Lithium – Page 20 – Republic of Mining

Caution urged as mining companies eye critical minerals below Quebec boreal forest – by Stéphane Blais (Toronto Star/Canadian Press – February 8, 2023)

February 10, 2023

https://www.thestar.com/

MONTREAL – About one million square kilometres of Quebec is covered by boreal forest, roughly 70 per cent of the entire province. In the north, where ecosystems are less likely to have been altered by human activity, those forests have been accumulating and sequestering immense quantities of carbon for centuries.

“In the boreal environment, the forest decomposes very slowly, even more slowly than in the tropics,“ said Xavier Cavard, who holds a research chair in forest carbon management at the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

Volvo in Advanced Talks on Possible Lithium Mining – by William Boston (Wall Street Journal – February 9, 2023)

February 10, 2023

https://www.wsj.com/

BERLIN—Volvo Car AB is in advanced talks with some of the biggest mining companies, including over potential stakes in lithium mining or processing operations, Chief Executive Jim Rowan said, joining the auto-industry-wide race to secure the minerals and metals needed to power electric vehicles.

“Right now, we already have advanced conversations with some of the big miners, as well as the processing factories that process lithium,” Mr. Rowan said, adding that Volvo would decide in the coming months whether to engage in “long-term deals and long-term price negotiations for supply, or whether you want to make an equity investment.”

Frontier Lithium stock jumps as new drill results confirm extended size of Spark deposit – by Staff (Mining.com – February 9, 2023)

February 10, 2023

https://www.mining.com/

Frontier Lithium (TSXV: FL) saw a significant jump in share price on Thursday following the release of additional drill results from the Spark pegmatite, part of the company’s 100% owned PAK lithium project in Ontario.

The new results consist of the remaining seven drill holes from Phase XII drill program that began in May and ended in October. A total of 15,984 metres of drilling in 50 holes were completed during 2022.

Tesla Deal for Lithium From Quebec Could Intensify Housing Shortage in Northern Mining Towns – by Kristian Gravenor (CoStar News – February 6, 2023)

February 10, 2023

https://www.costar.com/

Though surrounded by endless expanses of land, northern mining towns in Quebec are running out of permissible space to build much-needed housing and other property types required for growing cities.

It’s a problem expected to intensify as the region faces an influx of anticipated workers from a major new contract with U.S. manufacturer Tesla and an increase in mining for materials used to make batteries for electric vehicles. Tesla announced a deal last month to buy spodumene concentrate, a source of lithium and important raw material needed for electric vehicle batteries, from the Sayona Mine 560 kilometres northwest of Montreal.

Cree mother wonders how mining development in northern Quebec will affect food supply – by Stephane Blais (CBC Montreal/Canadian Press – February 7, 2023)

February 10, 2023

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/

Project would deprive the Cree of certain hunting grounds

Heather House studies full-time through McGill University’s distance education program, and when she is not immersed in books, she is raising her eight children with her husband in Chisasibi, the northernmost community in Quebec accessible by road.

Feeding a family of eight children, two parents, and two elders in such a remote community where grocery prices are among the highest in the country would be a major challenge if it were not for access to the land for hunting, fishing, trapping and berry picking.

Thacker Pass lithium mine clears most legal challenges, minus a judge ordered waste rock review – by Jeniffer Solis (Nevada Current – February 7, 2023)

February 9, 2023

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A federal judge on Monday ordered regulators to reexamine a state permit allowing Lithium Americas Corp.’s Thacker Pass mine to produce and store mining waste on more than a thousand acres of public land.

Chief Judge Miranda M. Du, however, rejected opponents’ claims that the project would cause “unnecessary and undue degradation” to the environment or wildlife, meaning construction of the mine can continue.

Hailed as green energy source, northern Quebec lithium project divides Cree – by Stephane Blais (CBC News Canada – February 6, 2023)

February 9, 2023

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

‘If the water becomes contaminated by the mine, I don’t see how we can limit the damage’

Type the word “Nemaska” into a search engine and most results refer to Nemaska Lithium, the company that sought bankruptcy protection in 2019 before being partly bought out by the Quebec government’s investment agency. The episode resulted in tens of thousands of small investors losing significant savings.

However, Nemaska is above all a Cree community in the heart of the boreal forest, more than 1,500 kilometres from Montreal. They share their territory with a wide variety of species, and caribou herds have long visited the area, drawn by its abundance of lichen.

Weighing the harm of gasoline against lithium – by Barry Saxifrage (National Observer – February 8, 2023)

February 9, 2023

https://www.nationalobserver.com/

More than a billion tonnes of climate pollution pours out American tailpipes every year. For scale, that’s more than the combined emissions from the 100 least-polluting nations.

Ending this gargantuan climate pollution disaster will require a sharp increase in new lithium extraction to build the zero-emission alternatives — battery electric vehicles. A new report by the University of California, Davis and the Climate and Community Project (CCP) reveals just how much more lithium will be needed.

Where trapping is still a way of life, Quebec lithium projects spark fears for future – by Stéphane Blais (Global News/Canadian Press – February 6, 2023)

February 7, 2023

https://globalnews.ca/

As Freddy Jolly’s pickup truck travels the dusty roads through the spruce forests outside Nemaska, Que., the one radio station fades in and out, and Jolly fills the gaps between country ballads with conversation. “There are fewer moose than before due to logging,” Jolly says as he scans the horizon.

This is Eeyou Istchee in northern Quebec, the traditional land of the James Bay Cree, with a surface area equivalent to two-thirds of France. The 65-year-old Cree hunter and trapper knows the land well and has agreed to take a visitor to see sites where lithium mines are under construction.

NAL offtakes in the pipeline – Piedmont – by Esmarie Iannucci (MiningWeekly – February 1, 2023)

February 1, 2023

https://www.miningweekly.com/

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The joint venture (JV) partners of the North American Lithium (NAL) operation, in Quebec, are hoping to finalise offtake agreements over the project by the end of March this year.

Global lithium developer Piedmont Lithium president and CEO Keith Phillips told Mining Weekly Online that at 130 000 t/y, Piedmont would be the biggest buyer of NAL product, of which nearly half would be sold to third-party buyers.

Massive new North American lithium mine closer to reality with GM investment in Lithium Americas – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 31, 2023)

February 1, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Lithium Americas Corp. has landed a US$650-million financing with General Motors Co. that moves the Canadian lithium company closer to breaking ground on a massive lithium mine that should help alleviate a North American shortfall for the key battery metal.

Detroit-based GM is set to become the largest shareholder in Lithium Americas, with a stake of just under 10 per cent, and it will also be entitled to exclusive supplies of the lithium carbonate produced during the first 10 years of the mine’s operation.

Why bad news is good news for lithium stocks – by James Thomson (Australian Financial Review/Chanticleer – January 30, 2023)

January 30, 2023

https://www.afr.com/chanticleer/

Bullish new forecasts for lithium demand have coincided with setbacks to new supply projects. That’s ultimately good for prices, but not for the electric vehicle sector’s big ambitions.

It’s unlikely that many Australian investors are following the travels of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. But his current trip to South America underscores a new front in the global race for arguably the world’s hottest commodity: lithium.

Scholz signed an agreement with Argentina that is designed to help German industry secure lithium supplies from the South American giant. On Sunday, he was in Chile – the world’s second-largest supplier of lithium after Australia – seeking a similar deal.

Germany falls behind in the global race for lithium – by Tobias Käufer (DW.com – January 28, 2023)

January 30, 2023

https://www.dw.com/en/

Berlin trails global powers like China and the US in acquiring lithium, a key component in electric vehicle batteries. German Chancellor Scholz will address the issue on his trip to South America this weekend.

Roughly 57% of the world’s lithium deposits are found in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. Because it’s used in electric vehicle battery production, the natural resource is highly sought-after. Globally, the Chinese have invested billions to ensure their place at the front of the line. The US, too, is in a better position than its European partners.

Albemarle calls for high lithium prices to fuel EV industry growth – by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters – Janaury 24, 2023)

January 27, 2023

https://www.reuters.com/

Albemarle Corp (ALB.N) on Tuesday called for lithium prices to remain high indefinitely in order to help the mining industry develop new sources of the electric vehicle (EV) battery metal and fuel the green energy transition.

The push for higher prices by the world’s largest lithium producer is likely to exacerbate the growing tension between EV manufacturers and mining companies that supply the materials crucial for the all-electric shift, with high metals prices threatening EV profitability.

Lithium giant lifts forecasts by nearly 15pc on EV surge – by Petr Ker (Australian Financial Review – January 25, 2023)

January 25, 2023

https://www.afr.com/

Lithium giant Albemarle has raised its forecast for future lithium demand by more than 15 per cent and signalled it would expand its Australian mines to supply the lithium needed for the world to rapidly adopt electric vehicles.

But Mineral Resources swiftly provided a reminder on Wednesday that expanding mines in Western Australia is easier said than done, revealing that expansion of its Mt Marion lithium mine had been delayed by labour shortages and equipment delays, forcing a 17 per cent cut to this year’s export target.