The Rio de Janeiro-based company, which did not provide details on financials or duration of the transaction, noted that its Canadian operations produce some of the lowest-carbon nickel globally.
Rounds from Vale’s Long Harbour refinery in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2020 had a verified carbon footprint of 4.4 tonnes CO2 equivalent per tonne of nickel, while pellets and powder from the Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery in recorded a 7.3 tonne-equivalent footprint, the company said.
These figures includes scope 1 and 2 emissions from mining, milling and refining as well as upstream scope 3 emissions from inputs, Vale said.
Tesla has spent the past year signing pacts with several producers of battery metals, with a particular emphasis in nickel and lithium.
CEO Elon Musk promised in 2020 “giant contracts” to companies able to produce nickel in an “environmentally sensitive way” amid concerns of an imminent deficit.
Since…
