Small presence of mining majors poses risks to execution of planned lithium projects — report – by Staff (Mining.com – August 10, 2022)

https://www.mining.com/

In its latest industry report, market analyst Fitch Solutions draws from its expanded Global Lithium Operations Database to analyze the competitive landscape of the lithium upstream supply, lithium mining investment trends and uncover the global project pipeline.

The database includes 129 operations, both active and new projects. The study of the location of the lithium operations shows the clear current domination of the lithium upstream market by Latin America, specifically Chile and Argentina and Asia Pacific, specifically Australia and China.

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The Place With the Most Lithium Is Blowing the Electric-Car Revolution – by Ryan Dube (Wall Street Journal – August 10, 2022)

https://www.wsj.com/

A California-sized piece of South America is stifling production of the metal at a time when battery makers desperately need it

SALAR DE ATACAMA, Chile—Hailed as the Saudi Arabia of lithium, this California-sized chunk of terrain accounts for some 55% of the world’s known deposits of the metal, a key component in electric-vehicle batteries.

As the Chinese EV giant BYD Co. recently learned, tapping into that resource can be a challenge. Earlier this year, after BYD won a government contract to mine lithium, indigenous residents took to the streets, demanding the tender be canceled over concerns about the impact on local water supplies.

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Lithium projects in Africa increasing, but Americas will still dominate – Fitch Solutions – by Tasneem Bulbulia (MiningWeekly.com – August 8, 2022)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research expects to see an increase in lithium development projects in Africa, particularly from Chinese firms, with investment buoyed by expectations for lithium to resist the downwards trend of most nonferrous metals in the second half of the year amid strong demand.

Fitch Solutions estimates that, currently, there are nine lithium mining projects in development in Africa – in Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mali, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – which is still small relative to the number of projects being developed in the Americas, Australia and Europe.

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Carmakers face fierce battle for lithium until 2030, warns top producer – by Harry Dempsey (Financial Times – August 7, 2022)

https://www.ft.com/

US company Albemarle says market will remain tight for the next seven to eight years

Carmakers face a battle for the rest of the decade to secure the lithium needed to help power the electric vehicle revolution, as demand threatens to overwhelm supply, one of the biggest producers of the metal has warned.

Lithium’s use in electric car batteries has put the raw material at the heart of a global competition that has pitted the world’s largest carmakers against each other and drawn in governments as they all race to increase and safeguard supply.

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The EV Race Is Turning a Gold Rush Haven Into a Battery Hub – by Harry Brumpton (Bloomberg News – August 8, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Gold has long dominated the Western Australian city of Kalgoorlie, born in a late 19th Century prospecting rush and home to one of the world’s largest open pit mines, nestled right next to residential streets. Blasts to dislodge precious-metal laced rock from the more than two-mile-long Super Pit still frequently rattle the main street.

As about 2,700 executives, investment bankers, and industry stalwarts gathered in the precious metals hub last week for Australia’s key annual mining forum it was clear where the industry’s focus lies. All attention is on the frantic hunt for battery metals to deliver the world’s shift to electric vehicles.

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Lithium Miner Ioneer Finds Workaround for Wildflower That’s Stalling US Project – by Yvonne Yue Li (Bloomberg News – August 4, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — A lithium supplier for Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. expects to clear an environmental hurdle involving a rare flower next year, paving the way for deliveries to electric-vehicle makers ahead of looming shortages of the battery metal.

Ioneer Ltd. seeks to build its Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project in Nevada, but the Australian company has been unable to get federal permits because public lands near the site are home to the endangered wildflower Tiehm’s buckwheat. The US Fish and Wildlife Service said in February it planned to designate about 910 acres near the project as a critical habitat for the pale yellow flower.

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Sayona on track for first spodumene production in Q1 2023 – by Jackson Chen (Northern Miner – August 4, 2022)

Global mining news

Sayona Mining (ASX: SYA; OTC: SYAXF) has further advanced its planned restart of spodumene production at its North American Lithium (NAL) operation in Quebec, with approximately 30% of plant and equipment upgrades now completed. It remains on track to deliver first concentrates in the first quarter of 2023.

“It is extremely pleasing to see the rapid progress at NAL as we ramp up towards the recommencement of lithium production,” Sayona’s managing director Brett Lynch commented. NAL currently has around 50 construction workers on‐site, with the number expected to double by September.

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Insatiable Lithium Demand Fuels Investment Boom in Australia – by Harry Brumpton and Annie Lee (Bloomberg News – August 4, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — In the rocky deserts of Western Australia, a handful of little-known and once-shunned miners are suddenly in vogue as the electric vehicle industry clamors for a metal it can’t do without.

Executives from Australia’s lithium industry were inundated by bankers and brokers at the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in the outback town of Kalgoorlie this week, talking up deals to secure some of the estimated $42 billion worth of investment needed for metal producers to meet their goals.

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New Lithium Mining Technology Could Give Argentina a Sustainable Gold Rush – by Ciara Nugent (Time Magazine – July 26, 2022)

https://time.com/

The Vasquez brothers aren’t used to visitors. Their farm lies in the Puna, a vast plateau region in the Andes Mountains, some 12,500 ft above sea level and a full day’s drive to the nearest city.

The terrain, in the Argentine province of Catamarca, is rough and largely empty; fluffy, big-eyed llamas wander a miles-wide plain between mountains. Only sparse shrubs pepper the ground, glowing yellow-green Technicolor under the close sun. But one day in 2016, a tall man in his 50s, speaking heavily Australian-accented Spanish, pulled up to the Vasquezes’ remote farmhouse.

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Lithium – Portugal’s white gold – by Paul Luckman (The Portugal News – February 18, 2022)

https://www.theportugalnews.com/

Mining Lithium in Portugal is a very controversial subject, but there are some simple facts that can’t be ignored.

Sales and manufacturing of electric cars are growing. Governments want to ban petrol and diesel cars. Electric cars need batteries. Batteries need lithium. There isn’t enough lithium available to meet demand. Portugal has lithium.

The price of lithium has quadrupled in the last year. While Chile, Australia, Argentina, and China are home to the world’s highest lithium reserves, other countries also hold significant amounts.

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Lithium Refining Is a ‘License to Print Money,’ Musk Says – by Annie Lee (Bloomberg News – July 20, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca

(Bloomberg) — Elon Musk has called for more investment in global lithium refining to ease shortages in battery materials — and promised those who seize the opportunity it’s as lucrative as “basically minting money.”

“I’d like to once again urge entrepreneurs to enter the lithium refining business. The mining is relatively easy, the refining is much harder,” Tesla Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Musk said on a Wednesday earnings call, adding there are software-like margins to be made in lithium processing. “You can’t lose, it’s a license to print money.”

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Chinese Lithium Giant Pulls EVs Deeper Into Forced Labor Glare – by David Stringer and Annie Lee (Bloomberg News – July 17, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — A lithium producer for carmakers including BMW AG and Tesla Inc. is beginning work to assess battery metals projects in Xinjiang, deepening links between electric vehicle supply chains and a region at the heart of human-rights allegations against China.

Ganfeng Lithium Co., China’s top producer of the material, is partnering through a subsidiary with a state-backed entity to accelerate exploration for and potentially develop lithium, nickel and other critical metal assets in the region.

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Chief Harvey Yesno: One of CIM Magazine’s 2022 Names to Know – by Tijana Mitrovic (CIM Magazine – July 18, 2022)

https://magazine.cim.org/en/

Chief Harvey Yesno and Donald Bubar first met 20 years ago as panelists focused on development opportunities in northwestern Ontario. At the time, Chief Yesno was representing the interests of the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund, which provides financing and business support to Indigenous businesses in northern Ontario. Then, as now, Bubar was CEO and president of Avalon Advanced Materials.

Today, Yesno, a former Chief of the Eabametoong First Nation, past director of community relations for Ontario’s Ring of Fire Secretariat and Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation is the newest member of Avalon’s board of directors.

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US losing ground to China, Russia in South American lithium rush – by Rafael Bernal (The Hill – July 19, 2022)

https://thehill.com/

U.S. companies are hitting speedbumps in the race to win contracts to extract lithium in the Americas, particularly as the Chinese and Russian governments throw their weight around to land such agreements.

While the most easily exploitable currently known lithium deposits are in Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, the United States has so far not been able to capitalize on its influence in the Western Hemisphere to support its companies.

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Nationalize LATAM’s Lithium to Become Global Power: Evo Morales – by Fernando Mares (Mexico Business – July 13, 2022)

https://mexicobusiness.news/

Former President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, urged lithium-producing countries to take advantage of what he calls the decline of the US as a superpower to nationalize the lithium industry. By doing so, the Latin American region could play a major role in the world’s economics.

“The west does not want us to add value to our natural resources. If we industrialize the peoples’ lithium in the hand of the state, we could be global powers, at least in this environment,” Morales said at a conference at the El Rosario University in Argentina.

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