The study, published just a day after the United Nations warned the world is falling “miles short” of what’s needed to curb devastating global warming, indicates that an investment of $78 trillion will be needed to change this course and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, nations committed to limiting global warming to “well below” two degrees Celsius above the average temperatures recorded between 1850 and 1900, aiming for a target of 1.5 degrees Celsius if feasible. Efforts to date have not succeeded in meeting this challenge, the annual “Energy Transition Outlook” from Wood Mackenzie shows.

Unlike the UN pessimistic outlook, the Scottish consultancy believes that while major obstacles hinder short-term targets, particularly for 2030, a 2050 net-zero goal remains feasible. Immediate and coordinated global action would be necessary, WoodMac warns.

Threats to climate progress

A series of global crises, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, escalating Middle East violence, rising populism in Europe and global trade tensions with China, are undermining the pace of the energy transition, Wood Mackenzie’s vice president head of scenarios and technologies, Prakash Sharma, said. 

He explains that without urgent policy changes and enhanced investment, a warming trajectory of 2.5˚C to 3˚C could become inevitable.

“We are under no illusion as to how challenging the net zero transition will be, given the fact that fossil fuels are widely available, cost-competitive and deeply embedded in today’s complex energy system,” Sharma added. “A price on carbon maybe the most effective way to drive emissions reduction but it’s hard to see it coming together in a polarized environment.”

Key investment are needed across several critical areas, according to WoodMac. As renewable energy sources grow, substantial upgrades to power supply and grid infrastructure are essential to meet the growing demand. Additionally, the need for critical minerals, such as lithium, nickel and cobalt, is projected to increase five- to ten-fold by 2050, as demand for batteries and other technologies essential for the energy transition continues to grow. 

WoodMac sees the need to back the development of emerging technologies, including carbon capture, low-carbon hydrogen, and nuclear power, are vital for facilitating the shift towards cleaner energy sources.

Securing this funding won’t be easy, the consultants noted. “Doubling annual investments to $3.5 trillion by 2050 will be necessary in our net zero scenario,” Sharma said, adding that it will require unprecedented policy coordination globally.

The role of electrification

The electrification of energy systems will play a pivotal role in decarbonization. Transitioning from fossil fuels to electric power, Wood Mackenzie forecasts that electricity’s share of global energy demand will increase from 23% to 35% by 2050 in a base case, and could reach as high as 55% in a net-zero scenario.

Wood Mackenzie’s analysis reveals that global energy demand is set to rise by 14% by 2050. Emerging economies are projected to see even steeper growth at 45%, driven by rising populations and economic advancement. 

In parallel, data centres, electric vehicles, and AI are emerging as new drivers of electricity consumption, with AI-related energy use alone expected to increase from 500 TWh in 2023 to up to 4,500 TWh by 2050.

Including renewable energy source to meet electrifications demand could help reduce emissions, the report says.

According to Wood Mackenzie, solar and wind currently account for 17% of the global power supply, and renewables capacity is expected to double by 2030 in its base case. Yet, this increase still falls short of the COP28 commitment made in 2023 to triple renewables by 2030.

Transition or coexistence?

While nuclear energy holds promise for providing consistent, zero-carbon electricity, its high cost and frequent project delays pose significant challenges. WoodMac says that nuclear power could play a more significant role as it has attracted interest, particularly from tech companies looking to power data centres sustainably.

While fossil fuels is expected to plateau in the 2040s before beginning a gradual decline, Wood Mackenzie predicts that the high capital costs of low-carbon technologies coupled with strong demand for energy, will require the continued use of oil and gas in the near term.

Wood Mackenzie says to meet climate targets there will be necessary that nations gathered at the COP29 meeting in Azerbaijan next month finalize Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This section focuses on carbon markets and aims to establish a new climate finance goal to replace the previous annual target of $100 billion, which experts consider insufficient.

The consultancy’s report echoes concerns included in a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) study released last week. The document says the next decade is crucial in the battle against climate change, adding that failing to act now will jeopardize any chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. According to the UN body, the current rate of climate action could lead to a catastrophic increase of 3.1 degrees Celsius this century. 

“Either leaders bridge the emissions gap, or we plunge headlong into climate disaster, with the poorest and most vulnerable suffering the most,” Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned.

Even if all existing commitments to reduce emissions are fulfilled, global temperatures would still rise by 2.6 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, experts agree.

This permit authorizes Atlas to assemble and operate its lithium processing plant, process mined ore from one of its deposits at the facility, and sell the lithium concentrate produced, Atlas said on Monday. Once operational, annual production at Neves is projected to reach 300,000 tonnes.

Shares of Atlas Lithium jumped 34% to $11.05 apiece in New York by early afternoon, bringing the company’s market capitalization to $168.5 million.

“Atlas Lithium’s permit reflects 14 months of our team’s meticulous work throughout the licensing process and showcases our unwavering commitment to developing an environmentally responsible and sustainable operation in Brazil’s Lithium Valley,” Atlas CEO Marc Fogassa said in a release.

The plan is to install a modular plant with components manufactured in South Africa. The dense media separation unit is designed to have a reduced height and physical footprint compared to others in the industry, Atlas said.

The company is aiming to be environmentally sustainable and minimize water usage with recycling. The project is to employ dry stacked tailings without using dams, it added.

Seven clusters

Atlas’ lithium project encompasses 85 mineral rights covering about 468 sq. km. It includes seven main clusters of prospective mineralization: Neves, Coronel Murta, Eastern Properties, Itinga, Salinas, Santa Clara and Tesouras.

This month, the company said exploration crews at Salinas, 100 km north of Neves, discovered additional spodumene-rich pegmatites. The team is now pursuing further geological and geophysical studies before launching a drilling campaign.

In May 2023, Atlas announced what is considered the largest lithium royalty deal in Brazil by selling a 3% gross overriding revenue royalty on the Neves project to Canada’s Lithium Royalty (TSX: LIRC) for an upfront cash consideration of $20 million.

In March this year, Japan’s Mitsui & Co. paid $30 million to acquire a 12% stake in the company.

Electra is currently looking to build a low-carbon hydrometallurgical cobalt refining complex in Temiskaming Shores, Ontario. Once complete, it would be the first facility of its kind in North America. The project is expected to cost around $250 million.

After a series of investments and government fundings, the required project funding was $60 million as of early September.

Once fully commissioned, Electra’s facility could produce up to 6,500 tonnes of cobalt per year, which it estimates could support the production of over 1 million electric vehicles annually. South Korea’s LG Energy Solution has announced it intends to purchase up to 80% of capacity over the first five years of operation.

“Given our objective of resuming construction shortly upon completing the project financing package, part of our preparations for the final phase of construction of North America’s only cobalt sulfate refinery is initiating some early works before winter sets in,” stated Electra CEO Trent Mell in a news release.

“Reducing heavy reliance on China in the EV materials supply chain continues to be a focus for North American policymakers,” Mell continued. “Electra’s Refinery is expected to be the first of its kind in North America, with the potential, when operating at full utilization, to produce enough cobalt sulfate for one million electric vehicles each year.”

The financing comprises $4 million in secured convertible notes and $1 million of Electra’s common shares priced at $0.543 per share. The notes can be converted into Electra shares at $0.62445 per share, representing a 15% premium.

Electra Battery Materials closed Friday’s session 4.5% higher at $0.55 apiece on the NASDAQ, for a market capitalization of approximately $31.3 million.

The junior, which acquired the Yellowknife project in The Northwest Territories two years ago, is selling 2.7 million shares for C$5.6575 apiece in an unbrokered private placement that’s due to close by Nov. 12. The deal included an additional 1.6 million shares at $3.65 each to the same shareholder.

The capital raising is excellent news for Li-FT as it’s now likely fully funded with C$27 million for a Yellowknife preliminary economic assessment due by next June and environmental studies for permitting, Cormark Securities mining analyst Shannon Gill said in a note on Friday.

“The strategic investment is another positive indicator for the sector, and hard rock lithium assets in particular,” Gill said.

“Continued M&A in the lithium space supports a potential pricing floor — recalling SQM (NYSE: SQM) and Hancock Prospecting’s May takeover of pre-resource Azure Minerals for a more than 40% premium and Pilbara Minerals’ (ASX: PLS) 67% premium offer to acquire Brazilian developer Latin Resources in August.”

Secrecy trend?

The secret investment could be part of a mini-trend among juniors after undisclosed investors bought the same stakes in Asante Gold (CSE: ASE) in September to expand gold mines in Ghana, Collective Mining (TSX: CNL; NYSE: CNL) in March for its Colombian properties and Foran Mining (TSX: FOM) last December. There was also TDG Gold (TSXV: TDG) last October.

The C$200 million financing for Foran to advance its McIlvenna Bay copper-zinc-gold-silver project was a mixture of equity and debt. It included the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund and Fairfax Financial. Fairfax holds 23% of Foran after C$360 million in financing this year, which also saw Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM) take a 9.9% stake.

The TDG Gold investment was part of a private placement aimed at raising C$2.75 million. The proceeds targeted exploration at TDG’s projects in British Columbia, including the former producing Shasta gold-silver mine in the Toodoggone district.

Securities rules allow a backer to buy less than 10% of a publicly traded company anonymously. However, companies with 5% who are intending to buy more must notify the market, and investments considered material to the company must usually be disclosed in quarterly financial statements.

Li-FT CEO Francis MacDonald may comment on the undisclosed investor when the financing closes, investor relations manager Daniel Gordon told The Northern Miner Group by email on Friday.

Shares in Li-FT Power closed C$0.02 higher at C$4.00 apiece on Wednesday in Toronto after the financing news. They were at C$3.92 by mid-afternoon Friday, valuing the company at C$154.6 million.

Yellowknife project

Li-FT said the financing would be used to advance the resource-stage Yellowknife project with more exploration as it plans the economic study by June.

Cormark’s Gill noted the project consists of clustered spodumene pegmatite dykes – similar to Sigma Lithium‘s (TSXV: SGML; NASDAQ: SGML) Grota do Cirilo project in Brazil – in a mining-friendly jurisdiction adjacent to the Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) and De Beers diamond operations. He said the project could potentially generate 112 million tonnes of ore and has a skilled technical team behind it.

“As first movers in lithium exploration in the area, Li-FT’s land package hosts high potential for additional regional success as it continues to explore,” Gill said.

“Along with a responsible approach to land use that involves all stakeholders and proximity to road and rail infrastructure, Li-FT’s potentially generational Yellowknife project should set it apart from its peers in attracting future development partners and offtake agreements — necessities for developing North America’s future lithium assets.”

The project comprises seven targets along the all-season Ingraham Trail highway. The site hosts 50.4 million inferred tonnes grading 1% lithium oxide (Li₂O) for 506,000 tonnes of Li₂O, or 1.25 million tonnes of lithium carbonate-equivalent, according to the resource issued this month.

CEO MacDonald said at the time the resource ranked among the 10 largest hard-rock projects in the Americas and had “excellent potential to significantly grow through further drill programs.”

An earlier version of this story said Li-FT Power has Canada’s third-largest hard rock lithium resource. It is instead the third-largest maiden hard rock lithium resource.

Ioneer can now access a $700 million loan from the US Department of Energy (DOE) and a $490 million equity investment from Sibanye Stillwater (JSE: SSW; NYSE: SBSW) for Rhyolite Ridge that has an estimated life of 22 years.

The Sydney, Australia-based Ioneer aims to finalize its financing agreements for the $785 million project before year-end. However, legal battles, regulatory adjustments, and political uncertainty remain obstacles as the company pushes toward construction, CEO Bernard Rowe said on a late Thursday webcast.

“Legal challenges are almost inevitable,” he told investors, referring to lawsuits that environmental groups are expected to file over the mine’s impact on Tiehm’s buckwheat, an endangered plant found only at the project site, located about 362 km north of Las Vegas.

The plant’s presence forced Ioneer to redesign parts of the mine, creating buffer zones and a greenhouse propagation program. Rowe remains confident that regulatory efforts will hold up under scrutiny. “We are well-prepared, and we’ve built a solid scientific case around our environmental work,” he said.

Following six years of regulatory scrutiny, Rhyolite Ridge is the first lithium mine approved under the Biden administration. It reflects Washington’s push to secure domestic sources of critical minerals. The project also marks the first new lithium production in the US in over 60 years and the first boron mine in over a century, Rowe said. The operation will produce lithium carbonate and boric acid on-site, with the large chemical processing plant just a few kilometres from the mine.

Ioneer shares briefly spiked 9% to A$0.305 on Friday, a fresh 12-month high for the company, giving it a market capitalization of A$651 million. Shares come off a period low at A$0.105.

With the US federal election approaching, investors pressed management for their take on the potentially shifting political landscape. Still, Rowe dismissed the idea that a new administration could derail the project.

“There is strong bipartisan support for developing critical minerals in the US,” he said. “We’ve worked with both Republican and Democratic administrations, and the project has broad backing at the state and federal levels.”

Once operational, the mine will rival Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) and Lithium Americas (TSX: LAC; NYSE: LAC) as a top domestic producer. Albemarle operates the only active domestic lithium mine in Silver Peak, Nevada, and Lithium Americas is developing the Thacker Pass project, like Rhyolite Ridge another lithium clay site in Nevada.

Liquidity questioned

The DOE loan and Sibanye-Stillwater’s equity investment hinge on completing updates to the mine plan, reserve estimates, and project economics. Rowe stressed the importance of staying on schedule to avoid setbacks. “Permitting was the biggest hurdle, but we’re on track to close financing in the next few weeks.”

BMO Capital Markets mining analyst Raj Ray noted liquidity risks for Sibanye-Stillwater. It is set to invest $490 million in five equal tranches over 12 months. While the federal permit approval marks a positive step, Ray cautioned that Sibanye’s ability to meet its financial commitments remains uncertain.

Sibanye has net debt of $1.01 billion. It faces rising costs at Rhyolite Ridge and potential legal issues from a dispute with Appian, which could further strain liquidity. Earlier this month, Appian Capital, a London-based investment firm, won a UK court ruling forcing Sibanye to pay for terminating a $1.2 billion deal to acquire two Brazilian mines. The damages have not yet been determined.

“The 2020 DFS capex estimate of $785 million is stale (we currently model capex of $1.1 billion) and capex escalation beyond this sum is likely,” Ray said Friday in a note to clients. “However, between the DOE conditional loan and Sibanye’s investment, the project could potentially be fully funded.”

Ray said it remained to be seen how Sibanye manages its liquidity position over the next 12 months.

Boron kicker

Construction, scheduled to start early next year, will take about 30 months, putting the project on course for production in 2028.

The Rhyolite Ridge mine will run for 22 years. It will produce 22,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate a year. That’s enough to power 370,000 electric vehicles. It will also produce 170,000 tonnes of boric acid, according to the company.

The boron contributes 30% to 40% of the mine’s revenue, providing a buffer against lithium market volatility.

An April 2020 definitive feasibility study on the project pegged the after-tax net present value (8% discount) at $1.3 billion and the internal rate of return at 20.8%.

Rowe said that boric acid has had stable prices for decades, which helps balance the fluctuations in lithium prices. “We designed the process around known technologies, borrowing methods from copper leaching. This project will be a cornerstone for the US critical minerals supply chain.”

While confident in the path forward, Rowe stressed the importance of timely execution. “We have to make the final investment decision early next year, finalize contracts, and place long-lead orders,” he said. “We’re already gearing up, but delays could jeopardize our momentum.”

Ioneer expects the project to generate $125 million in annual wages, create 500 construction jobs, and employ 350 workers during operations. Though environmental groups remain opposed, Rowe believes the project’s benefits outweigh the risks.

“We’ve been at this for eight years, and reaching this point’s a tremendous feeling,” Rowe said. “Now it’s time to move forward.”

The Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission on Nov. 4 is to hear an application filed by those companies and others to potentially set the royalty rate. They have proposed a 1.82% royalty, while landowners are seeking 12.5%, according to BMO Capital Markets mining analyst Greg Jones.

The landowners’ proposal is “a level that would strain project cash flows based on our modelling,” Jones said in a note on Thursday. “We assume a 2.5% royalty in our base case, within the range of royalties applied in other jurisdictions. We anticipate the commission will take a balanced approach to support development of Arkansas’s lithium industry.”

This week, the United States Geological Survey and the Arkansas government said they’d found enough lithium in brine in the Smackover Formation within the state to supply global demand. They estimated the amount in the formation’s porous limestone left from an ancient sea at 5 million tonnes to 19 million tonnes. Scientists used water testing and machine learning to calculate the resource. The formation stretches from Texas to Florida, suggesting there could be even more lithium.

Standard project

The discovery comes as Standard and partner Equinor (NYSE: EQNR), Norway’s state-owned petroleum company, develop their South West Arkansas project in the same geologic structure towards a definitive feasibility study and formal investment decision next year. Equinor paid $30 million in May for 45% of Standard’s lithium projects in southwest Arkansas and East Texas, plus a pledge to invest $130 million more in the projects if they go ahead.

The US Department of Energy said on Sept. 20 it’s considering funding the project with as much as $225 million, one of the largest ever US government grants for critical minerals.

It’s part of the Biden administration’s push to source domestically more of the critical minerals needed for the energy transition. The departments of energy and defence as well as the Export-Import Bank are potentially able to allocate billions of dollars in funding for projects from mining and processing to finished products like vehicles. Even projects in Canada are getting financed. But the industry faces significant challenges as the price of lithium has crashed over the past two years.

Royalty faceoff

The South Arkansas Minerals Association, which represents the landowners, says the companies haven’t provided enough financial information to justify their proposed rate, BMO reports.

An Oct. 11 pre-hearing referenced some of the measures in state law for calculating the rate, such as the brine has to be profitably extracted before a rate can be applied, BMO said. But even the hearing officer noted it was unclear what evidence the commission would require to ensure a fair and equitable rate.

The companies’ proposed 1.82% royalty is based on precedent from a 2007 commission order, BMO said. The ruling determined the additional compensation attributable was 5.65¢ per barrel of brine. That equalled 1.82% of the per-acre value of the bromine extracted.

Other jurisdictions have different rates, according to BMO. California charges per tonne of lithium carbonate-equivalent, from $400 to $800, depending on production totals. Nevada has a 5% tax on net lithium sales.

Western Australia levies a 5% royalty on revenue from sales of spodumene concentrate, which is from hard rock lithium ore, not brine. Argentinian provinces apply a 3% royalty to extracted minerals. Brazil charges a 2% royalty on gross income from lithium sales with deductions allowed for taxes paid on commercial sales.

Direct extraction

The projects in Arkansas, and in some other places where there is underground brine, such as Chile and Alberta, plan to use the emerging technology of direct lithium extraction (DLE). It’s somewhat like pumping crude oil, which would seem to be an opportunity for fossil fuel companies intent on expanding their energy focus. Miners can also benefit from vast petro-coffers. The combination is already tapping some Prairie former oil fields that have brine.

ExxonMobil is evaluating potential production costs after drilling exploratory wells at the 486-sq.-km Mobil Lithium project on the Smackover Formation this year. It plans initial production of the battery metal in 2027. By 2030 it wants to produce enough for 1 million vehicles.

In southern California, Occidental Petroleum and a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) have begun feasibility testing to produce battery-grade lithium from the brine of 10 geothermal power plants.

In Alberta, E3 Lithium (TSXV: ETL) is advancing its $2.5 billion capex Clearwater project on one of Canada’s largest resources of the battery metal. It’s tapping former oil wells once pumped by ExxonMobil unit Imperial Oil (TSX: IMO), which is also helping fund the prefeasibility-stage project.

DLE advantages

DLE may cost more than using conventional brine evaporation ponds, but it can produce the battery metal in hours instead of months, can recover around double the metal, and occupies a much smaller footprint.

In Chile, where evaporation ponds dominate, heavyweight producer SQM (NYSE: SQM) has been testing various DLE technologies including a collaboration with French chemical company Adionics.

Their trials have shown recovery rates reaching up to 98% from brine at the Salar de Atacama. SQM aims to integrate DLE into its operations as part of Chile’s new public-private model for lithium production​.

In combined battery capacity deployed – a better indicator of battery materials demand than unit sales alone – the global electric car market expanded by 22% so far this year. 

In total, 505.6 GWh of fresh battery power hit the globe’s roads from January through August, according to data from Toronto-based EV supply chain research firm Adamas Intelligence.

The robust growth rate also comes despite a noticeable swing towards hybrid vehicles, which have inherently smaller batteries and therefore contained metal. 

The combined battery capacity of plug-in hybrid vehicles steered onto roads globally for the first time this year is up 70% versus a must more sedate pace for full electric passenger vehicles of 15%. At the same time the average battery capacity of plug-ins is also rising, up 14% this year to 23kWh, more than a third of the average full electric vehicle.

For miners supplying the EV battery industry, the news remain negative: when pairing metals demand with prices in the supply chain, declines this year are brutal. 

The latest data based on EV registrations in over 110 countries show the sales weighted average monthly dollar value of the lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite contained in the batteries​​ of the average EV based on global end-user registrations, battery capacity and chemistries.

Put it all together and the raw materials bill for the average EV is now down to $537 compared to $1,342 in August 2023 and a monthly peak of more than $1,900 at the beginning of last year, according to Adamas Intelligence analysis.      

The downtrend is led by lithium where the sales weighted average value per EV is down 75% over the past year to $236 and cobalt, which at little over $46 is 42% below the value reached in August 2023. Manganese is the only battery raw material in positive territory this year, up 3% but the raw material is also down 8% compare to the same month last year. For anode material, graphite loadings and values have held mostly steady at just under $26 per average EV.

The value of nickel in the average EV battery is down 26% as LFP battery chemistries continue to take global markets. LFP batteries represented 42% of the global total in terms of capacity deployed in GWh in August.

That compares to a 32% share during the same month last year, more than offsetting the long-running trend towards high-nickel cathodes, and the growing popularity of NCM batteries for larger plug-in and range-extending hybrids, where the energy density of nickel-based cathodes makes more sense given the weight of these vehicles. 

For a fuller analysis of the battery metals market check out the latest Northern Miner print and digital editions. 

* Frik Els is Editor at Large for MINING.COM and Head of Adamas Inside, providing news and analysis based on Adamas Intelligence data.

The company reported nearly 100 metres of copper and nickel mineralization from its first drill hole at the Boulderdash target in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, with a grade of 1.6% copper equivalent, starting at a depth of 9.1 metres. It now plans to add more drill holes for further evaluation.

“The distribution and abundance of magmatic sulphides intersected in the initial drilling at Boulderdash bear a striking resemblance to the early drill results from the Eagle deposit,” Dean Rossell, Talon’s chief exploration geologist said in a news release.

Rossell is credited with discovering the Eagle deposit.

“In 2001, one of the first drill holes intersected a long interval of disseminated sulphides with minor net-textured sulphides, which inspired us to drill the discovery hole in 2002, where we intersected 84.2 metres of high-grade massive sulphide mineralization,” Rossell said.

“US leaders are laser-focused on US dependency on critical minerals produced by foreign entities of concern. The discovery of a potential new domestic resource of copper and nickel is very timely,” CEO Henri van Rooyen added.

Talon’s mineral exploration activities in Michigan and Minnesota are funded by the US Department of Defense, which announced in 2023 that it would provide $20.6 million for accelerated exploration in both states.

Cantor Fitzgerald mining analyst Matthew O’Keefe said in a note to clients that the hole was “impressive” and could be indicative of a larger system, similar to Eagle.

In 2022, Talon entered into an option and earn-in agreement with UPX Minerals to acquire up to 80% ownership in mineral rights over a 1,620-sq.-km land package in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The first hole drilled at Boulderdash is part of this land package.

By 11 a.m. EDT in Toronto, Talon Metals’ shares were up 11%. The Canadian miner has a market capitalization of C$93.5 million ($67.5m).

The company said it had exported full container loads of high-quality, coarse flake graphite concentrate from the Port of Tulear, Madagascar, to be used in high-value graphite products. These include refractory materials and graphite foils for consumer electronics and fire-retardant applications. 

The shipments mark an important milestone for NextSource as it establishes itself as a supplier of critical materials to global markets and a contributor to economic development in Madagascar, chief executive officer Craig Scherba said in a statement.

The Molo mine entered production a year ago and now produces NextSource’s SuperFlake, which is the registered trademark for the company’s graphite concentrate. The product is known for its high carbon purity of up to 98% across all flake size distributions with simple flotation alone. It can be upgraded to 99.97% battery grade purity.

The operation currently produces concentrate at a capacity of 17,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) and the company has already proposed an expansion that would increase output by nearly nine times to 150,000 tpa.

NextSource has also outlined its future plans to become a vertically integrated global supplier of graphite anode material. It aims to construct multiple battery anode facilities (BAFs) in key jurisdictions, capable of producing coated spherical purified graphite (CSPG) at commercial scale. 

This strategic move aligns with the increasing demand for graphite in battery production for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.

Volt has been operating its proprietary direct lithium extraction (DLE) system in the field since September 17, when the company achieved its first lithium production.

According to the company, samples of lithium carbonate have been created and verified via third-party testing for review by potential offtake partners.

Volt said it will continue to produce lithium chloride concentrate, as well as technical-grade and battery-grade lithium carbonate, in the field for the remainder of 2024.

“Successfully producing battery-grade lithium carbonate from the Permian is another significant milestone that Volt has achieved this year,” CEO Alex Wylie said in a statement, adding that “Volt Lithium is on track to become one of North America’s first commercial producers of lithium from oilfield brine.”

Volt’s DLE approach involves a two-stage process. The first stage focuses on removing contaminants from the brine before extraction. In the second stage, the breakthrough in their technology came with the development of specialized ion exchange beads, the company said.

“Unlike traditional beads, our innovative creation boasts a size of five microns and an impressive 800 times the surface area of other industry-standard beads, enhancing extraction efficiency,” Wylie told The Northern Miner in 2023.

This advancement, he said, allowed the team to consistently extract lithium from brines during various testing stages, including successful pilot projects.

The company aims to ramp up commercial production to 100,000 barrels per day of brine during the second half of 2025.

Volt’s shares were up 6% in Toronto on Wednesday morning, bringing the company’s market capitalization to approximately C$63 million ($45.5 million).

Rare earth mining in Myanmar is concentrated in Kachin state around the towns of Panwa and Chipwe, adjacent to southwestern China’s Yunnan province. The region also hosts a number of gem mining sites and is a key trade route into Myitkyina (Kachin state’s capital) and north into China.

A KIA spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday the group wrested control of the area from the militia group NDA-K over the weekend but did not elaborate on its plans on mining in the region. The NDA-K is allied with the ruling junta and has been working with Chinese companies involved in mining.

In a note on Tuesday, Adamas Intelligence, a Toronto-based rare earth and battery metals research consultancy, said rebel control of these mining sites could potentially disrupt rare earth concentrate shipments into China, which have declined for four months straight owing to the monsoon season and other challenges. 

In June, a landslide at a rare earth mining site in Ngilot village in Panwa region claimed 10 lives and left at least 30 people missing.

Adamas says with Myanmar responsible for 57% of global dysprosium and terbium mine supply last year, a prolonged disruption would strain availability of feedstock supplies for magnet makers during what is typically a seasonally strong quarter. 

More than 90% of electric vehicles feature at least one permanent magnet motor and rising production from Myanmar and low prices have made it easy for automakers “to turn a blind eye to the environmental destruction and social upheaval that rare earth mining fuels in the country,” according to Adamas.

“Should the recent border seizure and expected capture of rare earth mines this week result in a disruption of rare earth concentrate flows to China from Myanmar, importers of Chinese rare earths and magnets may soon have to pay, literally and figuratively, for failing to support and secure alternative sources of supply in time.”

The projects, led by small-and medium-businesses in communities with de-commissioned coal facilities, were selected by DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) to address critical energy supply chain vulnerabilities.

Five of the projects will be in, or adjacent to, disadvantaged communities, the DOE said, adding that every project will include a community benefits plan developed to maximize economic, health and environmental impacts.

The projects aim to strengthen US national security by building supply chains for existing and emerging technologies built by American workers with American materials. The projects will leverage over $500 million in private sector investment into small- and medium-manufacturers and create over 1,900 good-paying, high quality jobs, the DOE said.
 
“The transition to America’s clean energy future is being shaped by communities filled with the valuable talent and experience that comes from powering our country for decades,” US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in the statement.

“By leveraging the know-how and skillset of the former coal workforce, we are…helping advance forward-facing technologies and revitalize communities across the nation.”
 
White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said the initiative is leading “an unprecedented expansion of American energy production, a manufacturing renaissance and the essential work of rebuilding our middle class.”

Zaidi said former coal communities are mounting a clean energy comeback by harnessing the urgent climate challenge.

The global market for clean energy and carbon reduction technologies is anticipated to reach a minimum of $23 trillion by 2030.  As demand grows for clean energy technology, the projects will help prepare the manufacturing industry for what lies ahead, the DOE noted.

The 14 projects selected for negotiation of award focus on manufacturing products and materials that address multiple needs in the domestic clean energy supply chain. The selections will address five key supply chains – grid components, batteries, low-carbon materials, clean power generation and energy efficiency products.

The lead organizations and proposed project locations are:

Anthro Energy – Louisville, KY

A $24.9 million selection to retrofit a facility to enable the domestic production of advanced electrolyte for use in Lithium-ion battery (LIB) cells in electric vehicles (EV), defense applications, and consumer electronics. The project will create an estimated 115 permanent  jobs.

CleanFiber – Chehalis, WA and Ennis, TX

CleanFiber’s locations in Washington and Texas are selected to receive $10 million each to establish two separate 60,000 square-foot production facilities produce an advanced form of cellulose insulation from recycled cardboard.  The facilities, once operational, will produce enough advanced insulation to weatherize more than 20,000 homes a year and support 80 full time employees.

TS Conductor – Erie, MI

A $28.2 million selection to establish US-based manufacturing of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) conductors and other advanced conductors that enable a secure and resilient clean grid. The new factory will create 425 construction jobs and 162 operating jobs with wages above the local prevailing rate.

Furno Materials Inc – Chicago, IL

A $20 million selection to construct a new circular, low carbon cement production facility. The facility will use recycled industrial waste materials as feedstock to make low-carbon Ordinary Portland Cement, reducing carbon intensity by 47%, and creating 80 total jobs with above average wages and benefits.

Hempitecture Inc – Rogersville, TN

An $8.42 million selection to create an industrial fiber hemp processing and manufacturing facility produce high performing products, with a 60-80% reduced carbon intensity, for the building materials, packaging, and automotive industry. When completed, the facility will create 25 full time jobs 15% above prevailing hourly rate.

Infinitum – Rockdale, TX

A $34 million selection to establish a manufacturing facility to produce heavy copper, high-powered printed circuit board (HP-PCB) stators, the key component of Infinitum’s high-efficiency axil-flux motors. The Rockdale facility is expected to create 170 operating jobs and 125 construction jobs.

MetOx International – Southeast, US

An $80 million selection to establish Project Arch, an advanced superconductor manufacturing facility, critical to expanding grid capacity to enable accelerated deployment of renewable energy, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, hyperscale AI data centers, and large manufacturing loads. Project Arch will create 230 jobs, supporting economic revitalization in a coal community to be determined in the Southeast.

Moment Energy Inc – Taylor, TX

A $20.3 million selection to establish the first UL1974 Certified manufacturing facility in the US to repurpose EV batteries to produce safe, reliable, and affordable battery energy storage systems. The project will create 50 construction jobs and a total of 200 new jobs within their facility, which will produce an annual output of 1 GWh once fully operational.

Mainspring Energy Inc – Coraopolis, PA

An $87 million selection to establish a state- of-the-art manufacturing facility near Pittsburgh to produce 1,000 linear generators that can run on any gaseous fuel, and change fuels without any hardware changes. The project will create 291 construction-related jobs, at least 80% of which will seek to be unionized. The facility will create 600 operations positions, offering above-average pay, benefits, and growth opportunities.

RG Resource Technologies Inc – Lansing, MI

A $5 million selection to retrofit a manufacturing facility in Lansing to produce 120,000 units/yr production of their solar photovoltaic + thermal capture (PVT) system. Through this project, RG Resource Technologies plans to hire 160 workers in new full-time positions, with a goal that 64 of those positions will be filled from workers living in disadvantaged communities.

Sparkz Inc – Bridgeport, WV

A $9.8 million selection to create a first-of-its-kind battery-grade iron phosphate (FePO4) plant in the United States. As part of this project, Sparkz will be creating and retaining 75 high quality jobs, and has signed a neutrality agreement with the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Labor Union and will work with UMWA on providing training to coal workers.

Terra CO2 Holdings – Magna, UT

A $52.6 million selection to establish a new manufacturing facility to produce an innovative high-performing Supplementary Cementitious Material (SCM), a 70% lower emission and cost-effective replacement for traditional Ordinary Portland Cement. This project will create 61 new jobs with wages and benefits above the 75th percentile compared to national wages, and will train and upskill up to 144 people from underrepresented populations.

Urban Mining Industries – Indiantown, FL and Baltimore, MD

A $37 million selection to develop manufacturing plants that will convert recycled glass, most of which would have otherwise gone to landfill, into a ground glass pozzolan, which is used to replace up to 50% of carbon-intensive cement in concrete mixes, which can drastically reduce embodied emissions while increasing resistance to road salts and increasing reflective properties. The project will create 20 new skilled jobs.

Learn more about the projects selected here.
 

The demo plant represents a smaller-scale, direct copy of the company’s proposed commercial plant in Botswana, where it is developing the K.Hill project that is estimated to contain over 2.2 million tonnes of manganese oxide resources.

A preliminary economic assessment last year gave the K.Hill project a base case post-tax net present value (discounted at 8%) of $984 million and an internal rate of return of 29%. Over a projected 57-year life, the project is expected to supply over 3.5 million tonnes of high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) to the electric vehicle battery industry.

Through the demo plant, Giyani is looking to better understand how the proposed commercial plant in southern Botswana will respond in advance of commissioning and ramp-up of that facility, which is planned for 2027 and is expected to be built next to its manganese oxide ore source.

The demo plant, says Giyani, will also enable further optimization of the engineering design and flowsheet to reduce operating costs and carbon profiles, in parallel with the definitive feasibility study that is underway and expected to be completed in 2025.

Once construction is completed, the facility will be the largest HPMSM demo plant globally, the company says. Production from the plant is estimated to be 600 kg per day, and the HPMSM material will be provided to offtakers for testing and qualification.

“The superiority of the demo plant in kind and size establishes a strong foundation for Giyani to engage with potential offtake partners and offers Giyani many advantages that would not be available with other smaller or non-continuous facilities,” Giyani CEO Charles FitzRoy said.

“In particular, the continuous process flow of the demo plant will allow the team to target steady-state operations over extended periods, consequently proving Giyani’s ability to produce consistent battery-grade manganese and satisfy offtake requirements,” he added.

“Similarly, continuous operation at pre-commercial scale provides critical information for understanding how the commercial plant will respond, significantly de-risking the project.”

The backing of the MSP, a coalition of 14 countries and the European Union committed to boosting investments in responsible critical mineral supply chains, highlights Serra Verde’s strategic importance in providing essential minerals for sustainable energy technologies, the company said.

“The announcement is a strong endorsement of the significant role that Serra Verde can play in establishing sustainable, secure, and diversified rare earth supply chains to enable the global energy transition,” chief executive officer Thras Moraitis said in a statement.

“Federal, state, and international coordination on critical minerals is essential to ensure these projects reach the necessary scale to compete and drive our industry forward.”

Serra Verde’s recognition, which also came with a $150 million investment from the Energy and Minerals Group, Vision Blue Resources and founding investor Denham Capital, makes it further stand out as one of only two producing rare earths mines in the Americas after MP Materials‘ (NYSE: MP) Mountain Pass project in California. 

As the only large-scale producer outside of Asia of neodymium, praseodymium, terbium and dysprosium — four critical rare earth elements needed for efficient permanent magnets — Serra Verde is expected to play a key role in the diversification of global supply chains. The investment will be used for operational improvements as well as long-term growth initiatives.

“The United States, a member of the MSP, welcomes the new investment in Serra Verde’s rare earth elements project in Brazil,” government spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a separate statement.

“This milestone investment supports the sustainable development of critical mineral supply chains most relevant to clean energy technologies, such as for rare earth elements, which are core components of the permanent magnets needed for wind turbines, electric vehicle motors, air conditioners, and other vital applications,” Miller noted.

In production since early 2024, Pela Ema mine Phase I is expected to yield at least 5,000 tonnes per year of rare earth oxides over a 25-year mine life, with off-take agreements already in place for a large proportion of planned production. 

The company has detected significant potential to increase capacity through plant optimization and is mulling a Phase II expansion that could double production before the end of this decade.

Unlike rare earth elements present in hard rock, those in ionic clays can be extracted with low-cost mining techniques and processed using technologies that don’t require hazardous chemicals, crushing, milling or acid leaching. This means the environmental impacts of mining ionic clays are lower than at other rare earth operations.

Long haul

The MSP, chaired by South Korea, works with both governments and industry to develop sustainable, diversified energy mineral supply chains. By providing financial and diplomatic support, the group helps accelerate the growth of critical mineral projects worldwide. 

Brazil holds the world’s third-largest rare earth reserves and has big ambitions to build an industry as Western economies attempt to break China’s dominance of the supply chain.

Last year, the Asian powerhouse produced 240,000 tonnes of rare earths, over five times more than the next largest producer, the United States, data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows. The country also processed nearly 90% of the global supply into permanent magnets, which are critical components in products ranging from wind turbines and electric vehicles to missiles.

Nations such as Australia, Vietnam and Brazil are struggling to close the gap. Serra Verde’s project, for instance, took around 15 years to reach the production stage.

The company is moving up a planned two-month shutdown to start on Nov. 2 to install capacity for 25,000 tonnes a year from around 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes a year currently, the company said on Monday.

“In order to ensure increased, stable production in 2025 and beyond that can keep up with rising market demand, we have decided to move forward the timeframe for a maintenance and repair shutdown,” CEO Hugues Jacquemin said in a release.

“Lac des Iles has the potential to produce more and for longer than anticipated when we acquired the mine in 2022,” he said. “We need to prepare as we look to open a new pit and increase throughput at the mill.”

China’s, the leading producer of graphite used in electric vehicle batteries, said in November last year it was curbing exports of the material. The Asian giant produces and processes most of the world’s graphite supplies.

Shares in Northern Graphite fell 4% on Monday afternoon to C$0.11 apiece, valuing the company at C$13.8 million.

Every day operation

The restart is planned for Jan. 6. During the closure, Northern will supply customers from inventories and from third parties, it said. The Lac-des-Iles mine, the company’s cornerstone asset, is located about 140 km north of Ottawa.

Northern Graphite began operating the plant seven days a week in April, a move that boosted output by 59%. But the company encountered a financial hit when markets knocked the battery metal’s price lower.

The company plans to open a new pit by early in 2025 and lengthen the mine’s life by eight years. It has planned drilling this year aimed at expanding resources and reducing the strip ratio.

The mine has 3 million indicated tonnes at an average grade of 6.4% graphitic carbon (Cg), containing around 213,000 tonnes of Cg, according to a resource estimate. It has 1.4 million inferred tonnes averaging 7.4% Cg.

Earlier this month the company announced a partnership with Rain Carbon, a Hamilton, Ontario-based chemical producer, to develop and commercialize advanced battery anode material.

The funding, if approved, would be made through the EXIM’s “Make More in America” and “China and Transformational Exports Program” (CTEP) initiatives, which are designed to strengthen sectors that are critical to US national security and help US exporters facing competition from China, respectively.

Graphite represents a key battery anode material and one of only four critical minerals highlighted by the US Geological Survey as essential to all six industrial sectors. Despite its importance, the US has no domestic production of graphite and is therefore 100% dependent on imports.

S&P Global estimates that the country imports nearly half of its supply from China, its main rival and the dominant player in the global graphite supply chain, accounting for 77% of the world’s mine production.

Graphite One’s strategy

Vancouver-based Graphite One is positioned to mitigate China’s dominance by developing an advanced graphite supply chain that is vertically integrated and completely US-based. Its proposed project is anchored by what it considers to be the nation’s largest and highest-grade graphite deposit, Graphite Creek in Alaska, supplemented by an anode active materials (AAM) manufacturing plant located in Ohio.

A 2022 prefeasibility study projected that the entire operation would produce 75,026 tonnes of advanced graphite products per year over a 26-year life. The project has a post-tax net present value of $1.36 billion before accounting for tax credits enacted by the US Inflation Reduction Act.

The PFS assumes that the AAM manufacturing site will initially use purchased synthetic graphite, then incorporating natural graphite material once the Graphite Creek mine enters production. For the AAM plant, the company has already secured a 50-year lease agreement, including an option to purchase the property once known as Warren Depot, which was part of the National Defense Stockpile infrastructure the last time the US mined graphite.

US backings

In a letter of interest dated Oct. 18, the EXIM states that it is in support of the proposed capital funding plan by Graphite One for the AAM manufacturing facility located in Ohio’s Voltage Valley, which is expected to cost $435 million for the initial phase.

“Based on the preliminary information submitted regarding expected US exports and US jobs supported by this project, EXIM may be able to consider potential financing of up to $325 million of the project’s costs with a repayment tenor of 15 years under EXIM’s ‘Make More in America’ initiative,” the EXIM stated in its letter.

Construction of the facility is expected to commence within three years. While the site’s existing power lines are sufficient for Phase 1 production target of 25,000 tonnes per year of battery-ready anode material, an expansion into the Warren Depot site could accommodate 100,000 tonnes of production annually.

“EXIM’s potential financing, following on G1’s two Department of Defense grants under the Defense Production Act and from the Defense Logistics Agency, underscores the urgent need to bring US graphite supply into production, and end the nation’s 100% foreign dependency,” commented Anthony Huston, CEO of Graphite One.

The EXIM has also indicated that the financing may be eligible for for opportunities under the CTEP initiative, given China’s dominance in graphite.

Upon receiving EXIM’s letter, Graphite One intends to submit a formal application in 2025, after which the EXIM will conduct all requisite due diligence before making a final financing commitment.

The company also intends to make a production decision on its graphite project upon completion of its feasibility study, which is expected in the first quarter of 2025.

The council of Loznica, population around 20,000 about 100 km west of Belgrade, is deciding whether to amend its official plan to allow the 250-hectare development. The hard-rock lithium project has sparked massive protests while see-sawing between official support and rejection for years.

Slated to start in 2028, it would produce 58,000 tonnes a year of battery-grade lithium carbonate, about 17% of European demand and enough for one million electric vehicles. The mine might last 40 years. Rio, the world’s second largest miner by stock market value, and the government faced mass rallies again this week, swollen by an unlikely combination of causes.

“Rio Tinto is the hottest issue in the country right now,” Vuk Vuksanovic, an associate at the London School of Economics’ Ideas foreign policy think tank, said by email on Friday.

“The anti-lithium protests and environmentalism are the only things that at least temporarily unite left and right in Serbia. The left perceives it as a resistance against the arbitrary and illiberal governance of the incumbent coalition. The right perceives it as a struggle against Western dominance.”

Court ruling

Loznica council hasn’t set date for its vote, but local Balkan Insights media said on X it’s due this month. In August, Serbia’s Constitutional Court sided with Rio in overturning a 2022 government decision to block the project. Pundits note Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić might have cancelled the project’s permit in January 2022 in a ploy to win re-election that April.

But analysts view Vučić as pro-mining. He said in June he would revive the project, then signed a partnership with the European Union (it’s not a member) in July to supply critical minerals. His administration defeated an opposition-led motion on Oct. 10 to ban lithium exploration.

Vučić’s critics say he’s tightened control over media and rewarded supporters with government jobs. Whether he would allow a local council-level vote to derail the Jadar Valley project remains to be seen. But miners have at times benefited from authoritarian governments’ willingness to push through projects.

And Rio is no stranger to difficult ventures. It’s advancing the Simandou high-grade iron ore deposit in Guinea where it’s helping build a 600-km rail line and port. It’s considered Africa’s largest mining and related infrastructure project. In Arizona, the company is facing opposition to its Resolution copper project from the Apache Stronghold coalition of tribes.

Big M&A

Rio has little experience in lithium, with most of its production in iron ore, aluminum and copper. However, this month it announced the $6.7 billion acquisition of Arcadium Lithium (ASX: LTM; NYSE: ALTM) to become the third-largest lithium miner. It has also been developing the Rincon lithium brine project in Argentina. It expects first lithium from a pilot plant, and a feasibility study and final investment decision on the wider project this quarter.

At Jadar, Rio plans to apply in December for a permit allowing geotechnical work while prepping an environmental impact assessment that could take two years to complete. In third-quarter production results this week, Rio repeated comments about the project:

“We continue to believe that the Jadar project has the potential to be a world-class lithium-borates asset that could act as a catalyst for the development of other industries and thousands of jobs for current and future generations in Serbia.”

Last month, Rio CEO Jakob Stausholm flew to Serbia to participate in public information meetings that were broadcast on television. He was combatting what the company and Serbia’s mining and energy ministry have called disinformation campaigns. Media have reported the spread of online conspiracy theories like the project will trigger sulphuric acid rain, pollute drinking water or even secretly mine uranium.

Even so, Stausholm said locals have pertinent concerns about air quality and soil contamination that he and the company are working to allay. Rio seeks “to encourage an open, fact-based dialogue” in legally mandated public consultations, it said this week.

Environmental opposition

The project, which began after Rio geologists discovered the hard rock deposit in 2004, has fostered strong opposition throughout its history, said Teresa Kramarz, assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s School of the Environment. Some studies after exploration showed elevated boron, arsenic, and lithium in nearby rivers, she said.

“These protests and environmental costs highlight the need for wider conversations about trade-offs,” Teresa Kramarz, assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s School of the Environment, said by email.

“The idea that there’s only one way to decarbonize, and people will inevitably accept transfers of risk from one population to another or trade one type of risk for another is not going to work – particularly for those who experience disproportionate disadvantages and inequitable outcomes.”

Some analysts cited by The Wall St. Journal say the current opposition since the project’s revival is remarkable for its intensity. The US State Department has said the disinformation resembles Russian campaigns, like those to discourage shale-gas drilling to maintain Russian energy dominance in Europe. Others said it’s an attempt to dissuade Belgrade’s drift to the West and potential EU membership.

Cynical left

Vuksanovic disagreed, while still noting the impact on the West.

“The Russians are not behind it, but they take pleasure in the fact that the nationalist element of this protest is getting stronger,” he told The Northern Miner.

“Moreover, even the left, civic, pro-EU segments of Serbian society are getting increasingly cynical that the West and Europe are willing to engage the incumbent government and tolerate its domestic transgressions for the sake of lithium exploitation, weakening the EU and the US’s prestige in the country even further.”

Mikhail Korostikov, a visiting fellow at the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, said vast numbers of Serbians oppose the project because they don’t believe the government is capable of enforcing environmental regulations. Even if they could, the rules aren’t strong enough, Korostikov said in a report last month for the centre.

He suggested importing EU environmental structure to oversee the project and trying to create as many jobs linked to the mine as possible in areas of procurement and mineral processing. Defeating the opposition requires making the project’s benefits more significant than any environmental consequences, he said.

“This will require serious courage and strategic vision on the part of all those involved in the political process, but it is essential,” Korostikov said. “There may not be another opportunity like this to integrate into the new economy and gain a bargaining leverage with the EU in the coming decades.”

Cornish Lithium has opened the UK’s first low-emission lithium hydroxide demonstration plant as part of its Trelavour hard rock project in Cornwall, England.

The project aims to produce 10,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide per year by 2027.

When combined with its geothermal lithium projects, the company plans to produce a total of 25,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) by 2030.

This would enable Cornish to supply around 25% of the lithium needed in the UK. Currently, Britain imports 100% of its lithium.

“Our demonstration processing plant allows us to test and confirm the viability of extracting lithium from hard rock in Cornwall before scaling up to full-size production,” Cornish Lithium said in a statement.

The facility processes lithium-enriched granite, mined from a repurposed China clay pit, to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide using low-carbon processing technology — all on a single site.

Cornish estimates that the facility will contribute at least £800 million ($1 billion) in gross value added to the local economy and create over 300 jobs for the community.

Atlas, which has developed a waste-free technology to process low-grade nickel for use in electric vehicle batteries, last year raised $27 million for its technology and said it aims to launch production at sites in Canada or the US by 2027 at commercial scale.

Atlas’ technology uses hydrochloric acid and caustic soda to leach the ore but, unlike some other methods, does not need high pressure or high temperatures and does not result in waste products or other emissions while increasing the amount of ore available for batteries by 50%, the company said.

Until now, saprolite ores, which account for approximately one-third of the world’s nickel resources, could not be processed into battery grade applications economically, which is what the Atlas process is targeting.

6K Energy said its UniMelt production system is able to deliver multiple IRA compliant Li-ion materials, including nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) and lithium ferrophosphate (LFP) battery cathode active materials (CAM), with strong specification performance meeting or exceeding industry requirements.

The company added that its LFP CAM is achieving over 160mh/gm capacity with exceptional efficiency, trending to 6,000-plus cycles while maintaining 80% capacity, while its single-crystal NMC811 is demonstrating performance trending to 3,000-plus cycles to 80% state of health.

According to 6K Energy, it delivers both NMC and LFP at a significantly lower cost than Chinese suppliers – backed by lower energy consumption and as much as 65% lower carbon footprint.

As outlined in the MOU, Atlas will continue to focus on the North American production by deploying its low-carbon process to produce mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) from its established access to nickel laterite sources. 6K Energy will focus on converting nickel salts to CAM with its propriety microwave-generated plasma in a closed-loop production process.

The joint work will provide the lowest carbon footprint impact in conjunction with a market leading solution for EVs and the automotive industry as a whole, the companies said.

Under the deal that the developer calls the largest ever by a US original equipment manufacturer in a lithium project, GM is to acquire a 38% stake in Thacker Pass for $625 million in cash and letters of credit.

The JV deal replaces the $330 million in second tranche equity investment from GM announced in January 2023, and is in addition to the $2.3 billion loan from the US Department of Energy (DOE). The deal also includes $430 million of direct funding to the JV to build the project’s first stage, expected to cost $2.9 billion.

“Our relationship with GM has been significantly strengthened with this joint venture as we continue to pursue a mutual goal to develop a robust domestic lithium supply chain by advancing the development of Thacker Pass,” Jonathan Evans, Lithium Americas president and CEO said in a release. “We will be working closely with GM to advance towards the final investment decision, which we are targeting by the end of the year.”

The JV deal is among some in the lithium space to be moving forward while low prices of the battery metal have seen many others face delays. Battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices have dropped to $9,800 per tonne on Wednesday from $22,275 a year ago and around $85,000 a tonne in late 2022, according to The Wall St. Journal.

Shares in Lithium Americas traded for C$4.45 apiece on Wednesday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at C$975.9 million. Its shares traded in a 52-week range of C$2.87 to C$12.71.

Manager with 62% stake

For its 62% ownership of Thacker Pass, Lithium Americas will contribute $387 million to the JV and act as manager of the project. Of the total, $211 million is to be paid when the JV closes and the rest when a final investment decision is made.

GM is to extend its existing offtake agreement with Lithium Americas for up to 100% of production volumes from Thacker Pass’ first stage to 20 years to support the expected maturity of the DOE loan. After the JV closes, GM will also make another 20-year offtake deal for up to 38% of stage two production volumes, retaining its right of first offer on the remaining stage two volumes.

Before Lithium Americas takes its first draw of the $2.3 billion loan, expected in the middle of next year, it must fund about $195 million towards reserve accounts linked to the loan, such as for construction contingency, ramp up and sustaining capital.

Design 40% done

Meanwhile, at Thacker Pass, located in Humboldt County, the company has completed about 40% of the project’s engineering design, and site preparation for major earthworks is complete. Excavation of the process plant area is about half-finished and preparations for concrete placement are underway.

The project hosts the largest known measured and indicated lithium resource in North America, with 385 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 2,917 parts per million (ppm) lithium, equivalent to 6 million tonnes of lithium carbonate. Another 147 million inferred tonnes grading 2,932 ppm lithium could provide another 2.3 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).

The mine could potentially produce enough lithium to power 1 million EVs annually, the company says.

With the clean energy transition well underway and demand for critical minerals skyrocketing, mining companies are facing an astounding $1 trillion funding gap as tough financing and economic conditions make it more difficult to deliver the metals needed. 

EY published a recent report on the top risks and opportunities for the mining industry – topping the list: access to capital. Last year access to capital came in number 2 in EY’s report, after environmental social and governance (ESG).  

“Raising capital for new mines and raising capital to expand existing mines in a brownfield environment, or even access to capital to streamline portfolios, has become front and center for mining executives,” Theo Yameogo, EY’s Mining and metals Leader for the Americas and Canada, said in an interview.  

Yameogo pointed out that to help address this gap, pension funds need to become bigger players in the mining sector, because there will be no energy transition without metals and minerals.  

Watch the full interview with MINING.com’s Devan Murugan:  

Amnesty International points out that human rights risks in supply chains include potentially leaving communities exposed to exploitation, health risks and environmental harm caused by the rapid expansion of mines required for the metals used in batteries.

In the new report, Recharge for Rights: Ranking the Human Rights Due Diligence Reporting of Leading Electric Vehicle Makers, Amnesty International uses criteria based on international standards to comprehensively assess human rights due diligence policies and self-reported practices of 13 major EV manufacturers, issuing each one with a scorecard.

The companies were assessed against criteria based on internationally recognized frameworks, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct.

Mixed scores across the board

Amnesty’s scorecard, which is marked out of 90, assesses companies’ performance on criteria including commitment to human rights policies, risk identification process, supply chain mapping and reporting, and remediation.

The scorecard breaks down whether these car brands are meeting their human rights responsibilities and highlights which of them are failing to show that they are addressing human rights concerns.

Companies assessed are headquartered in China (BYD, Geely Auto), France (Renault), Germany (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, VW Group), Japan (Mitsubishi, Nissan), Netherlands (Stellantis), South Korea (Hyundai) and the United States (Ford, General Motors, Tesla).

None of the companies scored higher than 51 on Amnesty International’s human rights due diligence assessment, it said.

Mercedes-Benz ranked the highest (51) Tesla came in second (49) and Stellantis third (42) . BYD scored the lowest, (11), followed by Mitsubishi (13) and Hyundai (21).

Lacking transparency

In terms of supply chain mapping disclosures, BYD, Geely Auto, Hyundai, General Motors and Mitsubishi Motors scored the lowest, failing to provide detailed information about their supply chains, Amnesty International said.

The report revealed BYD does not disclose smelter, refiner, or mine site names. Geely Auto provided only general supplier locations without specifying mineral extraction sites.

Hyundai and Mitsubishi Motors demonstrated a similar lack of transparency, Amnesty International said, with no evidence of comprehensive supply chain mapping or mine site identification for cobalt, copper, lithium and nickel, making it difficult for stakeholders to verify how these operations affect nearby communities.

As global demand for battery minerals soars, the report calls for car makers to identify and mitigate human rights risks and as well as risks of abuse of Indigenous Peoples’ rights in countries where minerals are extracted such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Philippines.

“The huge rise in demand for the metals needed to make electric vehicle batteries is putting immense pressures on mining-affected communities,” Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, said in a media statement.

“The human rights abuses tied to the extraction of energy transition minerals are alarming and pervasive and the industry’s response is sorely lacking. Communities are suffering from forced evictions, health issues caused by pollution and difficulties accessing water,” Callamard said.

“As demand for electric vehicles increases, manufacturers must ensure people’s human rights are respected.”

Read the full report here.

This accomplishment follows last year’s successful bench-scale test program. FPX’s work has been supported in part by a grant from Natural Resources Canada under the federal government’s Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration program.

“The results of our hydrometallurgy refinery pilot plant test work confirm the technical advantages of awaruite nickel mineralization to produce battery-grade nickel sulphate, further demonstrating the opportunity to develop a more streamlined nickel supply chain entirely in Canada,” commented Andrew Osterloh, SVP projects and operations.

“Baptiste would represent an almost 50% increase to Canada’s current annual nickel production, all without adding to or displacing any of Canada’s nickel smelting or complex refinery capacity, thereby pioneering a uniquely low-cost, low-carbon link between mining and EV battery production,“ he said.

The pilot-scale tests used awaruite concentrate (60% nickel) as feed. The feed would be supplied by the Baptiste nickel-iron concentrator in central British Columbia. The concentrate would undergo an atmospheric leach followed by precipitation of cobalt, nickel sulphate, and nickel scavenging in the presence of ammonium sulphate. A copper concentrate would also be produced from the leach circuit.

The pilot plant had overall leach extractions of 99.3% for nickel and 97.9% for cobalt.

Using an assumed nickel price of $8.75 per pound, FPX produced a preliminary feasibility study last year for the Baptiste project that gave it an after-tax net present value (8% discount) of $2.01 billion and an internal rate of return of 18.6%.

The mine will have a life of 29 years with average annual nickel production of 132 million lb. The initial capex will be $2.18 billion followed by $763 million for expansion and sustaining costs of $1.18 billion.

The company must now submit exploitation and closure plans by the end of 2025, provide financial security and a company guarantee by June 30th, 2026, and begin mining by the end of 2028.

“The extension is a significant milestone, demonstrating strong local support for our project, which is expected to create numerous local jobs,” chairman and CEO Tony Sage said in the statement.

With the drilling program announced in September concluded, all rare earth material extracted has been secured in storage. A portion of the materials has been sent to be analyzed by ALS laboratory in Ireland. Critical Metals Corp said it expects to receive the test results in the coming months.

Located in Southern Greenland, the Tanbreez project is expected to contain over 27% heavy rare earth elements (HREE), which carry higher value than light rare earth elements.

Once operational, the mine is anticipated to supply rare earth elements to Europe and North America. The project is expected to have access to key transportation outlets as the Tanbreez area features year-round direct shipping access through deep-water fjords that lead directly to the North Atlantic ocean. The outcropping orebody, known as Kakortokite, covers an area of 8 km by 5 km and is about 400 metres thick.

Critical Metals, which owns Europe’s first fully permitted lithium mine, the Wolfsberg lithium project in Austria, debuted on the Nasdaq in March.

Upon completion of construction at Wolfsberg by 2026, Critical Metals has committed to supplying BMW by 2027. The company has also secured a deal with Obeikan Investment Group to build a lithium hydroxide plant in Saudi Arabia.

Shares in Critical Metals jumped over 2.8% on the NASDAQ. The company has a $536.6 million market capitalization.

This bullish forecast, the analysts said, is driven by a combination of favorable macroeconomic conditions and tighter market fundamentals.

The critical metal traded for US$9,548 per tonne (US$4.33 per lb.) on Friday, up 12% from its position at the start of year, but down from its high of over US$11,000 per ton in May. 

Key factors contributing to the surge include expected rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve and a substantial stimulus package from China.

Announced in September 2024, China’s stimulus injects 3.95 trillion yuan ($560 billion) into the economy, equivalent to over 3% of its GDP.

China saw a modest recovery in its physical market in August 2024, with the premium for grade A copper cathodes in Shanghai ticking upwards. This rebound is largely attributed to improved import conditions following a decline in London Metal Exchange (LME) prices.

However, price volatility continues to present challenges, according to Fastmarkets.

In addition to macroeconomic factors, seasonal trends and speculative positioning are expected to boost copper prices in Q4 2024.

Historically, the fourth quarter has been the strongest period for copper, and smelter production cuts alongside rising demand from China’s physical market are expected to tighten supply.

Long-term copper price forecast

Fastmarkets’ long-term outlook also remains bullish, particularly due to rising demand for copper in the global energy transition.

By 2025, the grade A copper cathode premium in Rotterdam is projected to increase by 25% due to tighter supply and recovering demand in Europe, it said.

However, despite growing demand from green energy projects, Europe’s overall copper market remains weak, with Germany — the region’s largest consumer — facing sluggish demand from the manufacturing, automotive, and construction sectors.

In the US, optimism persists for long-term copper demand, fueled by anticipated supply imbalances and the increasing need for copper in green energy projects.

Fastmarkets also expects copper demand to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.6% through 2034.

Within the energy transition sectors, demand is expected to grow at a more robust 10.7% CAGR, driven by electric vehicles (14.3%), solar power (5.6%) and wind power (9.3%). Traditional industries are projected to see more modest growth at 1.4%.

This diversification move complements Patriot’s North American lithium exploration endeavours, despite a temporary setback on its Gorman lithium project in Ontario, Canada, due to land access issues.

“While negotiations to drill at Gorman continue, the board has decided to expand our project portfolio into other jurisdictions,” executive chair Hugh Warner said. “The company believes that the Katwaro copper project will complement our lithium assets and provide jurisdictional diversity, with respect to native title/sovereign risk and alternative weather windows for exploration.”

Patriot Lithium will pay Array Metals $25,000 for an exclusive 12-month option period. If the option is exercised, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be established, with the project transferred to it after a $250,000 payment to Array Metals.

Over the following 48 months, Patriot Lithium will fund exploration and feasibility studies as part of the agreement.

Located near Mumbwa, the Katwaro copper project spans 400 hectares and includes a historical open-pit mine with copper-bearing meta-sediments.

Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, has the ambitious goal to more than quadruple the country’s output to 3 million tonnes by 2031. This would require bringing into production multiple exploration projects the government is currently identifying.

Keeping majority interest

Authorities announced this week plans to keep majority stakes in “promising” mining permits through a special purpose vehicle (SPV), as part of an ongoing mapping exercise in the country. 

The mines minister, Paul Kabuswe, originally unveiled the SVP in late-August, saying it would control at least 30% of all critical minerals production from future mines.

BMO global commodities analyst Colin Hamilton said the minister has since been quoted in interviews saying the figure might be 45%.

“It now appears that the scope of this SPV has increased such that it can take a majority stake in promising mining licenses at its own discretion. The endless changes to Zambia’s mining regulations represent a significant risk to the country’s original aim of quadrupling the country’s copper output,” he wrote.

Subsidiaries of First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM) and Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX) (NYSE: GOLD) are responsible for the majority of Zambia’s copper production, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the total output in 2023.

“Metals markets aren’t pricing in significant risk premiums for trade-related outcomes, like higher tariffs, despite this being a concern raised by clients,” analysts Dominic O’Kane and his team wrote in a note.

JPMorgan’s analysis shows potential downside of 10% to 20% in the fair value of major mining stocks in a scenario where base metal and iron ore prices decline by more than 10%.

The bank cited tariffs as a key factor behind the sector’s more than 10% drop in 2017-2018 during the Trump administration.

JPMorgan downgraded Anglo American Plc from overweight to neutral and Sweden’s Boliden AB from neutral to underweight. Shares of both companies fell, with Anglo American down 2.1% and Boliden down 2.8%.

Regardless of the election outcome, tariffs will remain central to US minerals policy.

Gregory Wischer, a non-resident fellow at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines, stated that a future Harris administration would likely maintain the Biden administration’s tariffs on Chinese mineral imports, while a Trump administration could significantly increase tariffs, including a potential 60% levy on Chinese imports and a 10% baseline on all imports.

(With files from Bloomberg)

Read More: US policy to increase mineral production must include revisiting tariffs

The company has successfully developed and validated its next-generation lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) cathode active material, which it says could increase electric vehicle (EV) range by up to 20%. In addition, it has overcome the drop in specific capacity compared that typically occurs as the percentage of manganese in increased.

The result, according to Integrals Power, is cathode active materials that support higher voltages and high energy density.

By overcoming this trade-off, these cathode active materials combine the best attributes of the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistries — relatively low cost, long cycle life and good low temperature performance — with energy density comparable to more expensive nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) chemistries.

The company said this means EV range could increase by up to 20%, or — for a given range — allow battery packs to become smaller and lighter.

The LMFP materials feature 80% manganese, instead of the 50-70% typically found in competing materials, and have higher specific capacity: 150mAh/g, while delivering a voltage of 4.1V (Vs 3.45V for LFP).

Third-party testing by experts at the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) have been completed on coin cells and now evaluated using EV-representative pouch cells, the company said, adding that the developed materials will soon be available for cell suppliers, battery manufacturers and OEMs to evaluate and benchmark.

“The challenge that the automotive industry has been trying to overcome for some time is to push up the percentage of manganese in LMFP cells to a high level while retaining the same specific capacity as LFP,” Integrals Power CEO Behnam Hormozi said in a news release. “Using traditional methods the more manganese you add, the more specific capacity drops, and this has meant it can’t deliver a high energy density. 

“With the third-party evaluation from the Energy team at GEIC, we’re proud to have developed a world-class cell material in the UK that can rival the performance of NCM but is more sustainable and more affordable, and will accelerate the transition to e-mobility.”

Integrals Power produced the LMFP cathode active materials at its new UK facility, alongside its proprietary LFP chemistry.

The capability to manufacture materials such as these in the UK is critical to the development of a sustainable domestic battery industry and supporting not just the 2030 ban on sales of new combustion engine vehicles, but also 2050’s net zero emissions targets, the company noted.

US Strategic Metals (USSM) and Stillwater Critical Minerals (TSXV: PGE) have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that includes lobbying collaboration to the US government, metallurgical and mineral processing development, offtake and logistics, and potential strategic financing.

Stillwater Critical Minerals is currently developing its flagship Stillwater West project, which is host to a nickel-PGE (platinum group elements)-copper-cobalt (plus gold) deposit situated in the Stillwater mining district of Montana.

USSM is planning to mine what it considers to be the largest cobalt reserve in North America. It holds an 18-year mineral supply of cobalt (plus nickel and copper) on a 7.3-square-kilometre site in Missouri, known as the Madison mine project.

USSM currently has an has an offtake relationship with Glencore (LON: GLEN), and in August was tapped by the Export-Import Bank of the United States for a loan package worth $400 million with a term of 15 years to support the development of its mining and metallurgical project.

The goal of USSM, said the company, is to build a large critical metal supply chain that provides reliable, traceable and conflict-free battery metals to the country.

“USSM aims to significantly expand production in the coming years and, as such, is successfully developing relationships with raw materials suppliers to allow it to meet rapidly growing critical metal demand,” CEO Stacy Hastie stated in a news release.

“Stillwater West fits this mandate extremely well, for its scale, grade and suite of critical minerals, nearly all of which the US is heavily reliant upon imports,” she said, adding that it is “one of the most important potential future sources of at least eight critical minerals”, and its development is “perfectly in line” with the US government’s mandate on securing domestic supply of these materials.

Stillwater Critical Minerals CEO Michael Rowley said the MOU has the potential to accelerate necessary engineering and metallurgical studies and follow-on to the company’s expanding base of government grant funding and partnerships with the US Geological Survey, Cornell University and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for CO2 sequestration, hydrogen and hydrometallurgical studies.

“This MOU also reflects our broad alignment on ESG values and a shared vision for a large-scale, low-carbon American critical mineral supply chain based in an iconic and famously metal-rich US mining district that has produced critical minerals for over a century,” Rowley said.

Their innovation will address the stability gap between natural and synthetic graphite, and boost usage of natural graphite in electric vehicles, Northern Graphite said.

The joint development agreement follows the launch of Northern’s Battery Material Group (BMG) in August. This included the acquisition of a carbon and battery laboratory in Germany. The lab can both produce BAM from the company’s Lac des Iles mine in Quebec and is capable of building lithium-ion batteries with longer life cycle, driving range, and charging speed.

Rain’s Innovation Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, is a 2,790-m² development facility that includes demonstrations plants for pilot-scale processing of carbon and carbon precursor materials along with labs dedicated to carbon material analysis with powder and electrochemical testing equipment.

Tailoring carbon coating to spherical natural graphite and developing efficient and sustainable coating technologies are critical steps in the production of BAM.

The process involves the application of a protective carbon layer at the surface of the graphite anode active material to form a more stable solid electrolyte interface, which enhances and calibrates what is known as the coulombic efficiency of the first and subsequent cycles, while tuning the performance of Li-ion insertion into and out of the active material.

Rio Tinto will acquire the United States-based lithium producer for $5.85 per share, it said. The deal represents a premium of 90% to Arcadium’s closing price of $3.08 per share on October 4 and is expected to close mid-2025.

The move would position Rio Tinto as one of the world’s largest lithium miners, behind only US-based Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) and Chile’s SQM (NYSE: SQM).

The acquisition would hand Rio lithium mines in Argentina and Australia, as well as processing facilities in the US, China, Japan and the UK. Its customer base would include major names, such as Tesla, BMW and General Motors.

The falling market prompted Rio to act, chief executive officer Jakob Stausholm told Reuters, seeing the downturn as an opportunity to pick up top quality assets at the right price.

“We really want battery-grade lithium, i.e. the processing as well. And then, of course, we like to be an operator, and if you take those criteria, you very quickly come to Arcadium,” he said.

“The way you should think about it is kind of a reverse takeover. This is not a case about cutting costs. This is a case about building faster and better,” Stausholm told Reuters.

Price slump

The spot price for lithium carbonate in China is down more than 85% from a peak in 2022 as supply overwhelmed demand from the electric vehicle sector where growth has cooled at the same time.

Arcadium Chairman Peter Coleman said Rio would be able to bring its expertise in execution and a strong balance sheet to help develop Arcadium’s assets. 

“They are not capital constrained … For us, we know that growth plans still relied on an improvement in price over the next two to three years, which is quite a significant improvement over where we are now,” he told Reuters.

Bolt-on

“The reality is that Rio really hasn’t grown in a decade, but now we’re back,” Stausholm told Bloomberg in a phone interview.

The miner began more seriously considering options at the start of the year, looking at “basically all of the lithium projects around the world,” Stausholm said.

For Rio, with a market capitalization of $112 billion, Arcadium is seen as a bolt-on deal. It’s still a test of the miner’s deal-making mettle in a new era of constrained spending, as the biggest acquisition since Rio’s $38 billion all-cash acquisition of Alcan Inc. in 2007. That purchase, after a bidding war, ultimately left Rio with $29 billion in charges.

“Alcan, in hindsight, was bought at the top of the cycle,” Stausholm said. “We feel quite comfortable that we have not bought a lithium company at the top of the cycle right now. We had to pay a fair price, and that’s what we’re paying.”

DLE

“It was a huge piece of work, but what became very clear to us was we would like to have exposure to brines,” Stausholm told Bloomberg, adding Arcadium produces battery-grade lithium from direct extraction.

Vulcan Energy’s (ASX: VUL) founder and executive chair, Francis Wedin, said the company views the development as a favourable one for the broader lithium market, particularly because it shines a spotlight on adsorption-type direct lithium extraction (A-DLE) production, used by Arcadium since 1996 next door to Rio’s own A-DLE project in Rincon. 

“The fact that Rio is joining Exxon and Equinor by focusing on A-DLE is a further indication of how the third wave of lithium’s growth is developing,” he said in an emailed statement. 

Rumours swirled

Arcadium was created in January from the merger of Philadelphia-based Livent and Australia’s Allkem. Its shares have fallen since, dragged by declining lithium prices, which in turn are a result of weaker demand from electric vehicle (EV) makers and Chinese oversupply.

BMO Capital Markets said in a note the transaction provides Rio a producing foothold at a price that it can easily afford.

“However, our initial take suggests a premium multiple paid, unless Rio Tinto can demonstrate meaningful synergies and/or expectations of significantly higher future lithium prices.”

Ahead of the confirmation of the deal BMO Capital Markets noted a potential takeover has been part of market rumours for years.

“Many investors believe that Arcadium (i.e., the Allkem/Livent merger) was completed to shake out interest from suitors like Rio.”

Battery ambitions

Over the past six years, Rio has been expanding its footprint in the battery market. In 2018, it attempted to buy a $5bn stake in Chile’s SQM, the world’s second largest lithium producer. 

In April 2021, the world’s second largest miner kicked off lithium production from waste rock at a demonstration plant located at a borates mine it controls in California. 

Rio took another key step into the lithium market in 2022, completing the acquisition of the Rincon lithium project in Argentina, which has reserves of almost two million tonnes of contained lithium carbonate equivalent, sufficient for a 40-year mine life. 

The company plans to develop a battery-grade lithium carbonate plant at Rincon with an annual capacity of 3,000 tonnes and has earmarked $350 million to invest in the project, with first production expected later this year.

It is also trying to revive one of its biggest lithium projects, the proposed $2.4 billion Jadar mine in Serbia. Rio had its mining licence revoked in 2022, following widespread protests against the proposed mine on environmental concerns.

The mining giant won a small, but key battle in July, as Serbia reinstated Rio Tinto’s licence to develop it, but the company will have to secure approvals to move towards production at the site. On Monday, however, the country’s parliament began debating a proposal to ban lithium and borate mining and exploration. If passed into a law, this would effectively put an end to the contested Jadar project.

With projected production of 58,000 tonnes of refined battery-grade lithium carbonate per year, Jadar would be Europe’s biggest lithium mine.

(With files from Reuters and Bloomberg)

RELATED: Timeline: Owners of Arcadium’s lithium assets through the years

Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) will acquire Arcadium Lithium (ASX: LTM)(NYSE: ALTM), in an all-cash transaction, valuing the latter at $6.7 billion, the Anglo-Australian giant confirmed on Wednesday.  

The second largest miner is paying the United States-based lithium producer $5.85 per share, it said. The deal represents a premium of 90% to Arcadium’s closing price of $3.08 per share on October 4. 

The move would position Rio Tinto as one of the world’s largest lithium miners, behind only US-based Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) and Chile’s SQM (NYSE: SQM).

The acquisition would hand Rio lithium mines in Argentina and Australia, as well as processing facilities in the US, China, Japan and the UK. Its customer base would include major names, such as Tesla, BMW and General Motors.

Arcadium was created in January from the merger of Philadelphia-based Livent and Australia’s Allkem. Its shares have fallen since, dragged by declining lithium prices, which in turn is a result of weaker demand from electric vehicle (EV) makers and Chinese oversupply.

Ahead of the confirmation of the deal BMO Capital Markets analyst, Joel Jackson, noted a potential takeover has been part of market rumours for years. “Many investors believe that Arcadium (i.e., the Allkem/Livent merger) was completed to shake out interest from suitors like Rio,” he wrote.

The transaction value is ahead of market expectations which was pegged in the $4 billion to $6 billion range. “In our view, this [range] would value Arcadium more like a mining company than a specialty chemicals firm, assuming a mid-cycle price range of $18,000–$19,000 per tonne of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), average selling price (ASP),” noted Jackson

Before the official announcement industry participants were supportive of the deal. Vulcan Energy’s (ASX: VUL) founder and executive chair, Francis Wedin, said the company views the development as a favourable one for the broader lithium market, particularly because it shines a spotlight on Adsorption-type DLE (A-DLE) production, used by Arcadium since 1996 next door to Rio’s own A-DLE project in Rincon. 

“The fact that Rio is joining Exxon and Equinor by focusing on A-DLE is a further indication of how the third wave of lithium’s growth is developing,” he said in an emailed statement. 

Battery ambitions

Over the past six years, Rio has been expanding its footprint in the battery market. In 2018, it reportedly attempted to buy a $5bn stake in Chile’s SQM, the world’s second largest lithium producer. 

In April 2021, the world’s second largest miner kicked off lithium production from waste rock at a demonstration plant located at a borates mine it controls in California. 

Rio took another key step into the lithium market in 2022, completing the acquisition of the Rincon lithium project in Argentina, which has reserves of almost two million tonnes of contained lithium carbonate equivalent, sufficient for a 40-year mine life. 

The company plans to develop a battery-grade lithium carbonate plant at Rincon with an annual capacity of 3,000 tonnes and has earmarked $350 million to invest in the project, with first production expected later this year.

It is also trying to revive one of its biggest lithium projects, the proposed $2.4 billion Jadar mine in Serbia. Rio had its mining licence revoked in 2022, following widespread protests against the proposed mine on environmental concerns.

The mining giant won a small, but key battle in July, as Serbia reinstated Rio Tinto’s licence to develop it, but the company will have to secure approvals to move towards production at the site. On Monday, however, the country’s parliament began debating a proposal to ban lithium and borate mining and exploration. If passed into a law, this would effectively put an end to the contested Jadar project.

With projected production of 58,000 tonnes of refined battery-grade lithium carbonate per year, Jadar would be Europe’s biggest lithium mine.

The operation could supply enough lithium to power one million electric vehicles and meet 90% of Europe’s current lithium needs.

RELATED: Timeline: Owners of Arcadium’s lithium assets through the years

The round was led by Clean Energy Ventures, with participation from strategic venture groups TechEnergy Ventures and GS Futures as well as Lowercarbon Capital and MassCEC. The company also secured an additional $2 million in venture debt from Silicon Valley Bank.

Lithios will leverage the funding to scale its R&D, manufacturing and operations, and to accelerate the development of commercial projects to produce thousands of tonnes of lithium carbonate annually, it said.

Lithium, a key component of batteries for electric vehicles, is expected to undergo a worldwide shortage as early as 2025. To meet EV and energy market demand, approximately 7 million tonnes of lithium carbonate will be required by 2040, eight times more than the current supply.

Suppliers are seeking solutions to overcome bottlenecks including infrastructure constraints in remote locations and lack of affordable processing technologies for high-contaminant sources.

Lithios said it is developing the first scalable electrochemical lithium capture solution, advanced lithium extraction (ALE), to efficiently extract lithium from untapped brine deposits where existing solutions cannot operate.

The company says its ALE technology allows miners, operators and the battery supply chain to unlock sources of lithium previously considered uneconomical and inaccessible due to difficult contaminant profiles and resource constraints.

“After assessing dozens of new lithium extraction technologies, we believe Lithios’ ALE approach addresses serious pain points for customers across the entire lithium value chain and brings a much-needed step-change improvement to recover lithium from contaminated and forsaken sources,” Clean Energy Ventures managing partner Daniel Goldman said in Tuesday’s news release.

Currently, there are three prevalent energy- and resource-intensive approaches to lithium extraction: hard rock mining and the evaporation of brines in surface ponds — both of which are limited to high-grade lithium deposits — and the nascent direct lithium extraction (DLE) from brines.

Lithios says its ALE platform is designed to be capital efficient with low resource intensity and consumes ten times less energy compared to DLE approaches when used to process low-grade sources of lithium.

Developed by MIT scientists and engineers, the ALE technology unlocks more than 85% of known but currently inaccessible lithium brine sources, making the lithium recovery process for low-grade brines up to twice as cost-effective as emerging DLE methods.

Through ALE, tough-to-process low-grade sources of lithium become just as valuable as scarce high-grade ones, opening up a pathway for lithium resource owners to increase supply to battery manufacturers, it adds.

The funding, pending due diligence, will be provided through the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund (CMIF) — a program set up by the federal government to address infrastructure gaps in the critical minerals sector.

A total of four companies — three focused on lithium and one on copper — have been named the recipients of this funding.

Green TM Resources Canada has been backed with C$5.5 million to upgrade 56 km of existing roads and replace three bridges to support the development of a lithium mine near Armstrong, Ontario.

Rock Tech Lithium is expected to net C$1.4 million to upgrade and extend a 10-km access road north of Nipigon, Ontario, that would enable the transportation of lithium from its Georgia Lake project mine site.

Frontier Lithium would receive C$6.1 million to advance Indigenous engagement and engineering for a 56- km all-season road and electricity infrastructure for the Pakeagama (PAK) lithium project in Northwestern Ontario.

Generation PGM will get C$771,100 to undertake an engineering and design work for a 5-km access road, as well as feasibility studies for additional road and rail links to support the movement of copper concentrates from its Marathon project to smelters and refiners.

These new critical minerals projects, alongside investments in clean energy and nuclear power that were announced earlier this year, are part of the government of Canada’s partnership with Ontario through the Regional Energy and Resource Tables.

Ontario joined the Regional Tables process in 2022 as a way for the two levels of government to work closer together, and with Indigenous partners, to identify shared opportunities to seize the tremendous opportunities of the low-carbon economy.

In a statement Monday, Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, said “These projects, under the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy’s flagship program, will develop the necessary infrastructure to access and transport our rich critical mineral resources in Northwestern Ontario to market.”

“These five energy and transportation infrastructure development projects will benefit a critical mineral region in Northern Ontario. It will also improve transportation safety, reliability and access to essential services, and reinforce our government’s commitment to a net-zero future,” added Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario.

The licence was the final regulatory approval required by the company to begin construction of the Ewoyaa mine and processing plant, and represents an important milestone towards Atlantic Lithium reaching a final investment decision.

The Australian junior is currently awaiting the ratification of its 15-year mining permit by Ghana’s parliament. Atlantic Lithium expects lawmakers to resume sitting on October 15 and it hopes to break ground at the asset, which will also be its first mine, before the end of the year. 

“We hope that ratification can occur in the coming sitting, which would set us on the path towards construction and operation of this globally significant lithium project,” executive chairman Neil Herber said in the statement.

Ewoyaa is being advanced under an agreement with Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ: PLL; ASX: PLL). The miner is expected to fund close to 70% of the $185 million development costs outlined in a 2023 feasibility study.

Half of the lithium produced at the mine will be sent to a Piedmont refinery. Piedmont is the Australian firm’s second-largest shareholder with a 22.5% stake in its projects in Ghana, including Ewoyaa, and has an option to earn 50%.

Atlantic Lithium aims to produce a total of 3.6 million tonnes of spodumene concentrate, or 350,000 tonnes annually, over 12 years from the site. That would make it the world’s 10th-biggest lithium project, according to the company.

Salinas is located approximately 60 miles north of the company’s flagship Neves project, where it plans to begin first lithium concentrate production soon.

The Salinas property spans 388 hectares (approximately 959 acres), and is situated just 5 miles east of Latin Resources’ Colina project, a significant lithium deposit.

Atlas Lithium’s technical team has also completed soil geochemistry and LIDAR geological mapping with favorable results. It is now pursuing further geological and geophysical studies before launching a drilling campaign.

At its flagship Neves project, the company expects to begin production in Q4 2024. Annual lithium production is projected to reach 300,000 tonnes following an expansion in late 2025, which is enough to power about 1 million electric vehicles.

In March, Japan’s Mitsui & Co. announced a $30 million investment to acquire a 12% stake in Atlas Lithium, seeking to venture into Brazilian lithium mines and meet the growing demand for EV battery materials.

Shares of Atlas Lithium rose 5% on the NASDAQ by 12:30 p.m. EDT. The Florida-based company has a market capitalization of $106 million.