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Lithium

US lithium clay projects secure backing despite extraction hurdles – by Henry Lazenby (Northern Miner – June 20, 2024)

Global mining news

The United States’ great hope for domestic lithium supply could lie in the massive-scale, long-life sediment-hosted deposits in its southwestern region. And even with tricky metallurgy to overcome and higher price tags than brine or hard rock deposits, experts say that with federal backing, these operations could become the continent’s energy transition backbone.

Most of the country’s sediment-hosted lithium projects are in Nevada. Projects like Lithium Americas’ (TSX: LAC; NYSE: LAC) Thacker Pass, Ioneer’s (NASDAQ: IONR; ASX: INR) Rhyolite Ridge, and Century Lithium’s (TSXV: LCE) Clayton Valley have big potential that’s drawing strategic investment.

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Serbia set to give green light to Rio Tinto lithium mine – by Marton Dunai, Alec Russell, Harry Dempsey and Alice Hancock (Financial Times – June 2024)

https://www.ft.com/

Exploitation of one of the world’s largest deposits of the metal would boost Europe’s electric vehicle industry

Serbia is preparing to give Rio Tinto the green light to develop Europe’s largest lithium mine two years after Belgrade called off the project, paving the way for a significant boost for the continent’s electric vehicle industry.

President Aleksandar Vučić said that “new guarantees” from the Anglo-Australian miner and EU looked set to address Serbia’s concerns over whether necessary environmental standards would be met at the Jadar site in the west of the country.

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A plan to mine lithium could eradicate a Nevada flower. Is extinction just the cost of green energy? – by Matthew Rozsa (Salon.com – June 13, 2024)

https://www.salon.com/

Botanists express alarm that a rare plant, the Tiehm’s buckwheat, won’t survive where a lithium mine is planned

Botanist Jerry Tiehm, the curator of herbarium at the University of Nevada Reno, discovered the plant that now bears his name more than 40 years ago. It was early in his career, and Tiehm was driving through a remote central Nevada canyon while collecting samples to study.

He was unaware at the time that it was an unknown species until a different expert informed him that the yellow, white and green plant was something altogether new. Indigenous to a tiny patch of land no larger than 10 acres in area, the new plant was named Tiehm’s buckwheat after its discoverer.

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Armstrong lithium explorer moving to mine construction decision as CEO departs – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – June 10, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Green Technology Metals on the hunt for financing partners, government funding for mine and Thunder Bay refinery

Green Technology Metals, a fast-moving Australian lithium explorer in northwestern Ontario, is on the hunt for a new CEO. Luke Cox is resigning as of July 19. Cameron Henry, the company’s executive director, will step in on interim basis until a successor is named.

The news comes at a pivotal time as Green Tech said it’s preparing to line up financing and carry out the technical studies needed to make a decision on constructing an open-pit mine near the north end of Lake Nipigon.

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Nigeria turns to lithium as its oil industry struggles (Euro Dayfr.com – June 6, 2024)

https://euro.dayfr.com/

As Nigeria’s oil reserves begin to run out after decades of crude oil exploitation, the West African country is turning to another valuable resource – lithium. There is a growing global demand for this “white gold”, necessary for the production of batteries for electrical appliances, electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.

Nigeria is estimated to have significant lithium resources, but the country’s mining industry is currently underdeveloped. Furthermore, the government must tackle the problem of resource theft, support the sustainable development of the mining industry and ensure that foreign players add value to the domestic market. rian of lithium to guarantee its success.

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Nigeria Is Emerging as a Critical Mineral Hub. the Government Is Cracking Down on Illegal Operations (Associated Press/U.S. News – May 26, 2024)

https://www.usnews.com/

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s government is cracking down on illegal mining, making dozens of arrests of unlicensed miners since April for allegedly stealing the country’s lithium, a critical mineral used in batteries for electric vehicles, smartphones and power systems.

The recent arrests come as Nigeria seeks to regulate its mining operations of critical minerals, curb illegal activity and better benefit from its mineral resources. The clean energy transition, a shift away from coal, oil and gas and toward renewable energy and batteries has spiked global demand for lithium, tin and other minerals.

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Lithium Miners Shake Up Trading to Tackle Wild Price Swings – by Annie Lee and Yvonne Yue Li (Bloomberg News – May 19, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — The world’s lithium miners — facing an unprecedented demand surge and wild price swings — are shaking up the way the commodity is bought and sold. As lithium emerges as a linchpin of the global energy transition, the industry is in the grip of a slow-motion revolution that earlier upended commodities like iron ore: a push for more transparent and industry-wide pricing.

Albemarle Corp., the No. 1 lithium supplier, has held a series of auctions since March where potential buyers compete for cargoes via bids. These sales are a significant step for lithium, which until relatively recently was largely sold at prices fixed in long-term contracts.

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Push for new US lithium mine leaves some Americans wary (France 24.com – May 15, 2024)

https://www.france24.com/en/

Lincolnton (United States) (AFP) – When Kristal Lee and her husband bought a house in Gaston County, North Carolina two years ago, they envisioned a “forever home”. But a planned lithium mine is bringing Lee sleepless nights.

Nearby is an area earmarked for a $1.2 billion project to produce battery grade lithium for US electric vehicle (EV) supply chains — one of only a few such sites in the country. “You get very anxious when you hear about it,” she said of the project by Piedmont Lithium.

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Savannah could request compulsory land acquisitions for Portuguese lithium project – by Catarina Demony and Pietro Lombardi (Reuters – May 9, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

LISBON, May 9 (Reuters) – London-based Savannah Resources will if necessary ask Portugal’s government to authorise compulsory land acquisitions for its planned lithium mines in the country’s north, CEO Emanuel Proenca said, adding that it prefers “friendly deals”.

The company requires around 840 hectares for its four-mine project in the Barroso region, but according to data from September 2023, it had acquired or was in process of acquiring just 93 hectares.

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[California Lithium-rich Salton Sea] The green treasure below a toxic lake – by Jean-François Bélanger (CBC News – March 31, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/

The place is as little-known as it is majestic. It’s a deep blue lake bordered by the desert and mountain ranges as far as the eye can see. As the largest body of water in California, the Salton Sea used to be a favorite vacation hotspot for Hollywood stars back in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis and the Marx brothers were among the regulars. The Beach Boys as well.

This is what drew Donna Winters to settle in Desert Shores, about 130 kilometres east of San Diego, a quarter of a century ago. The retiree, in her 80s, keeps very fond memories of her first years here. Her once-lakefront home had stunning views.

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Sodium Batteries From Michigan to Challenge Lithium’s Grip – by David R Baker (Bloomberg News – April 29, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Modern life runs on lithium-ion batteries, powering smartphones, laptops and electric cars alike. But as dominant as they’ve become, there are other ways to build a battery.

Natron Energy Inc. will unveil what it bills as the first full-scale plant in the US for making sodium-ion batteries on Monday. The plant situated near Michigan’s western shore has already started making cells and plans its first shipments in June.

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On Lithium’s Frontier, Miners Are Betting on a Greener Second Act – by Paul-Alain Hunt (Bloomberg News – April 25, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Against the arid, red dirt of the Australian Outback, the Mount Holland lithium mine emerges to approaching visitors as a colossal grey-tinged crater, with trucks the size of houses edging along its steep inclines.

An expanding site at the heart of the world’s top lithium-producing region, the A$2.6 billion ($1.7 billion) operation is emblematic of the plentiful additional supply of the battery material currently weighing on global prices, much of it from this neighborhood. Despite bullish long term forecasts, the metal has been languishing near two-year lows as demand fails to keep pace.

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In Portugal’s Rural North, Communities Are Resisting Lithium Mining – by Marta Vidal and Diana Takacsova (New Lines Magazine – April 24, 2024)

https://newlinesmag.com/

The remarkable heritage and ecology of Barroso are at risk amid an EU push to secure minerals for a ‘green transition’

As the sun begins its gradual descent in the mountains of Barroso, in northeast Portugal, it casts golden hues upon the region’s vast pine and oak forests. The air fills with the gentle hum of bees collecting nectar from the heather that blankets the rugged landscape in swaths of vivid purple and pink.

August is the peak season for honey, when the heather is in full bloom. Carlos “Libo” Goncalves is as busy as his bees. After taking his horses up the oak-studded hills that surround the village of Covas do Barroso, he dons his protective gear and hurries to the hives he has spread across his village’s common lands.

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Pre-election budget goodie to fund Berens River bridge and road – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – April 22, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Infrastructure project would bring permanent road to Indigenous communities and connect lithium deposits to markets

Ottawa appears willing to put some significant funding dollars behind the long-overdue Berens River bridge and road project in northwestern Ontario.

Yet it still remains a mystery on how much is being allocated to this key piece of Indigenous-led infrastructure project that will link seven remote communities to the provincial highway system for the first time and allow a lithium mine development company to connect to the marketplace.

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US advances review of Nevada lithium mine amid concerns over endangered wildflower – by Scott Sonner (Associated Press – April 23, 2024)

https://apnews.com/

RENO, Nev. (AP) — The Biden administration has taken a significant step in its expedited environmental review of what could become the third lithium mine in the U.S., amid anticipated legal challenges from conservationists over the threat they say it poses to an endangered Nevada wildflower.

The Bureau of Land Management released more than 2,000 pages of documents in a draft environmental impact statement last week for the Rhyolite Ridge mine. Lithium is a metal key to the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles — a centerpiece of President Joe Biden’s “green energy” agenda.

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