On Mon, Nov 11, 2024 at 1:09 PM marc <marcxdv@???> wrote:
>
> Hello
>
> > You might be quite surprised as not only is the lithium tough to
> > source the cobalt is worse and both are very important at the
> > moment for contemporary Li-ion battery manufacture.
>
> Ooh, I can't go to bed. Somebody on the internet is wrong :)
>
> Lithium is actually quite common. See the "Occurrence"
> section at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium
>
> "as common as chlorine in the earth's crust" is the TL;DR

A pity you didn't read a bit further.

You bet its common - - - - in at most double digits parts per million.
Do you actually understand what that means - - - - that means
that its all over and getting it in useful quantities is a royal pita.
But then a wikipedia article is always the only place to check for
information!
>
> As for cobalt. LiFePo batteries replace the cobalt with
> iron - the "Fe" stands for iron. So that problem is solved.
> Done. Dusted. And sodium is about to replace lithium too.

Please indicate the presently produced in volume today of
batteries with your list chemistry - - - - oh I forgot you're
including the university labs where they make them one at a time
with multiple PhDs doing the work - - - - got it. I'm only reading the
literature from the battery companies and the EV touts most of
which is hugely optimistic.
>
> But even if the propaganda is out of date, there
> is a teachable moment here. Notice how we are told that
> cobalt is a conflict mineral. Perhaps. But also note how
> nobody talks about "conflict gasoline" which is a
> way bigger problem. Do you ask your friends if they
> their gasoline purchase is funding a dictatorship
> or war somewhere ? Odds are it does.

Well - - - I'm quite sure my fuel purchases are only funding some
serious fat cats that run the raw material and refining operations
within some 1500 miles (2500 km) of me. And yes I've worked
in some of those plants so its not hearsay.
>
> The flow of oil in the world is a major geopolitical
> lever. A quarter of world shipping is petroleum and
> its products. Established powers use this as a means to
> dominate lesser ones. China, for all its flaws, has figured this
> out and is solving it by moving to solar and EVs.

Hmmm - - - is that why they're still buying coal for their iron
operations by the train load?
>
> This shift will favour the developing world. Not only
> are they the ones being dominated, rather than doing the
> dominating, they also tend to be closer to the equator
> where winters are minor, and batteries only need to last
> the night rather than a long, dark winter.

An EV is a serious liability in extreme cold conditions as
was found last winter in Alberta last winter.
>
> When you read the news that EV sales are sluggish
> and then a month later that EV tariffs are going up
> then what your are witnessing is a disinformation effort
> very similar to the one that had us believe that smoking
> does not cause cancer or that climate change is a mean
> hoax by dorky scientists.

No - - - what I see is a small number of fat cats ripping off the
rest of us some more - - - its not just about disinformation - - -
its about $$$$$$$$$$.
>
> Remember: The citizens of developed democracies are typically
> victims of much more sophisticated propaganda than those
> living under dictatorships. The propaganda of dictatorships
> can be crude as the citizens there don't get to vote.
> Democracies need to distract their citizens, to make elections
> a pointless spectacle and a sideshow. Don't be a victim.
>
How's that working out for you?

Regards