VALE BUSINESS RESULTS • Iron ore shipments increased by 5.4 Mt (+7%) y/y and 16.0 Mt (25%) q/q, driven by record production for a second quarter since 2018, as well as by inventory sales. • The strong shipment performance led to a Proforma EBITDA of US$ 4.0 billion. Year-on-year, Proforma EBITDA was slightly lower (-6%), mainly due to higher freight costs and concentration of maintenance activities to maximize performance in the 2H24. Proforma EBITDA increased 15% sequentially. • Iron ore fines C1 cash cost ex-3rd party purchases was 6% higher q/q, reaching US$ 24.9/t, mainly due to a seasonal inventory turnover impact and concentration of maintenance activities. These effects were partially offset by the positive impact of higher production volumes and the BRL depreciation. We remain highly confident in achieving our C1 cost guidance of US$ 21.5-23.0/t in 2024, especially as lower-cost volumes from the Northern System ramp-up in the 2H, while the heavier maintenance activities d...

  GENERAL MOTORS (GM) IS PUTTING UP $625 MILLION TO GREEN-LIGHT LITHIUM AMERICAS General Motors (GM) is putting up $625 million to green-light Lithium Americas' (LAC) Thacker Pass project in Nevada, which has the largest-known deposit of the key battery metal in the U.S. The terms of the investment, which has GM investing directly in the mine rather than acquiring more shares, sent LAC stock jumping in early Wednesday stock market action. GM will acquire a 38% ownership stake in the Thacker Pass mine for $430 million in cash and an additional $195 million interest-free credit facility. Lithium Americas said in a news release that its agreement with GM will provide the collateral to unlock a $2.3 billion loan from the Department of Energy announced earlier this year. The tricks to stop the natural rise in the price of lithium are very interesting. The lack of publication and opacity of data is extremely important. Who is behind these cloudy obscurantist actions? Obviously an...

  THINK AGAIN WHAT WILL  HAPPEN WITH LITHIUM DEMAND  SOON? EXPLOSIVE China has shaken up the car market after developing a revolutionary battery that can charge in just 10 minutes and power a vehicle for hundreds of miles before it needs to be plugged in. Remarkable advances in battery chemistry A report from the International Energy Agency ( IEA ) has praised the  “remarkable” developments in battery chemistry  that have enabled China to make significant strides in creating new battery technologies with much greater energy capacity than existing ones. According to the IEA, these electric vehicle (EV) batteries can travel up to 400 kilometers on a single charge. However, newer versions have exceeded this,  reaching a range of 600 kilometers . Concerns over China’s supply chain dominance Despite these advancements,  the IEA has raised concerns  over China’s growing dominance in the supply of essential materials for battery production.  The wor...

SQM 2ND QUARTER REPORT: REVENUE U$D 1,294 M. GROSS PROFIT 284 M. NET PROFIT 214 M. EARNIGS PER SHARE U$D 0,75 This presentation release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: “anticipate,” “plan,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “strategy,” “should,” “will” and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make concerning the Company’s capital expenditures, financing sources, Sustainable Development Plan, Salar Futuro project, partnership with Codelco, business outlook, future economic performance, anticipated profitability, revenues, expenses, or other financial items, anticipated cost synergies and product or service line growth. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance.  I Instead, th...

VALE:  AN UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY  MARKET PRICE U$S 10.05 VERSUS EARNINGS AND PROSPECT VALUE OF U$S 15 https://www.vale.com/check-out-the-2q24-financials-result Vale’s performance in 2Q24 Rio de Janeiro, July 25th, 2024. “Our strong operational performance continues quarter after quarter. In Iron Ore Solutions, we achieved record-high second quarter production since 2018, driven mainly by consistent performance at S11D. As part of our strategic objective to become the supplier of choice for low-carbon steel, we are advancing on key growth projects such as Vargem Grande and Capanema, which together will add 30 Mt of capacity in the next twelve months. Additionally, we are pleased to announce a partnership within our Mega Hubs strategy, further strengthening our market position as a competitive direct reduction products supplier. In Energy Transition Metals, we resumed operations at Sossego, Onça Puma, and Salobo. We recently announced Shaun Usmar as the new CEO to lead our copper an...

  LITHIUM DEMAND AND SUPPLY . As per published Statistical data, the present limited oversupply of about 30,000 metric tons, is the result of a very temporary altered demand of 720,000 metric tons and a total supply of 750,000 metric tons. In first place, Europe had a decline of car’s sales in key markets, including Germany (-6.2%), Spain (-4.7%), Italy (-3.7%), and France (-1.5%). Within total sales the share of battery-electric cars decreased to 13% from last year's 13.9%, while hybrid-electric cars surged to 29% from 24.4%. The combined market share of petrol and diesel fell to 47.8% from 51.8%. The natural demand of electric cars has been altered due to different factors such as the European increase of tariffs on China-made EV imports (new duty ranges from 17.4% to37.6%). However, the first quarter of 2024 ended with a total of 332,999 new battery-electric cars registered, indicating a slight 3.8% increase from the same quarter in the previous year. Second and maybe most...