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Zimbabwe : le chinois Suzhou TA&A décaisse 18,1 millions $ pour la construction de la mine de lithium Zulu

Agence Ecofin 3 aout 2022

Le Zimbabwe est actuellement le seul pays africain à produire du lithium. Le pays dispose encore de réserves inexploitées qui attirent ces derniers mois des entreprises chinoises.

Premier African Minerals a reçu environ 18,1 millions de dollars de Suzhou TA&A Clean Technology comme premier acompte d’un financement total de 35 millions $. C’est l’annonce faite le mercredi 3 août par la compagnie minière basée dans les îles vierges britanniques, précisant que les fonds serviront à payer les entreprises engagées dans la construction d’une usine pilote à la mine de lithium Zulu au Zimbabwe.

« La fabrication, la conception du site et la construction sont en cours et le début de la production commerciale est maintenant prévu pour le premier trimestre de 2023 », a assuré George Roach, PDG de la société.

Pour rappel, les fonds mis à disposition par Suzhou lui garantissent la livraison des premières tonnes de spodumène de lithium (SC6) de l’usine. Selon la compagnie, des livraisons continues sur 12 mois devraient permettre de rembourser le prépaiement accordé par l’entreprise chinoise, ce qui correspond à la capacité de production annuelle du projet soit 50 000 tonnes de SC6. L’entrée en production de Zulu est attendue pour le premier trimestre 2023.

GM prepaying Livent $198 million for guaranteed lithium supply

Reuters | August 2, 2022

General Motors Co is prepaying Livent Corp $198 million for a guaranteed six-year supply of lithium, a deal that reflects the auto industry’s rising worry about a tightening market for the electric vehicle battery metal.


Prepaying cash for a guaranteed metal supply is unusual in the mining industry. The deal shows GM’s eagerness to ensure it has sufficient raw materials to meet its goal of producing 1 million EVs annually in North America by 2025.
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Wealth Minerals and thyssenkrupp to jointly develop Chilean lithium asset
The duo will identify and select sustainable technology for lithium extraction and purification for the Ollagüe project.

August 10, 2022

Canada’s Wealth Minerals has partnered with thyssenkrupp Mining Technologies to develop the Ollagüe Salar Lithium exploration project in northern Chile.

Under the cooperation and development agreement, the duo will collaborate to initially identify, assess and select the ‘most beneficial and environmentally sustainable’ processing technology for extracting lithium and purification treatment for the Ollagüe Project.

The firms will also develop the project from the exploration stage through to commercial production of high-purity lithium products, as well as define new standards in green mining.

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Covering an area of 8,000ha in Region II, near the Chile-Bolivia border, the Ollagüe Project is an exploration stage lithium brine mineral project in the highly prospective Atacama Salar.

In June, Wealth Minerals started drilling work on the Ollagüe Salar to test brine anomalies as interpreted by prior geophysical studies.

Results from the drill programme, which includes around five holes for a total of 1,500m of diamond drilling, are planned to be augmented by exciting earlier third-party drill information identified by Wealth on the project.

Le Mexique se dote d'une entreprise d'Etat pour exploiter son lithium

AFP le 24 août 2022

Le Mexique va disposer d'une entreprise d'Etat pour exercer le monopole public d'exploitation de son lithium, un minerai essentiel dans la fabrication des voitures électriques, selon un décret pris mardi par le gouvernement mexicain.

Selon le décret, l'entreprise "Litio para México" (lithium pour le Mexique) a pour but "l'exploration, l'exploitation" du lithium sur le territoire national "ainsi que l'administration et le contrôle des chaînes de valeur économique".

L'entreprise dispose d'une "autonomie technique, opérative et de gestion", ajoute le décret.

Présent dans le nord du pays, le lithium mexicain a été nationalisé par une loi adoptée en avril au Parlement par la majorité du président de gauche Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

"Nous avons cette ressource et nous allons la mettre à disposition de l'industrie automobile" au Mexique, avait précisé en août le chef de l'Etat.

Le président avait mentionné en avril 150.000 hectares de concessions accordées par son prédécesseurs Enrique Pena Nieto (2012-2018).

Une entreprise à capitaux chinois, Bacanora, revendique sur son site internet "dix concessions minières" couvrant "environ 100.000 hectares" dans l'Etat de Sonora (nord), et évoque un dépôt de 8,8 millions de tonnes.

"Il n'y a pas encore d'information sur la quantité de lithium existante", avait estimé le président de la chambre minière du Mexique (CAMIMEX), Jaime Gutierrez, jugeant que la réforme n'était pas "nécessaire" et qu'elle créait "beaucoup d'incertitudes" pour les investisseurs dans le secteur des mines.

L'Australie, le Chili, l'Argentine et la Chine sont les principaux producteurs mondiaux de lithium. L'Australie en aurait produit 42.000 tonnes en 2019 d'après certaines statistiques spécialisées.

Namibie : Arcadia annonce une hausse de 560 % des ressources du projet de lithium Bitterwasser

Agence Ecofin 24 août 2022

L’importance du lithium dans la fabrication des voitures électriques entraine depuis quelques années une ruée vers l’Afrique, l’une des dernières régions où cette ressource est sous-exploitée. RDC, Mali et surtout Zimbabwe sont en pôle, mais d’autres pays attirent les investisseurs.

La junior minière australienne Arcadia Minerals a publié le mercredi 24 août une nouvelle estimation de ressources minérales conforme au code JORC. Cette mise à jour indique que son projet de lithium Bitterwasser en Namibie héberge 85,2 millions de tonnes de ressources inférées titrant 663 parties par million, soit 286 909 tonnes d’équivalents de carbonate de lithium (LCE).

Il s’agit, apprend-on, d’une augmentation d’environ 560 % de la ressource et de 430 % de la teneur en métal par rapport à l’estimation de novembre 2021. Elle est le fruit des données collectées grâce à 77 trous de forage et 486 échantillons. « Cette ressource se trouve dans les douze premiers mètres de la surface […] et ne couvre qu’un seul des quatorze bassins d’argile connus dans la région », précise Philip le Roux, PDG d’Arcadia.

Notons que ces résultats encouragent la société à poursuivre avec son projet pilote de production de carbonate de lithium en collaboration avec l’Université de Stellenbosch en Afrique du Sud. Il s’agit de confirmer que la ressource de Bitterwasser peut être utilisée comme matériau dans la fabrication des batteries pour véhicules électriques.

Pour rappel, les Mines représentent environ 10 % du PIB et plus de 50 % des exportations namibiennes. Longtemps dominé par les diamants et l’uranium, le secteur minier entre dans une phase de diversification que la transition énergétique et son besoin de cuivre et de lithium (deux ressources sous-exploitée pour l’une et inexploitée pour l’autre) peuvent faciliter.

China lithium prices near record as power cuts squeeze market

Bloomberg News | August 23, 2022

Prices of lithium in China are close to a record high as a power crisis in the nation’s major hub for the vital electric-vehicle battery ingredient threatens an already-tight market.


Sichuan, home to more than a fifth of China’s lithium production, extended industrial power cuts this week amid the most intense heat wave in more than a half-century. The supply disruptions in the province are set to add fuel to the battery metal’s stunning rally in the past year, with lithium carbonate prices on Monday reaching the highest level since April at 484,500 yuan ($70,610) a ton.

“We are estimating the lithium price momentum will last for a while, and the spot price for lithium carbonate will climb to 500,000 yuan per ton shortly,” said Susan Zou, an analyst at Rystad Energy. “Automakers and the battery manufacturers have to deal with this high cost.”

Meanwhile, Leah Chen, an analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights, said the power cuts could tip the market into a bigger imbalance.

The lithium sector, critical in the clean-energy transition, is one of the industries that’s most exposed to Sichuan’s electricity curtailments. The near-record prices may also have ripple effects for downstream players, with EV battery prices already expected to tick up this year for the first time in more than a decade, according to BloombergNEF.

“Should the power cuts be extended, then that could lead to more obvious supply concerns and possibly drive lithium prices higher,” Chen said.

Tianqi Lithium Corp., headquartered in Sichuan’s Chengdu with a production plant in Shehong city, said in a post on an online investor forum last week that it would strictly abide by the requirements of the local government and organize production in a “reasonable and orderly manner.” Chengxin Lithium Group Co. said on the same forum Monday that it would prepare for production resuming by adjusting its maintenance plan.

“If the lithium production disruption continues for the whole of August, with the low inventories at some lithium plants, the deliveries for committed orders for September might be impacted,” Rystad Energy’s Zou said. “Some cathode producers might be forced to scale back their production because they cannot get enough lithium on time. In the worst-case scenario, it may also affect the battery makers.”

Piedmont Lithium Selects Tennessee for New Lithium Hydroxide Project
Based on prior studies, Piedmont plans to invest approximately $600 million in the development of the operation.

By NS Energy Staff Writer 02 Sep 2022


Conceptual Design of the 30,000 TPY Tennessee Lithium Plant. (Credit: Business Wire)

Piedmont Lithium , a leading global developer of lithium resources critical to the U.S. electric vehicle (“EV”) supply chain, today announced the selection of Etowah, Tennessee in McMinn County as the location of the Company’s planned 30,000 metric ton per year (“tpy”) LHP­2 lithium hydroxide operation (“Tennessee Lithium” or “Project”). With a planned completion and start of production in 2025, the Company believes Tennessee Lithium will be the largest lithium hydroxide processing facility constructed in the United States. The Project is expected to convert spodumene concentrate sourced principally from Piedmont’s international project investments to significantly expand the U.S. supply of lithium hydroxide, a key component in the manufacturing of EV batteries.

“Companies like Piedmont Lithium choose to call Tennessee home because of our unmatched workforce and strong business climate,” said Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. “I thank this company for its investment in McMinn County and commitment to create nearly 120 manufacturing jobs for Tennesseans.”

“We are excited to announce the site of our newest project and partnership with the City of Etowah in McMinn County, and the State of Tennessee, as we advance our strategic goal of becoming a leading lithium supplier in the United States,” said Keith Phillips, President and Chief Executive Officer of Piedmont Lithium. “We are humbled by the warm welcome we have received from our new partners, and we look forward to making Piedmont an integral part of the Etowah and McMinn County communities as we develop Tennessee Lithium together for our mutual success.”

Piedmont’s Tennessee Lithium facility should be among the first lithium hydroxide plants built with the innovative Metso:Outotec process. This process eliminates the acid-leaching of spodumene and the production sodium sulfate waste, which will make Tennessee Lithium one of the world’s most sustainable lithium hydroxide operations.

Tennessee Lithium’s production target of 30,000 tpy of lithium hydroxide will complement the Company’s planned Carolina Lithium operation to bring our estimated total U.S.-based production capacity of 60,000 tpy by 2026. Current total U.S. production of lithium hydroxide is just 15,000 tpy.

“The rapid electrification of the automotive market has led to massive investments in electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery production in the United States, creating a critical need for lithium hydroxide produced in the U.S.,” said Phillips. “Our Tennessee Lithium operation should play an important role in helping to mitigate supply shortages in the American EV industry and battery supply chain, particularly in the wake of recent legislation incentivizing the use of domestically sourced critical materials and providing tax credits for U.S. producers.”

The Project’s location in Tennessee was selected for its cooperative government relations, access to excellent infrastructure including rail, road and river transportation, a talented workforce, a constructive business climate, as well as its proximity to the battery and automotive plants being constructed by prospective customers, and the Company’s headquarters and Carolina Lithium project, both in Gaston County, North Carolina.

Front-End Engineering Design (“FEED”) for Tennessee Lithium will be performed by Kiewit and Primero. Kiewit Corporation, ranked 3rd in Engineering News Record’s 2022 Top 400 Contractors, is a U.S. based construction company and a leading Engineer, Procure, and Construct (“EPC”) firm. Primero Group is a specialized design-build firm with strong lithium industry know-how that has supported Piedmont’s development since early 2018. FEED will conclude in H1 2023 and position Piedmont to sign an EPC contract for the construction of Tennessee Lithium upon completion of permitting and project financing activities. As part of FEED, Kiewit and Primero are expected to complete a DFS for Tennessee Lithium by the end of 2022.

“Site selection and FEED award are important 2022 milestones toward potential first production from Tennessee Lithium in 2025,” said Piedmont Lithium EVP and Chief Operating Officer Patrick Brindle. “We’re pleased to align ourselves with top-tier contractors Kiewit and Primero and, having announced our site selection, we will proceed to develop the relevant permit applications for the Project. Tennessee Lithium is expected to share many attributes with our planned Carolina Lithium operations, including the use of the core Metso:Outotec technology package. In conjunction with FEED, the Kiewit and Primero teams should leverage the work we’ve accomplished over the past several years to deliver a definitive feasibility study of Tennessee Lithium by the end of this year. We hope to break ground here in Etowah on the earliest practically achievable timeline.”

Standard Lithium Awards FEED and DFS Study for First Commercial Lithium Plant in Arkansas

By NS Energy Staff Writer 08 Sep 2022

The Company’s flagship project is located in southern Arkansas, where it is engaged in the testing and proving of the commercial viability of lithium extraction from over 150,000 acres of permitted brine operations

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The FEED/DFS study and subsequent EPC contract are focused on the first commercial lithium project being developed by Standard Lithium. This project contemplates processing the brine that is currently being handled by Lanxess at its South Facility, where the Company’s continuously operating pre-commercial Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) Demonstration Plant is located. The existing brine flow at this location is approximately 3,000 US gallons per minute (usgpm), and using the design criteria of 90% lithium recovery during the DLE process, results in expected annual production of between 5,000 to 6,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) of battery quality lithium carbonate. This first project at Lanxess South, designated as Phase 1A, forms part of a staged development of commercial lithium projects contemplated by Standard Lithium:
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Cornish Lithium’s demonstration plant receives UK Government funding
The firm will use the fund to build the hydrometallurgical section of a demonstration-scale processing plant at the Trelavour project.

September 8, 2022

UK explorer Cornish Lithium has obtained financing from the UK’s national innovation agency to support the construction of a demonstration-scale processing plant at the Trelavour hard rock lithium project.

The funding was received from Innovate UK through the Automotive Transformation Fund’s (ATF) Scale up Readiness Validation competition (SuRV).

Cornish Lithium plans to use this capital to build the hydrometallurgical section of a processing plant, which will comprise concentration and hydrometallurgical processing steps.

The facility is planned to be built at the Trelith Processing Site associated with the Trelavour hard rock lithium project near St Austell, according to a release posted on abmec.org.uk.

Cornish Lithium CEO and founder Jeremy Wrathall said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this ATF grant as it will accelerate our progress towards the commercial production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide in the UK.

“We believe that a secure, sustainable domestic supply of lithium is essential for the development of a resilient electric vehicle supply chain for the British automotive industry.

“The award of this grant provides further validation of the Trelavour Project’s potential, following our major institutional shareholder, TechMet, electing to exercise its option to invest a further £9m after its review of our scoping study.”

Wrathall said the firm will use ATF funds, along with funds from the TechMet option exercise, to construct the demonstration plant.

This plant will produce commercial samples of lithium hydroxide, which will be assessed by end users such as battery producers and automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

It will also be equipped to produce samples of by-products such as gypsum, caesium, sulphate of potash, and rubidium sulphate alum.

Cornish Lithium has completed detailed metallurgical testing of these processes at a pilot scale and intends to build a demonstration-scale plant to validate the technology’s commercial viability.

The firm expects the demonstration plant to form a critical input to its feasibility study to build a commercial lithium extraction plant in Cornwall to produce lithium hydroxide.

Anson Resources secures funding to expedite Paradox lithium project
The ASX-listed company aims to reach an FID on the American lithium project in Q2 2023

By NS Energy Staff Writer 16 Sep 2022

Anson Resources has secured binding commitments for an amount of A$50m ($33.4m) to be raised from institutional and other investors to help the company expedite the development of the Paradox lithium project in Utah, US.

The mineral resources company, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), will raise the amount via a single tranche placement.

It aims to reach a final investment decision (FID) on the lithium project in the second quarter of 2023. The company expects to wrap up front-end engineering design work, obtain permits, and place orders for long-lead procurement items by then.

Furthermore, the proceeds from the placement will be used for resource expansion, which includes implementing the company’s western strategy.

The placement will involve Anson Resources issuing 139 million new shares at a price of A$0.36 ($0.24).

Anson Resources executive chairman Bruce Richardson said: “The result of the capital raise is an outstanding endorsement of the Paradox Lithium Project and for ‘made in USA’ battery grade lithium carbonate. We were delighted to price the Placement at a tight discount to the prevailing VWAPs, despite immediately following a significant market downward correction.

“Interest in the Placement far exceeded Anson’s requirements, with Anson upsizing to $50 million to facilitate access to the register for quality investors. The post placement register provides a strong shareholder base upon which to progress the next phase of the Project’s development.”

According to the company, the Paradox lithium project will be developed into a key supplier of high purity battery grade lithium carbonate for the US electric vehicle market.

By utilising direct lithium extraction (DLE) in phase 1 development, the project is expected to process mineral rich sub-surface brine into battery grade lithium carbonate.

Phase 2 of the lithium development project aims to expand the production capacity as well as begin bromine production.

Compass Minerals Identifies Sustainable Lithium Brine Resource
Compass Minerals has identified a lithium brine resource of approximately 2.4 million metric tons lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at its active Ogden, Utah, solar evaporation site, including an indicated lithium resource within the ambient brine of the Great Salt Lake.

As the largest operation of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, the Ogden site has leveraged the high mineral concentrations within the ambient lake brine from the North Arm of the Great Salt Lake to produce sulfate of potash (SOP), salt and magnesium chloride products for more than 50 years.

Compass Minerals is currently undertaking a strategic evaluation to assess development options available to service growing U.S. domestic lithium market demand while maximizing the long-term value of its lithium brine resource.

“We are aggressively evaluating multiple paths forward for this significant lithium brine resource to optimize shareholder value, in parallel with a reassessment of our current capital allocation strategy,” said Kevin S. Crutchfield, president and CEO. “In a market hungry for domestically sourced lithium produced with minimal environmental impact, we believe a sustainable and readily available lithium resource like we have defined at our operations on the Great Salt Lake could be a true differentiator for our company. We look forward to communicating the results of our strategic evaluation and the selection of an extraction technology partner as we identify the most advantageous path forward for Compass Minerals.”

Koch to invest $252m in Compass Minerals to fund lithium project in US

By NS Energy Staff Writer 15 Sep 2022

As per the terms of the deal, Koch Minerals and Trading has agreed to pay $36.87 per share for buying 6.8 million shares of Compass Minerals, which translates to a stake of around 17%

Koch Minerals and Trading (KM&T), a subsidiary of Koch Industries, has agreed to invest $252m in Compass Minerals to help advance a lithium development project in the US.
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It includes the full funding needed through the year 2024 for the development of a commercial-scale direct lithium extraction (DLE) and lithium conversion plant at its solar evaporation facility in Ogden, Utah.

Compass Minerals foresees the project’s annual commercial production capacity to be nearly 35,000 metric tons (MT) of LCE. The company expects to commission an initial phase-one capacity of around 11,000MT of LCE by 2025.
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Lithium price smashes new record as supply struggles to feed EV growth

Bloomberg News | September 16, 2022

The surge in prices of lithium, the key battery material used to power electric cars, is seemingly unstoppable.

Lithium carbonate hit a fresh record of 500,500 yuan ($71,315) a ton in China Friday, according to data from Asian Metal Inc. Prices more than tripled in the past year, inflating the cost of batteries used in electric vehicles, with recent gains driven by strong demand and disruptions at a domestic producing hub.
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Ghana : Atlantic Lithium s’introduit sur la principale bourse d’Australie

Agence Ecofin 21 sept 2022

Le Mali et le Ghana sont les deux pays ouest-africains les mieux placés pour devenir producteurs de lithium, un produit dont la demande et les prix explosent avec la production de véhicules électriques. Les ambitions ghanéennes reposent notamment sur Atlantic Lithium et son projet Ewoyaa.

Atlantic Lithium a achevé son processus d’introduction sur l’Australian Securities Exchange. C’est l’annonce faite le mercredi 21 septembre par la junior minière, qui précise que ses actions seront disponibles à la négociation sur la principale bourse australienne dès le lundi 26 septembre.

Déjà cotée sur le marché AIM de la bourse de Londres, Atlantic Lithium a rejoint l’ASX pour élargir sa base d’investisseurs potentiels. Cela devrait en effet l’aider dans la mobilisation des fonds pour atteindre son objectif phare, celui de construire la première mine de lithium du Ghana.

La compagnie est en effet le propriétaire de plusieurs projets de lithium dans le pays ouest-africain, mais l’actif phare de ce portefeuille est le projet Ewoyaa capable de livrer annuellement environ 300 000 tonnes de concentré de spodumène titrant 6 % en lithium sur une durée de vie de 11 ans.

Pour développer ce projet, la société a obtenu le soutien de l’américain Piedmont, un fournisseur d’hydroxyde de lithium (utilisé dans la production des batteries électriques), qui s’est engagé à financer la construction de la mine.