Notwithstanding the actions and beliefs of current Western politicians and their economist “advisors,” I firmly believe that there is no such thing as the free lunch that masquerades as modern monetary theory.
Believing that they can create by fiat whatever capital they need, politicians, worldwide, are encouraging a monstrous use (waste) of real world capital, without creating wealth to balance it, to meet clearly impossible goals related to what is commonly called stopping “climate change.”
Lithium is hot—again—though this time the rally looks to have more staying power. The market has exploded, with a benchmark index more than doubling in 2021 and key prices in China hitting records.
Driving the frenzy is the silvery metal’s allure as a commodity of the future: It’s one of the key components for the rechargeable batteries used to power electric vehicles.
NEWRY — The richest known hard rock lithium deposit in the world lies a few miles northeast of the ski slopes of Sunday River and not far from Step Falls, where swimmers can wade in shallow pools formed by hundreds of feet of cascading granite ledge.
Smaller deposits have been known in Maine for decades, but this recent discovery, just north of Plumbago Mountain in Newry, is the first to have a major resource potential.
According to the latest report (August 2021) from Roskill, the leading consultancy in critical metals supply chain intelligence, the outlook for the lithium market is dominated by rapid and sustained demand growth, driven by the use of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries in automotive and energy storage applications (ESS).
Furthermore, Roskill expect that fundamental changes in operation size and the range of lithium production sources will be needed to meet forecast demand growth and avoid a growing supply deficit and for this to succeed, producers will require adequate lithium compound prices to attract investment and incentivise the develop of lithium resources, a factor which is expected to see lithium prices well supported over the period to 2031.
The forklift, that vehicle with a pronged device in front for lifting heavy loads that’s found mostly in dingy warehouses and out-of-the-way loading docks, rarely enters the conversation about how Canada can grab a coveted piece of the rapidly growing battery-powered electric vehicle market.
Yet earlier this month, Mississauga-based Stromcore Energy Inc., which assembles lithium-ion batteries for forklifts at a modest plant in Ontario, announced preliminary plans to build what could be, if successful, Canada’s first large scale lithium-ion battery cell factory.
https://www.northernminer.com/
ING Economics has published a new report in which its experts predict what the energy transition might bring for five key metals: copper, aluminum, nickel, cobalt, and lithium.
Taking into consideration where different regions of the world stand when it comes to moving towards a low-carbon future where global warming is limited to 2 degrees Celsius, ING’s analysts developed three scenarios that they used as a background to assess the possible performance of battery metals.
A North American Battery Supply Chain Emerges
Hi all, James Frith here again this week. I want to look at how Canada is re-positioning itself to take advantage of the growing electric vehicle supply chain, after years of overlooking the battery industry.
Despite having all of the critical ingredients for lithium-ion batteries — nickel, cobalt, lithium, graphite — Canada doesn’t have any EV cell or component manufacturing; and it has only about 10% of the battery demand of the U.S.
Chile will open a tender for the exploration and production of 400,000 tonnes of lithium in an effort to reclaim market share and meet growing demand for the metal used in electric vehicles and high-tech devices.
The copper-producing nation, which holds the world’s largest known lithium reserves, said is preparing bidding rules available to local and foreign firms for five quotas of 80,000 tonnes each.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Canada’s Neo Lithium Corp. has agreed to a $960-million acquisition by Chinese state-owned Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd., a deal one security expert predicts will trigger an in-depth national security review by Ottawa.
Toronto-based Neo Lithium is developing a lithium mine in Argentina and hopes to eventually supply the silvery white metal to the electric vehicle industry. A 2019 prefeasibility study predicts the company’s 3Q mine could generate a 50-per-cent return on investment after it goes into production.
In the heart of Montreal’s downtown core at 1 Place Ville Marie — one of the tallest buildings in the city — is the address of Britishvolt Canada Inc.’s headquarters.
Technically, Britishvolt’s Canadian seat doubles as Denton’s senior business advisor Philippe Couillard’s office. But that makes sense as Couillard, along with a small but growing team, is largely responsible for bringing the British technology and manufacturing company to Canada — and which this week revealed to Electric Autonomy Canada in an exclusive interview its plan to build a 60GWh battery cell gigafactory, an R&D centre, and anode and cathode processing set up in Quebec.
(Bloomberg) — Lithium has gotten so hot that even China’s gold miners want a slice of the market, sky high valuations and all. Zijin Mining Group Co., a major Chinese gold and copper producer, announced on Friday its first foray into the booming lithium sector with its C$960 million ($770 million) purchase of Neo Lithium Corp.
It’s just the latest in a series of recent acquisitions, mostly involving Chinese bidders for South American assets owned by Canadian firms, amid surging demand for the key ingredient used to power electric vehicles.
GUBEN, Germany, Oct. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ – Rock Tech Lithium Inc., a cleantech company with offices in Canada and Germany, is planning to build Europe’s first lithium converter – a production plant for battery-grade lithium hydroxide – in Guben, Brandenburg.
The company intends to locate all production steps of lithium refining in one overall plant at the Guben site. The investment decision for all production steps still depends, among other things, on ongoing discussions regarding subsidies already applied for or still to be applied for. With its long industrial tradition and existing infrastructure, the region offers the best conditions for becoming a central component of the battery value chain and thus part of Brandenburg’s e-mobility cluster.
The Lithium Road runs through Latin America. It crosses three countries – Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile – whose economies are as bone-shakingly unstable as a potholed highway.
Chris Berry, president of House Mountain Partners, told Capital.com that lithium production, “is set to ramp up dramatically in the next few years” in those countries. By 2025, the Lithium triangle is expected to provide 60 to 70% of the globe’s lithium used in products ranging from electric vehicles to cell phones and laptops.
Washington | Australia is in pole position to benefit from a sixfold increase in demand for so-called “critical minerals” worth $US12.9 trillion ($17.6 trillion) over the next two decades, driven by the race to hit net zero emissions, according to analysis from the International Monetary Fund.
In its latest World Economic Outlook, the Washington-based multilateral lender projects that a steady 15 per cent increase in its metal price index will bolster Australia’s annual economic growth by 1 percentage point, further strengthening the government’s finances.
(Bloomberg) — Lithium prices extended their yearlong rally as surging demand spurs a shortfall of the key battery material.
Prices have more than doubled in the past year, according to a Benchmark Mineral Intelligence index of lithium carbonate and hydroxide. Demand for the materials used in electric cars and renewable-energy storage has soared and, while miners are seeking to boost supply, there’s not enough to meet consumption.
