Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Clean energy metals explorer Earth AI and its joint venture partner Legacy Minerals (ASX: LGM) announced Thursday the verified discovery of one of the largest palladium mineral systems in Australia.
The discovery was made near Wombat, in the Southwestern Slopes region of New South Wales, at a site known as the Fontenoy project, in a mineral rich area of the Lachlan Fold Belt.
Beyond the original drilled area, Earth AI said it has uncovered broader mineralization across a 2 km2 zone, which could make it the largest platinum group elements (PGE) prospect in the world.
This discovery of palladium, platinum and nickel is both the first verified greenfield mineral discovery made by artificial intelligence (AI), and the first discovery of magmatic nickel, copper and PGEs on the east coast of Australia, a region previously thought to contain no magmatic nickel, the companies said.
Earth AI said the discovery presents a potential shift for the critical minerals’ global markets. Roughly 40% of palladium is produced in Russia, which has been subject to growing calls for international sanctions, while another 40% is produced in South African brownfield mines that are known for dangerous working conditions and poor economics.
Palladium is a vital component used in catalytic converters to reduce noxious emissions in internal combustion engine and hybrid vehicles, while platinum and nickel are both used in energy transition technologies including hydrogen fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries.
“The opportunity at Fontenoy is massive and it is a project that has huge significance, both in providing critical metals needed for the energy transition,” Earth AI CEO Roman Teslyuk said in Thursday’s news release.
Earth AI, founded in 2017, takes a novel approach to mineral exploration that combines AI-powered mineral discovery software and proprietary drilling technology. This identifies mineral prospects and validates and delineates the scale of the deposits faster and more cost efficiently than traditional methods, it said.
In 2023, Earth AI made the first discovery of a greenfield molybdenum deposit using artificial intelligence.
Earth AI first identified Fontenoy as highly prospective for magmatic nickel in 2022. The company later established a joint venture with Legacy Minerals, agreeing to a 3% royalty on mining revenue in exchange for identifying and drilling a discovery hole.
Last month, Earth AI entered into an agreement to take an 80% equity stake in the project.
