Lithium – Page 29 – Republic of Mining

Ontario-focused Frontier Lithium aspires to become Canada’s ‘lithium champion’ – by Henry Lazenby (Northern Miner – November 7, 2022)

November 7, 2022November 7, 2022

https://www.northernminer.com/

Frontier Lithium (TSXV: FL; US-OTC: LITOF) reports progress towards completing a resource update and prefeasibility study for its PAK project in northwestern Ontario by the first quarter of 2023. The prospective lithium pegmatite project is 170 km north of the famed Red Lake Gold Camp in an emerging lithium mineral district in the Canadian Shield dubbed the ‘Electric Avenue.’

Having already outlined one of the largest and highest grade spodumene resources in North America, the project has the potential to crystalize the vision of Frontier becoming Canada’s ‘lithium champion,’ as owner, president and CEO Trevor Walker tells The Northern Miner in an interview.

Column-Canada slams the door on China in critical minerals race – by Andy Home (Reuters – November 4, 2022)

November 7, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/

The Canadian government this week ordered Chinese companies to divest their holdings in three Canadian-listed junior mining companies planning to develop lithium deposits.

The ban comes within days of Canada announcing a tougher policy on investment in the minerals sector by state-owned entities, particularly those from China, which dominates the processing of key energy transition metals such as lithium, cobalt and rare earths.

Cochrane-area cesium explorer willing to stand its ground against Ottawa – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 4, 2022)

November 4, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Power Metals and Hong Kong partner plan to appeal federal divestment order

A junior miner searching for cesium and lithium in northeastern Ontario said its Hong Kong financing partner intends to appeal a Canadian government order to pull its investment from the critical minerals exploration project.

In the meantime, it’s business as usual Power Metals said of its ongoing exploration drilling at its Case Lake Project site, 80 kilometres east of Cochrane, near the border with Quebec.

Beijing accuses Canada of ‘suppressing Chinese companies’ – by Steve Chase and Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 4, 2022)

November 4, 2022November 4, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Beijing is accusing Canada of “suppressing Chinese companies” by forcing three of its state-controlled corporations to sell their stakes in Canadian critical minerals businesses.

On Wednesday, Ottawa ordered Chinese state-owned companies to immediately divest their interests in three Canadian critical minerals companies. The federal government had faced an avalanche of criticism earlier this year for allowing too much investment from the Asian superpower in Canada’s domestic mining sector.

For Latin America, Will Booming Lithium Bring Competition—or Collaboration? – by David Feliba (Americas Quarterly – November 2, 2022)

November 3, 2022

Americas Quarterly

Increasing global demand for the mineral could benefit countries with the world’s largest reserves.

BUENOS AIRES – Nearly 55% of the world’s lithium deposits lie in Latin America’s lithium triangle, the swath of territory encompassing Chile’s and Argentina’s northern regions and Bolivia’s southwest.

But as hopes of a windfall from increased electric vehicle production rise, anxieties are rising too over which country will come out on top—or whether cooperation between the three can help secure more advantageous deals.

The world needs chromite and lithium. Afghanistan has them. What happens next? – by Nabih Bulos (Los Angeles Times – November 2022)

November 3, 2022

https://www.latimes.com/

LOGAR, Afghanistan — Somewhere in the Logar Mountains, overlooking the highway to Kabul, Asadullah Massoud trudged up to a four-story-tall cleft. Before him was a monochromatic pattern of gray stone, save for a seam of dull, almost-black rocks. “Look there. See that black line?” he said. “That’s chromite.”

An explosion thumped in the distance. Massoud looked up at the sound, but appeared unconcerned. That’s not fighting. We’re mining with the open-surface method, putting explosives and going from hill to hill,” he said.

China Looks to Africa in Race for Lithium – by Kate Bartlett (Voice of America – June 4, 2022)

November 3, 2022

https://www.voanews.com/

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — It is the new gold rush, and China is leading the hunt as prices surge. Only it’s not gold everyone’s looking for, it’s lithium. Many say the future of electric vehicle production and, more broadly, combatting climate change, depend on the rare metal.

Prices for the “green metal” have seen an almost 500% increase in the past year, according to Bloomberg. Sung Choi, a metals analyst at BloombergNEF, told VOA, “The cost of lithium has risen because virtually all automakers have jumped onto producing electric vehicles.”

Ottawa orders Chinese divestment in three Canadian critical minerals companies – by Niall McGee and Steven Chase (Globe and Mail – November 3, 2022)

November 3, 2022

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Ottawa is ordering Chinese state-owned companies to immediately divest their interests in three Canadian critical minerals companies, after the federal government faced an avalanche of criticism earlier in the year for allowing too much investment from the Asian superpower into the domestic mining sector.

The government’s order marks the second time in a week it has taken a more aggressive stand against China, after allowing it to acquire a Canadian critical minerals company earlier this year amid little scrutiny.

In remote Nevada valley, race for more lithium comes down to water – Daniel Rothberg (Nevada Independent – October 31, 2022)

October 31, 2022

https://thenevadaindependent.com/

There is an otherworldly feel to the crystalline-blue evaporation ponds that sit in Clayton Valley, an arid area in Nevada’s least populated county, Esmeralda. From above, the ponds look like a grid of pooled water arranged in a gradient that moves from a deep-sea blue to a light-sky tone. The man-made desert pools contain what is naturally underneath the ground: water.

Pumps, drilled deep into the Earth, pull brine from an underground aquifer, and pipes move the salty water into the expansive holding ponds. This is not just any water. It is rich in lithium, a mineral needed for electric cars and large-scale storage batteries, technologies in high demand as countries and industries seek to decarbonize national economies and electric grids.

AVZ vs Zijin: the fight for the world’s biggest lithium deposit – by Jevans Nyabiage (South China Morning Post – October 30, 2022)

October 31, 2022

https://www.scmp.com/

The discovery of a gigantic deposit of lithium had raised hopes for the sleepy town of Manono in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo after a tin boom went bust years earlier.

Australia-based AVZ Minerals announced in 2019 that the Manono lithium-tin project in the DRC probably had the world’s largest untapped lithium deposit, with estimates of 400 million tonnes of lithium ore. Lithium is essential in making rechargeable batteries for phones and electric vehicles, and is in high demand as countries around the world make the shift to green energy.

Manono Lithium-Tin Project (Mining Technology – March 9, 2021)

October 31, 2022

https://www.mining-technology.com/

The Manono Lithium-Tin Project is an open-pit mining development in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in central Africa. It is estimated to be one of the largest lithium-rich LCT (lithium, caesium, tantalum) pegmatite deposits in the world.

AVZ Minerals currently holds a 65% interest in the property while the remaining stake is held by Dathcom Mining, a joint venture between AVZ Minerals and La Congolaise D’Exploitation Miniere of the DRC Government. AVZ Minerals reached an agreement to acquire an additional 10% equity in the project for $15.5m in September 2020.

The Lithium Market Is Hotter Than Ever and Traders Are Moving In – by Mark Burton, Archie Hunter and Yvonne Yue Li (Bloomberg News – October 29, 2022)

October 31, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — When the oil market liberalized in the 1970s, a group of commodity trading buccaneers led by the infamous Marc Rich made fortunes by connecting buyers and sellers and surfing the price swings of this newly tradable commodity. Half a century later, some of Rich’s spiritual descendants are hoping to pull off a similar trick in lithium.

A vital component in most electric-vehicle batteries, lithium is becoming one of the world’s most important commodities. Prices have soared to unprecedented levels as demand forecasts keep growing, leaving automakers scrambling to secure future supplies.

Mining the Northwest: Charged up lithium explorers move toward mine production – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – October 26, 2022)

October 27, 2022

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Green Tech Metals buys out partner, Rock Tech Lithium firms up European supply chain

A pair of lithium junior miners in northwestern Ontario are making moves to consolidate ground and firm up its supply chain to feed the downstream electric vehicle manufacturers.

Australia’s Green Technology Metals is dissolving a joint venture partnership with Ardiden to acquire the remaining 20 per cent stake in its Ontario lithium properties. The deal worth (Australian) $18.5 million gives Green Tech full control of three lithium holdings including Seymour, located just outside of Armstrong, that the company is touting as a mine development.

Why this lithium boss stopped taking calls from buyers in a boom – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review- October 25, 2022)

October 26, 2022

https://www.afr.com/

Pilbara Minerals boss Dale Henderson says his phone is switched to silent as a constant stream of car and battery makers try to secure supplies of lithium, and he doesn’t expect the calls to stop any time soon.

The $16 billion company’s operations in Western Australia continued to spew cash in the September quarter after an increase in production – albeit at a lower grade – and higher spodumene concentrate prices.

China’s lithium appetite to fuel European production, miner says – by Annie Lee and Harry Brumpton (Bloomberg News – October 25, 2022)

October 26, 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

An Australian company on track to become Europe’s first lithium producer said China’s appetite for the material, which is key to the renewable-energy transition, has created a clear runway for further expansion in the continent.

“A lot of supply is going into China, and China’s own needs are growing,” Critical Metals Corp. Executive Chairman Tony Sage said in a Bloomberg Television interview from Perth on Wednesday.