Stellantis CEO: Global Lithium Supplies May Not be Enough to Fuel the EV Boom

April 04, 2023 - Baystreet.ca


There may not be enough lithium to fuel the electric vehicle revolution. In fact, according to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, "We know that we need lithium. We know that we are not producing as much as we need. We have right now 1.3 billion cars (that are) internal combustion engine powered on the planet. We need to replace that with clean mobility. That will need a lot of lithium. Not only the lithium may not be enough, but the concentration of the mining of lithium may create other geopolitical issues,” as quoted by TheDrive.com. That supply-demand issue alone could fuel lithium stocks, such as Usha Resources Ltd. (TSXV: USHA) (OTCQB: USHAF), Livent Corporation (NYSE: LTHM), American Lithium (NASDAQ: AMLI) (TSXV: LI), Lithium Americas (NYSE: LAC) (TSX: LAC), and Albemarle (NYSE: ALB).

Also, remember, governments all over the world are pushing for a greener future. The U.S. just promised to cut emissions by up to 52%. Europe says it’ll cut emission by up to 55%. China will stop releasing CO2 in the next 40 years. In doing so, they all want millions of electric vehicles on the roads. But to do so, more lithium is required. It’s also the reason major auto companies, like General Motors is investing in lithium miners.

Look at Usha Resources Ltd. (TSXV: USHA) (OTCQB: USHAF), For Example

Usha Resources Ltd., a North American mineral acquisition and exploration company focused on the development of drill-ready battery and precious metal projects, is pleased to announce that, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture, the Company has executed an option with 2758145 Ontario Ltd., Peter Gehrels, and Allan George Onchulenko of Atikokan, Ontario, for the right to purchase an undivided 100% interest in eight unpatented mining claims located in the Thunder Bay Mining Division of Ontario.

The Nym Property is the second acquisition of Usha’s planned expansion into the hard-rock pegmatite space and is a continuation of the Company’s strategy to build an accretive portfolio of highly complementary hard-rock assets to its 100% owned flagship Jackpot Lake Lithium Brine Project, where it recently tripled its land position (see the Company’s news release dated February 28, 2023) and is progressing with its maiden drill program with a goal of defining a 43-101 compliant resource (see the Company’s news release dated February 16, 2023).

Nym Property

The Nym Property, located in the Thunder Bay Mining Division near Atikokan, Ontario, is contiguous with the recently acquired White Willow Lithium-Tantalum Property (“White Willow”, see the Company’s news release dated March 28, 2023), and expands the existing 712 claim block to a total of 720 claims, adding 170 hectares to the 15,510 hectares the Company has already optioned .

The Property is located approximately 500 metres along strike from the Maple Leaf Dike on the White Willow Property which is confirmed to host a fertile lithium-cesium-tantalum (“LCT”) system with samples assaying as high as 0.5% Li2O and 14.64% Ta2O5 in and around the dike with coarse-grained tantalite present. Coarse-grained tantalite is only known to be found at one other locality in Ontario which is the North Aubrey pegmatite at Green Technology Metals (GT1) Seymour Lake Project where GT1 has identified a 9.9 Mt resource at 1.04% Li2O.

Similar to White Willow, the Property is under explored, with only three of 119 mapped pegmatites reported to be present by Bandore Resources, the former owners of the property, assessed in the limited modern exploration completed to-date. The assessed pegmatites, however, have been confirmed to be white pegmatites with highly anomalous lithium up to 520 ppm (>50 ppm is considered anomalous). Furthermore, drilling conducted for precious and base metals has identified pegmatite intersections as thick as 40 metres, suggesting that similar to the White Willow Property, the Nym Property pegmatites may also be highly fractioned LCT-pegmatites that bear spodumene and other LCT-minerals, particularly as they are located 500 metres away on trend from the Maple Leaf Dike.

“We are very pleased to add the Nym Project to our growing portfolio of hard-rock lithium assets,” said Deepak Varshney, CEO of Usha Resources. “This property, collectively with White Willow, presents a unique and timely opportunity to capitalize on the rapidly growing lithium market in Canada. We believe this project has the potential to join an emerging group of Tier-1 projects in Ontario such as the Seymour Lake Lithium Project, the Georgia Lake pegmatite field, and the Separation Rapids Lithium deposit, and we look forward to beginning exploration work shortly with the goal of drilling White Willow and Nym in 2023.”

Other related developments from around the markets include:

Livent Corporation reported results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2022. Fourth quarter revenue was $219.4 million, down 5% and up 79% from the third quarter of 2022 and the prior year's quarter, respectively. Continued strength in lithium market conditions and customer demand resulted in higher sequential volumes, the impact of which was partially offset by a less favorable customer mix. For the full year, Livent reported revenue of $813.2 million, nearly double 2021 results. Full year Adjusted EBITDA was $366.7 million, over five times higher than the prior year, and adjusted earnings per share were $1.40 per diluted share. This significant improvement was a result of higher average realized prices across all lithium products.

American Lithium provided operating and financial highlights for the third-quarter. “During the quarter, the Company made strong progress and delivered on several key milestones,” stated Simon Clarke, CEO of American Lithium. “Successful drilling at TLC allowed us to deliver new and expanded resources, forming the foundation for the Company’s maiden PEA announced yesterday.” During the quarter, the company continued to receive strong drill results from its 2022 drill program as it intersected high grade sections at TLC.

Lithium Americas announced it entered into a purchase agreement with General Motors pursuant to which GM will make a $650 million equity investment in Lithium Americas. In connection with the Transaction, the Company has provided an update on the construction plan for the Thacker Pass lithium project in Humboldt County, Nevada, including the release of an independent National Instrument 43-101 feasibility study. The agreement represents the largest-ever investment by an automaker to produce battery raw materials, with GM to become Lithium Americas’ largest shareholder. Lithium Americas to receive $650 million equity investment from GM consisting of $320 million first tranche investment for common shares representing 9.999% of Lithium Americas before separation; and $330 million second tranche investment, contemplated to be invested in the Company’s U.S. business following the separation of its U.S. and Argentine businesses.

Albemarle, a leader in the global specialty chemicals industry, announced the official brand launch of Ketjen, its wholly owned subsidiary that crafts tailored, advanced catalyst solutions for the petrochemical, refining and specialty chemicals industries. The company shared the new name of its catalysts business in November 2022 after announcing plans to operate the business as a subsidiary. As a distinct brand, Ketjen will continue to support customers in their unique energy transition journeys from fluidized catalytic cracking to clean fuels to hydro-processing to organometallics and curatives. "As the industry responds to global market dynamics, our customers need innovative solutions to help them navigate their changing landscapes," said Ketjen President Raphael Crawford. "Ketjen will continue to provide its portfolio of advanced catalyst and specialty chemicals solutions, which are unique to each customer's needs, to increase production performance and business value."

Legal Disclaimer / Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Winning Media is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Usha Resources Ltd. paid three thousand five hundred dollars for advertising and marketing services to be distributed by Winning Media. Winning Media is only compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation. Winning Media owns ZERO shares of Usha Resources Ltd. Please click here for disclaimer.

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