/the-stages-of-mining
Waiting for Niocorp to release material news on a host of topics. Quality sourced $$$$'s (From U.S. Govt. or Private interested Entities is what we all want to see by years end AGM 2024!)
(IMHO: Getting an idea that either administration will/should move forward with bipartisan efforts to support domestic mining & production of critical minerals. The stage has been set from Obama, Trump, Biden, NEXT & should continue... "We all hope!")
Keeping my front row seats until years end 2024 & go from there Norcal.
Waiting with many.
Chico
The_Gman
4 days ago
Here's the proposed list of items that would remain. The lack of domestic availability of cobra venom and capers cannot be understated. From Page 26:
25.104 Nonavailable articles.
(a) The following articles have been determined to be
nonavailable in accordance with 25.103(b)(1)(i):
Antimony, as metal or oxide.
Bamboo shoots.
Bananas.
Bismuth.
Books, trade, text, technical, or scientific;
newspapers; pamphlets; magazines; periodicals; printed
briefs and films; not printed in the United States and for
which domestic editions are not available.
Brazil nuts, unroasted.
Capers.
Cashew nuts.
Chestnuts.
Chrome ore or chromite.
Cocoa beans.
Coconut and coconut meat, unsweetened, in shredded,
desiccated, or similarly prepared form.
Coffee, raw or green bean.
Cork, wood or bark and waste.
Cover glass, microscope slide.
Fair linen, altar.
Fibers of the following types: abaca, abace, agave,
coir, flax, jute, jute burlaps, palmyra, and sisal.
Grapefruit sections, canned.
Hemp yarn.
Hog bristles for brushes.
Hyoscine, bulk.
Modacrylic fiber.
Nitroguanidine (also known as picrite).
Oranges, mandarin, canned.
Pineapple, canned.
Quartz crystals.
Rubber, crude and latex (natural).
Rutile.
Silk, raw and unmanufactured.
Spare and replacement parts for equipment of foreign
manufacture, and for which domestic parts are not
available.
Spices and herbs, in bulk.
Swords and scabbards.
Tapioca flour and cassava.
Tartar, crude; tartaric acid and cream of tartar in
bulk.
Tea in bulk.
Tin in bars, blocks, and pigs.
Vanilla beans.
Venom, cobra.
Water chestnuts.
The_Gman
4 days ago
It's a pre-posting of a proposed rule that impacts procurement. Doesn't seem relevant and it's only really news to producers of the products being removed.
The proposed rule would substantially reduce the number of articles on the list at FAR 25.104(a) that are presumed by regulation to be nonavailable in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory quality. Removal of an article from the list means that if such articles are acquired by the agency in the future, the agency may no longer presume the article is not available domestically.
https://www.acquisition.gov/sites/default/files/page_file_uploads/FAR%20Case%202020-009_Proposed-rule_Pre-publication.pdf
A. Proposed Revisions to the List at FAR 25.104(a).
DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to remove numerous articles from the nonavailability list as a general reset of the list to remove a presumption of nonavailability as a means to encourage further market research and send a signal to industry. This may mean that contracting officers will do more market research on domestic availability of the removed products. It also may encourage domestic producers to take an interest in the articles removed from the nonavailability list.
Proposed removals include the following articles: acetylene, black; agar, bulk; anise; asbestos, amosite, chrysotile, and crocidolite; bauxite;
beef, corned, canned; beef extract; bephenium hydroxynaphthoate; cadmium, ores and flue dust; calcium cyanamide; castor beans and castor oil; chalk, English; chicle; cinchona bark; cobalt, in cathodes, rondelles, or other primary ore and metal forms; colchicine alkaloid, raw; copra; crane rail (85-pound per foot); cryolite, natural; dammar gum; diamonds, industrial, stones and abrasives; emetine, bulk; ergot, crude; erythrityl tetranitrate; goat hair canvas; goat and kidskins; graphite, natural, crystalline, crucible grade; hand file sets (Swiss pattern); handsewing needles; ipecac, root; iodine, crude; kauri gum; lac; lavender oil; leather, sheepskin, hair type; manganese; menthol, natural bulk; mica; microprocessor chips (brought onto a Government construction site as separate units for incorporation into building systems during construction or repair and alteration of real property); nickel, primary, in ingots, pigs, shots, cathodes, or similar forms; nickel oxide and nickel salts; nux vomica, crude; oiticica oil; olive oil; olives (green), pitted or unpitted, or stuffed, in bulk; opium, crude; petroleum, crude oil, unfinished oils, and finished products; pine needle oil; platinum and related group metals, refined, as sponge, powder, ingots, or cast bars; pyrethrum flowers; quebracho; quinidine; quinine; rabbit fur felt; radium salts, source and special nuclear materials; rosettes; santonin, crude; secretin; shellac; sugars, raw; talc, block, steatite; tantalum; thread, metallic (gold); thyme oil; triprolidine hydrochloride; tungsten; wax, carnauba; wire glass; woods, logs, veneer, and lumber of the following species: Alaskan yellow cedar, angelique, balsa, ekki, greenheart, lignum vitae, mahogany, and teak; yarn, 50 Denier rayon; and yeast, active dry and instant active dry.
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