Le lithium, le prix en baisse aprés la flambée.

[energy_isere]

Une usine de transformation du Carbonate de Lithium va être construite à...... FUKUSHIMA !
Le carbonate de Lithium viendra de l'exploitation de Orocobre dans un salar dans le nord de l'Argentine.
L'extension du salar de Olaroz va ajouter 25 000 tonnes de carbonate de lithium par an.

OROCOBRE
OVERVIEW

Orocobre is building a substantial Argentine based industrial chemicals company through its portfolio of lithium, potash and boron assets.

In partnership with Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) and JEMSE, Orocobre has built and is now operating the world’s first commercial, brine-based lithium operation constructed in approximately 20 years.

Orocobre recently announced it will increase the size of the Stage 2 expansion at Olaroz in Argentina by 25,000 tonnes per annum (tpa). The Stage 2 Olaroz expansion will add 25,000 tpa of lithium carbonate production capacity to 42,500 tpa (at full production and capacity) lithium carbonate for sale to industrial, technical and battery markets, positioning Orocobre as one of the world’s largest and lowest cost lithium chemicals producers.

Additionally, Orocobre and Toyota Tsusho Corporation are finalising plans to jointly develop a 10,000 tpa lithium hydroxide plant in Fukushima, Japan with expected operating costs of US$1,500/tonne.

https://www.orocobre.com/company/



Salar de Olaroz. Image: Orocobre

http://www.mining.com/lithium-price-wea ... ff-market/

[energy_isere]

suite de ce post du 08 sept 2018 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 7#p2271937

Mali : les ressources du projet de lithium Bougouni augmentent de 23%



Agence Ecofin 01 mars 2018

Au Mali, le projet Bougouni contient plus de ressource de lithium que précédemment estimé. Il hébergerait 21,3 millions de tonnes titrant 1,11% de lithium, soit 23% de plus que la précédente estimation.

De ce total, 11,6 millions de tonnes appartiennent à la catégorie indiquée (en hausse de 55%) et 9,7 millions de tonnes à celle inférée. La différence entre les deux catégories se trouve au niveau du degré de précision de l’estimation.

« L'importance de cette estimation actualisée et augmentée des ressources minérales réside dans le fait qu'elle nous a permis de classer une grande partie de l'estimation des ressources minérales comme ressource indiquée, ce qui est fondamental pour notre étude de développement minier en cours.», a déclaré jeudi, Bernard Aylward, PDG de Kodal, la compagnie détentrice du projet.

Kodal Minerals mène parallèlement à l’étude en cours, une évaluation d’impact environnemental et social. Elle a également engagé des consultants en ingénierie pour faire avancer la planification minière.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/metaux/010 ... tent-de-23

[energy_isere]

Aux US ils ont déjà le jackpot avec le shale oil, et bien bingo, ils vont pouvoir avoir du Lithium en prime :

Lithium Recovery JV Targets Marcellus, Utica Plays

by Matthew V. Veazey|Rigzone Staff|Tuesday, March 05, 2019

Lithium is getting more expensive and the United States is becoming more reliant on lithium imports, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
MGX Minerals Inc. reported Tuesday that it has signed a letter of intent with Eureka Resources, LLC to form an exclusive joint venture (JV) to recover lithium from water produced at non-conventional oil and gas sites throughout the Marcellus and Utica shale formations.

According to MGX, Eureka currently converts 10,000 barrels per day of produced water into co-products including fresh water, high-purity sodium chloride and calcium chloride. Under the JV, Eureka will begin extracting lithium as well using MGX technology, MGX noted.

Lithium is a key ingredient in rechargeable batteries but is also used to produce ceramics and glass, lubricating greases, polymers and other products, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). In a 2019 analysis, the USGS projects a nearly 90-percent overall increase in U.S. lithium imports from 2014 through 2019. During the same period, the agency anticipates a more than 150-percent increase in the per-metric-ton price of battery-grade lithium.

In a written statement, MGX noted that its technology can rapidly extract lithium from oil and gas produced water, natural brine, lithium-rich mine brine and industrial plant wastewater. The company stated that its rapid recovery system eliminates or greatly reduces the physical footprint and investment needed for large, multi-phase, lake-sized lined-evaporation ponds. The technology improves the quality of lithium extraction and recovery across a complex range of brines compared to traditional solar evaporation, the company maintains.

“The extraction of lithium from oil and gas well sources is a broad paradigm shift for the energy sector,” Jared Lazerson, MGX’s president and CEO, stated. “There may be a lot of lithium in the eastern U.S. Our clean technology unlocks this potential. Our joint venture plans to install multiple lithium rapid recovery systems at wastewater treatment facilities across the Marcellus and Utica shale formations.”

https://www.rigzone.com/news/lithium_re ... 7-article/

[energy_isere]

La ressource en Lithium du projet Cauchari en Argentine doublée par rapport à l'estimation antérieure

Advantage Lithium doubles Cauchari resource

Northern Miner Staff | Mar. 7, 2019, 4:32 PM |


Cauchari Project. Image courtesy of Advantage Lithium

After completing its phase two and three drill programs at its flagship Cauchari lithium project in Jujuy, Argentina, Advantage Lithium has more than doubled the project’s resource. Based on its new measured and indicated resources, the company says Cauchari is now Argentina’s second largest development project.

Based on the updated resource, the project now contains 1.8 billion measured and indicated cubic metres brine grading 476 milligrams per litre (mg/l) lithium for 4.8 million tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent.

The project also contains 600 million inferred cubic metres brine at 473 mg/l for 1.5 million tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent. It is the first time Advantage Lithium has updated its Cauchari resource since May 2018.


The company has broken its resource into six difference geological units. It considers the project’s Archibarca Fan and SE Sector the two most important areas for future brine production.

Archibarca Fan alone contains 1 million tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent at 564 mg/l lithium in the measured category; the SE Sector contains roughly 3 million tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent at 481 mg/l lithium in the measured and indicated categories.

http://www.mining.com/advantage-lithium ... -resource/

[energy_isere]

SQM reçoit les autorisations environnementales pour agrandir son exploitation de Lithium de salars au Chili.

SQM receives environmental approval for Chile lithium plant expansion

March 17, 2019



Chilean lithium miner SQM on Thursday received environmental approval to expand its lithium carbonate production plant, the local environmental regulator told Reuters, marking a milestone as the company seeks to boost output of the coveted ultralight battery metal.

The $400 million plant expansion, once complete, would allow the Chinese-backed SQM to eventually produce as much as 180,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate a year from its Atacama salt flat operations in Chile.

SQM is the world's number two producer of lithium, a key component in the batteries that power electric vehicles, cell phones and other consumer goods. China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp bought a stake in the firm last year.

SQM CEO Ricardo Ramos earlier this week said he expected the expansion, if approved, would come online "in the future," but did not specify a date. SQM has previously said it hopes to be able to produce 120,000 tonnes annually by 2020, nearly double its current capacity of 70,000 tonnes.

Water has become a key sticking point for the expansion plans of both SQM and top competitor Albemarle, both of which operate in the Atacama desert, the world's driest. Soaring lithium demand has raised questions about whether the Atacama salt flat can support current and future levels of production.

SQM vice president Alejandro Bucher said in a statement that he believed the plant expansion approved on Thursday would contribute to sustainable development of the region.

"One of the most relevant benefits of this project is the optimization of water use for production," Bucher said.

http://www.mining.com/web/sqm-receives- ... expansion/

[energy_isere]

Suite de ce post du 1er janvier 2019 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 1#p2278021

L'entreprise canadienne Nemaska Lithium en difficulté financière, son projet coute plus cher que prévu.

Minière Nemaska Lithium: plus de 130 millions $ de fonds publics à risque

Pierre Couture | Journal de Québec | Publié le 2 mars 2019

Le gouvernement du Québec a misé gros dans la minière québécoise Nemaska Lithium aux prises avec d’importants problèmes de liquidité. Plus de 130 millions $ de fonds publics ont jusqu’à présent été investis dans l’aventure.

Nemaska Lithium dit actuellement étudier plusieurs scénarios pour assurer sa survie. L’entreprise prévoit produire du lithium, très demandé pour le marché des batteries de voitures électriques.

La minière de Québec doit toutefois trouver 375 millions $ rapidement pour terminer la construction de sa mine de lithium dans le nord du Québec et de son usine de transformation à Shawinigan.

Le coût du projet, qui devait s’élever à 1,1 milliard $, avoisine maintenant 1,5 milliard $.
........

https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2019/03/02/ ... s-a-risque

[energy_isere]

1000 emplois vont être créés à l'usine de traitement des spodumene extraits à la mine de Greenbushes en Australie.

One thousand jobs to be created as lithium plant kicks off near Bunbury

By staff writers March 28, 2019

Construction has begun on what will be Australia's biggest lithium processing plant in WA's South West region.

US lithium giant Albemarle's $1 billion Kemerton plant, 17 kilometres north of the port town of Bunbury, was expected to create 500 construction jobs and another 500 jobs in the south-west once operational.

It will initially comprise of three production trains that will use spodumene ore sourced from nearby Greenbushes lithium mine.

Each train will produce 20,000 tonnes per annum of lithium hydroxide, an essential component in modern batteries, with a further expansion to five trains meaning the site could produce up to 100,000 tpa by 2025.
.........

https://www.smh.com.au/business/compani ... 518ke.html

[energy_isere]

Encore une identification de Lithium en Australie, le Finiss project.

Core hits high-grade lithium ahead of definitive feasibility study

By Danica Cullinane - March 27, 2019

Emerging lithium developer Core Lithium has unearthed a broad mineralised zone grading at 1.78% lithium oxide during recent drilling within its wholly-owned Finniss project in the Northern Territory.

The company today announced results from drilling at the BP33 deposit including a wide, high-grade intersection of 76m at 1.78% lithium oxide from a depth of 149m, including 21m at 2.06% lithium oxide from 202m, plus a 51.75m intersection at 1.72% lithium oxide from 269m.

According to Core, the drilling results confirm the consistent and high-grade nature of the BP33 lithium orebody, which bodes well for the Finniss project’s definitive feasibility study (DFS) due to be released in the next few weeks.

“These last results from BP33 are important to increasing the high level of confidence in the orebody and the accuracy of the input and outcomes of the DFS,” the company stated.

Finniss resource upgrade
The Finniss project covers 500sq km of granted tenements over the Bynoe pegmatite field near Darwin, NT.

Drilling to date has confirmed that potential ore-grade lithium mineralisation is widespread within the project, with a mineral resource calculated at five deposits – Grants, BP33, Sandras, Carlton and Hang Gong SW.

.........

https://smallcaps.com.au/core-hits-high ... ity-study/

[energy_isere]

Namibie : le plus grand groupe de chimie au monde veut acheter le lithium de Desert Lion



Agence Ecofin. 3 avril 2019

La compagnie Desert Lion Energy a conclu un accord de prélèvement non contraignant pour vendre à BASF SE de l’hydroxyde de lithium provenant d’une installation de production en Namibie. BASF est un groupe chimique allemand créé en 1865, le plus grand groupe de chimie au monde.

Les deux partis travailleront à la conclusion d’un accord définitif d’ici le 31 décembre 2019.

Pour soutenir la production d’hydroxyde de lithium, Desert Lion réalisera d’abord une étude de préfaisabilité pour une production annuelle de 10 000 tonnes. L’étude devrait être publiée d’ici le dernier trimestre de l’année.

« Cet accord d'enlèvement représente une autre étape importante pour la société. Nous sommes très heureux de pouvoir nous associer à BASF pour la fourniture de produits chimiques à base de lithium à l'industrie des batteries », a déclaré Tim Johnston, DG de Desert Lion Energy.

Le projet Desert Lion Energy sera développé en trois phases dont la première porte sur le traitement de minerais provenant des stocks historiques tout-venant des mines Rubicon et Helikon. Quant à la dernière phase, elle verra la société produire à Walvis Bay 25 000 tonnes/an de carbonate de lithium.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/metaux/030 ... esert-lion

[energy_isere]

Du Lithium au Brésil, à partir de spodumene.Dans le Minas Gerais. Le Japonais Mitsui investi 30 millions se dollars.

Japan’s Mitsui injects $30m into Sigma’s lithium project in Brazil

April 5 2019


Production Plant at Grota do Cirilo. (Image courtesy of Sigma Lithium.)

Japan’s Mitsui & Co. will invest $30 million in Sigma Lithium Resources’
project in Brazil, as demand for the metal used in the batteries that power electric vehicles is set to continue growing, keeping the market tight.

The funds, together with a $40 million debt offering Mitsui granted Sigma, will allow the Canadian miner to begin building a processing plant at its Grota do Cirilo asset, a hard rock lithium project in the south-eastern Brazilian province of Minas Gerais.

The trading house is pre-paying Sigma $30 million for up to 55,000 annual tonnes of future battery-grade spodumene concentrate, over six years. The off-take deal can be extended for five years and gives the Japanese firm the right to buy a supplementary amount of 25,000 tonnes a year over 72 months, which can also be renewed for five years.

“We are very pleased to welcome Mitsui as our new strategic offtake and funding partner,” Sigma chairman and chief executive officer, Calvyn Gardner, said in the statement. “Both of our companies share the same vision regarding the growth in the battery metals value chain as well as commitment to supply the world with clean energy.”

Grota do Cirilo is expected to produce 240,000 tonnes of battery-grade spodumene concentrate per year, beginning in 2020. The output will be shipped to China, where it will be converted into lithium hydroxide, the type of lithium used by Tesla in its car batteries.

If Sigma goes ahead with an expansion project that would increase output to 440,000 tonnes a year, Mitsui could buy more material, but it would have to provide extra funding.

That level of output would place Sigma among the largest lithium suppliers in the Americas.

Prices for the white battery metal have largely stabilized this year, following the extended slide seen in 20‌18. According to Roskill’s outlook released this week, prices have held up thanks to a mix of growing demand and disruptions that have impacted additional supply.

http://www.mining.com/japans-mitsui-inj ... ct-brazil/

[energy_isere]

Suite de ce post du 24 fev 2019 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 6#p2281216

Toyota et Orocobre annoncent le feu vert pour le projet de raffinerie de Lithium au Japon.

Orocobre and Toyota green light lithium hydroxide plant in Japan

12 April 2019

The boards of Orocobre and Toyota Tsusho Corp. have given the green light to building the Naraha lithium hydroxide plant, which will be the first of its kind in Japan.

The majority of production will feed the Japanese battery industry and will be sourced from the lithium carbonate produced from the phase two expansion of Orocobre’s Olaroz mine in northern Argentina’s Jujuy province.

Construction will start before the end of June, and the joint-venture partners expect to commission the plant sometime in the first half of 2021.

The companies estimate that it will take about 9,500 tonnes a year of primary grade lithium carbonate to produce 10,000 tonnes per year of battery grade lithium hydroxide.

A cathode manufacturing plant already exists nearby the site, and plans have been announced to develop a battery manufacturing facility in the area, Orocobre notes in a press release.

Capital costs for the project are forecast to run to $77.6 million, excluding VAT, but the joint-venture is entitled to a subsidy of $27.1 million from the Japanese government.

The subsidy will be received once the project “reaches mechanical completion,” which is expected to occur in the first half of 2021, the joint-venture says.
.......

http://www.mining.com/orocobre-toyota-t ... ant-japan/

[energy_isere]

Suite de ce post du 30 déc 2017 viewtopic.php?p=2264070#p2264070

Réévaluation à la hausse de 100 % des réserves de Carbonates de Lithium du projet Pastos Grandes en Argentine.

Millennial Lithium stock jumps 12% following boost in resource estimate

Earlier, the company released an updated resource estimate for its Pastos Grandes lithium project in Salta, Argentina. The project now contains 4.12Mt lithium carbonate equivalent and 15.3Mt potash equivalent in Measured and Indicated resource. Inferred resource has also increased to 798,000t lithium carbonate equivalent and 2.97Mt potash equivalent.

The resource estimate is based on over 15,000 metres of drilling across 33 holes and represents a near 100% increase over the previous 2017 resource estimate. The company expects to table a feasibility study and build a pilot processing plant at the project site by the end of 2019’s second quarter
.....

http://www.mining.com/millennial-lithiu ... -estimate/

[energy_isere]

Suite de ce post du 24 février 2019 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 3#p2281213

Savannah Resources devient propriétaire de 100% des parts du projet de la mine de Lithium de Barroso au Portugal.

Savannah Resources to take full control of lithium mine in Portugal

15 April 2019

Multi-commodity developer Savannah Resources (AIM:SAV) will become the sole owner of Mina do Barroso lithium project in Portugal through an all-share offer worth $11.9 million.

The London, England-based company, which already owns 75% of the asset, said full ownership would "provide greater exposure" for its shareholders to the project as it’s developed and commercialized.
Mina do Barroso, arguably one of the most advanced lithium mining concessions in Europe, is expected to become the continent's first significant producer of spodumene, a hard-rock form of lithium.

Savannah, which acquired a majority stake in the project in May 2017, has maintained a fast paced development approach since.



The company estimates the whole project holds a resource estimate of 20 million tonnes with over 200,000 tonnes contained Li20. Additionally, metallurgical test-work results have produced an “excellent” 6% Li20 low impurity concentrate, which according to chief executive David Archer, is “ideal” for the EV battery industry, further validating the project.

Mina do Barroso is set to initially produce 6% Li2O spodumene concentrates destined to China. The open pit mine will also yield a feldspar and quartz co-product to be sold to ceramics industry customers locally and in neighbouring and Spain.

http://www.mining.com/savannah-resource ... -portugal/

[energy_isere]

Longue analyse du marché du Lithium dans oilprice. Com
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-Gene ... ustry.html

Ça parle du Lithium des salars, du Lithium de spodumene, des compagnies minières, de la demande automobile des 10 prochaines années, des cours du Lithium, .....

[energy_isere]

Le mineur Australien Alliance Mineral va processeur son Lithium de spodumene (dont l'exploitation a commencé il y a un an) avec le chinois Jiangte dans son usine en Chine.

Australia’s Alliance Mineral inks key lithium deal with Chinese EV firm

29 April 2019

Australian lithium producer Alliance Mineral Assets (ASX: A40) said Monday it had inked a joint venture deal with a major Chinese maker of engines for electric vehicles (EVs), which would allow the miner to feed its output into the partner's manufacturing process without capital costs or construction risks.

As part of the deal, Alliance and Jiangxi Special Electric Motor have agreed to move into the downstream lithium products market within the next six to 12 months.

The West Australia-based miner will export spodumene from its Bald Hill operation to Jiangte, which will then process the material at the plant in China’s Jiangxi Province into lithium hydroxide, a more refined, higher value and higher margin product.

The partners will then sell the lithium hydroxide to third parties, with Alliance and Jiangte to equally share in the sales after recovering each party’s respective mining and conversion costs.

“The hydroxide joint venture provides for a rapid, low risk entry into downstream production and sales of battery-grade lithium products,” Alliance managing director Mark Calderwood said in the statement.

Alliance, previously known as Tawana Resources, will retain ownership of the Bald Hills mine, which began commercial production of spodumene in mid-2018. Output is expected to ramp up to 20,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate per month by 2020.

http://www.mining.com/australias-allian ... e-ev-firm/


Aerial view of Jiangte’s Yinli New Energy conversion facility. (Image courtesy of Alliance Mineral Assets.)