Lithium – Page 13 – Republic of Mining

The Critical Minerals Crisis – by Jack Lifton (Investor Intel – June 6, 2023)

June 8, 2023

https://investorintel.com/

The Critical Minerals Crisis excerpt — “We are now at an inflection point for our society. If we can secure the supplies and the processing capacity for the minerals critical for the technologies we now take for granted in our daily lives, then our nations will flourish and grow.

If not, then our standard of living will decline, and those who have the critical minerals and the industrial bases to refine and fabricate them surge ahead of us. Our politicians and policymakers are woefully ignorant of this reality. This is the greatest danger of all to our lifestyle and security.” — Jack Lifton, Co-Founder & Co-Chairman, Critical Minerals Institute.

Could there be an ‘OPEC of lithium’? – by Ognjen Š. Miljanić (Green Biz – June 7, 2023)

June 8, 2023

https://www.greenbiz.com/

Chile plans to nationalize its vast reserves of lithium, an element essential for development of batteries and electric vehicles. That could force new public-private partnerships for leading suppliers Albemarle and SQM.

Chile’s government in late April announced plans to nationalize its lithium industry. Such a policy could have worldwide repercussions on the battery and electric vehicle industries. Under the proposal, the world’s largest lithium-producing companies — U.S.-based Albemarle and Chinese-dominated SQM — will be allowed to continue their current contracts, but will be forced into public-private partnerships upon their expiration.

Winsome Resources inks deal to expand Adina lithium project footprint by half – by Blair McBride (Northern Miner – June 8, 2023)

June 8, 2023

https://www.northernminer.com/

Lithium explorer and developer Winsome Resources (ASX: WR1) announced Thursday the signing of an option agreement to expand its Adina lithium project in Quebec to 44 sq. km, a 50% increase, as it prepares for an initial resource this year.

The agreement would allow Winsome to acquire the 29 claims in the bordering Jackpot property and expand its total tenure in the James Bay area to more than 871.5 sq. km, the Perth-headquartered firm said in a release.

Is Yellowknife heading into a lithium rush? – by Talar Stockton (Cabin Radio – June 2, 2023)

June 8, 2023

Front Page

Lithium was once a forgotten element in the Northwest Territories. This summer, it’s sparking a hunt for profit.

For decades, nobody did much with the lithium-rich region east of Yellowknife. Suddenly, multiple companies are taking up the quest to find lithium and sending scouts to drill.
Drilling small holes across a property allows companies to get a sense of how large the deposit is beneath, and analyze samples for their lithium content.

For around half a dozen companies, that’s top of the to-do list. At least seven companies have NWT lithium projects in their early stages, most of them near Yellowknife. They hope to strike while the lithium iron is hot as demand skyrockets for the element’s use in the likes of electric vehicles.

Indigenous development groups kick off study for lithium processing plant – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – June 6, 2023)

June 6, 2023

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Minodahmun Development and Three Fires Group shoulder their way into the BEV supply chain

Two Indigenous economic developments groups – one in northwestern Ontario and one in southwestern Ontario – are teaming up to break into the battery electric and lithium supply chain in a big way.

Greenstone-based Minodahmun Development LP it is teaming up with the Three Fires Group of Kettle Point to form a “Mines to Battery” partnership that involves advancing the concept of a lithium refinery. The two entities posted a joint news release on the partnership, June 6.

Chinese mining company Sinomine planning Manitoba lithium refinery, eyeing Korea’s LG as joint venture partner – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – June 6, 2023)

June 6, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Chinese mining company Sinomine Resource Group Co. Ltd. is considering building a lithium refinery in Manitoba, and is looking at teaming up with Korea’s LG Energy Solution Ltd. in an attempt to assuage any national-security concerns on the part of the federal government.

Last year, Beijing-based Sinomine put its Tanco lithium mine into production in Manitoba. It currently ships unrefined lithium concentrate from the site to China for use in the country’s electric-vehicle industry. China dominates the processing of lithium, with roughly a 60-per-cent share of the global market.

How new lithium extraction technology could help us meet electric vehicle targets – by Katie Brigham (CNBC.com – June 5, 2023)

June 6, 2023

https://www.cnbc.com/

The world contains vast quantities of lithium, an integral element in electric vehicle batteries. And though lithium is commonly mined from hard rock, the majority of the world’s lithium reserves are actually found in brine, extremely salty water beneath the Earth’s surface.

Today, brine mining involves evaporating the brine in massive, extravagantly colored pools over a series of about 18 months, leaving high concentrations of lithium behind. It’s a simple but inefficient process that takes up vast swaths of land and is ecologically disruptive.

Every man and his dog is looking for lithium in Canada right now. Which ASX companies have joined the craze? – by Josh Chiat (Stockhead – June 4, 2023)

June 6, 2023

https://stockhead.com.au/

Back in ye olden days they told explorers, vagabonds and wayward youth to ‘Go West’ in search of a better life. Now the catchphrase for down on their luck ASX explorers is ‘Go North’, spreading like a virus across its moose populated plains in search of today’s go-to metal, lithium.

But is much of it moose pasture? Thanks to Twitter’s Viking Trader we have a running weekly commentary on the number of ASX explorers taking the plunge in Canada’s vast outback. According to Viking Trader, he counted 21 greenfields projects on the ASX just one week earlier. A craze to rival the Monster Mash.

Sudbury lithium mine developer looks for infrastructure funding to reach the EV market – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – June 1, 2023)

June 2, 2023

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Frontier Lithium’s PAK Project has a 24 years of mining life, but it needs government to fund the path forward

Tucked up in a remote corner of northwestern Ontario, Frontier Lithium and president-CEO Trevor Walker are sitting on one of the largest, highest grade and mine-ready lithium projects in North America.

The Sudbury-based exploration company has two massive spodumene-bearing lithium deposits about 175 kilometres north of Red Lake, near the Manitoba border. And there’s tons of potential to develop it into a district scale-sized operation.

Sudbury company applies for lithium processing plant permit – by Aya Dufour (CBC News Sudbury – June 1, 2023)

June 1, 2023

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

If the company obtains environmental approvals, construction could start in 2024

Lithium is one of the key ingredients of electric vehicle batteries, and while Ontario has promising deposits and manufacturing plants, it does not have any processing facilities for this mineral. But that could soon change.

Frontier Lithium, a Sudbury-based exploration company, has recently applied for permits to build a pilot lithium processing plant in the Township of Nairn and Hyman, west of Sudbury. Vice President of Operations Graeme Goodall says the proposed facility will be small-scale.

Exclusive: Frontier Lithium planning demonstration lithium chemical plant near Sudbury – by Emma Jarratt (Electric Autonomy – May 31, 2023)

June 1, 2023

https://electricautonomy.ca/

Frontier says the proposed facility, located in Ontario’s Township of Nairn and Hyman, will showcase its lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate processing capabilities, Electric Autonomy confirms

Ontario is on track to get its first lithium hydroxide facility courtesy of Frontier Lithium, Electric Autonomy can exclusively reveal, in the Township of Nairn and Hyman just 40 minutes west of Sudbury.

Public documents posted on Ontario’s Environmental Registry, confirmed by Frontier Lithium officials, detail how the Canadian mining company will operate the lithium processing facility.

Decarbonization ambitions ignite debate over mining, permitting – by Robert Zullo (Iowa Capital Dispatch – May 31,2023)

June 1, 2023

Home

The decarbonized, electrified future envisioned by the Biden administration, state governments, automakers, utility companies and corporate sustainability goals depends to a huge degree on minerals and metals.

Lots more lithium will be needed for car and truck batteries, as well as the big banks of batteries that are increasingly popping onto the electric grid to balance the intermittency of wind and solar power. Those batteries, as well as wind turbines and solar panels, also need copper, cobalt,, nickel, zinc and “rare earth” elements used in electric car motors and other clean technologies, among other materials.

Quebec and Ontario signalling major lithium production developments – by Mehanaz Yakub (Electric Autonomy – May 30, 2023)

June 1, 2023

https://electricautonomy.ca/

As Canada races to solidify its EV supply chain, Quebec and Ontario are vying for investments and development of their lithium sectors

The Ontario government is aiming to establish an end-to-end electric vehicle supply chain in the province. This, it says, will help position Canada as a global contender in the rapidly expanding market for EV production and battery manufacturing.

To date, the province has successfully attracted automakers Volkswagen and Stellantis (along with LG Energy Solutions) to establish two battery cell manufacturing plants. Additionally, Belgium-based Umicore has invested $1.5 billion in setting up a cathode active material facility near Kingston.

Tensions with China not impacting this Chinese-owned lithium mine in Manitoba – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – June 1, 2023)

June 1, 2023

https://financialpost.com/

The Tanco mine, one of Canada’s two lithium producers, hopes to expand against the odds

Ottawa surprised the mining world with its decision in November to bar three Chinese companies from buying stakes in Canada’s lithium businesses due to national security concerns.

Since then, investments from Chinese miners into Canadian companies that own properties containing minerals, such as lithium, copper or nickel, that are in high demand and needed for the energy transition away from fossil fuels have been unheard of.

SQM and Codelco begin talks over lithium partnership in Chile – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – May 29, 2023)

May 30, 2023

https://www.mining.com/

SQM (NYSE: SQM), the world’s second largest lithium producer, and Chile’s state-owned copper miner Codelco, have formally begun talks aimed at setting up a public-private partnership to extract the battery metal in the Atacama salt flat.

The negotiations between the firms are part of the new national lithium strategy President Gabriel Boric announced in April. The plan identifies the Salar de Atacama as a strategic asset because it contains the country’s largest known lithium resources as well as the only active operations.