There’s a growing awareness in Washington, D.C., that the rock-bottom prices of certain critical resources used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries provide China a competitive advantage while jeopardizing U.S. national security.
A massive glut of cobalt, nickel and other EV battery metals has pushed prices to 52-week lows, which is great news for automakers and consumers but terrible for privately-owned Western mining companies seeking to challenge China’s dominance in the critical minerals sector.