Allkem Limited (ASX|TSX: AKE) ("Allkem" or "the Company") will release its Full Year Results on Thursday, 25 August 2022.
Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Martín Pérez de Solay and CFO, Neil Kaplan will conduct a live webcast briefing at 09:00 am AEST (Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne) on the same day.
To pre-register your details and join the webcast briefing, please follow the link on the homepage of Allkem's website, www.allkem.co . Written questions may be submitted via the webcast and playback of the briefing and Q&A session will also be available on the company's website.
This release was authorised by Mr Martin Perez de Solay, CEO and Managing Director of Allkem Limited.
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Allkem Limited (ASX|TSX: AKE) ("Allkem" or "the Company") will release its September Quarter Activities Report on Friday, 21 October 2022.
Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Martín Pérez de Solay and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Christian Barbier will conduct a live webcast briefing at 10:00 am AEDT on the same day.
To pre-register your details and join the webcast briefing, please follow the link on the homepage of Allkem's website, www.allkem.co . Written questions may be submitted via the webcast and playback of the briefing and Q&A session will also be available on the company's website.
This release was authorised by Mr Martin Perez de Solay, CEO and Managing Director of Allkem Limited.
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Allkem Limited (ASX|TSX: AKE, " Allkem" or the " Company" ) and the International Finance Corporation (" IFC ") have agreed on a non-binding term sheet for a project financing facility (" IFC loan ") for the wholly Allkem owned Sal de Vida Project located in Catamarca Province, Argentina.
Managing Director and CEO, Martin Perez de Solay said, "We are already in a strong financial position to self-fund the Sal de Vida project however we saw an opportunity to further improve the financing structure for Sal de Vida and partner with IFC, an institution with decades of experience providing finance and sustainable business solutions in the mining space."
"Sal de Vida is expected to generate significant economy-wide benefits that will improve the fiscal outlook, economic performance and social outcomes at national, regional and local community levels."
IFC's proposed investment comprises a US$200 million debt package, including up to US$100 million from IFC for a tenor of up to 9 years and the remainder funded by a syndicate of commercial banks.
The IFC loan and its key terms reflect current market conditions for this facility type, loan size, tenor and region.
IFC's proposed financing structure will provide Sal de Vida with a diversified international lender group in a syndicated loan agreement at the asset level and will help de-risk the capital structure of the project.
IFC's Performance Standards are globally recognised as a benchmark for environmental and social risk management in the private sector. IFC has eight Performance Standards: Risk Management, Labour, Resource Efficiency, Community, Land Resettlement, Biodiversity, Indigenous People and Cultural Heritage.
A robust and detailed environmental assessment was conducted by IFC, including the assessment of brine extraction and water usage and the associated monitoring and mitigation plan. Allkem technical teams participated in the process and will work to implement the IFC's Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP).
IFC technical assessment through senior consulting firms validated the project scope, cost and schedule and has provided a detailed risk analysis to ensure proper mitigation plans are established.
Subject to finalisation of facility terms, legal due diligence, approval from the Allkem Board of Directors, approval by IFC Management and World Bank Group Board of Directors the facility is expected to close before the end of 2022.
IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working in more than 100 countries, IFC uses their capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2022, IFC committed a record $32.8 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of current global issues. For more information, visit www.ifc.org .
The Sal de Vida Stage 1 Project is designed to produce 15ktpa of predominately battery grade lithium carbonate. The 2022 Feasibility Study estimated capital expenditure to be US$271 million and cash operating costs of US$3,612 per tonne. Construction commenced in January 2022.
Stage 1 project economics include pre-tax Net Present Value of US$1.23 billion at a 10% discount rate, pre-tax internal rate of return of 50% and a payback period of 1.75 years from the start of commercial production.
As at 30 June 2022, Allkem had US$664 million of free cash and cash equivalents available for the development of Sal de Vida and its other growth projects.
This release was authorised by Mr Martin Perez de Solay, CEO and Managing Director of Allkem Limited.
This investor ASX/TSX release ( Release ) has been prepared by Allkem Limited (ACN 112 589 910) (the Company or Allkem ). It contains general information about the Company as at the date of this Release. The information in this Release should not be considered to be comprehensive or to comprise all of the material which a shareholder or potential investor in the Company may require in order to determine whether to deal in Shares of Allkem. The information in this Release is of a general nature only and does not purport to be complete. It should be read in conjunction with the Company's periodic and continuous disclosure announcements which are available at allkem.co and with the Australian Securities Exchange ( ASX ) announcements, which are available at www.asx.com.au .
This Release does not take into account the financial situation, investment objectives, tax situation or particular needs of any person and nothing contained in this Release constitutes investment, legal, tax, accounting or other advice, nor does it contain all the information which would be required in a disclosure document or prospectus prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ( Corporations Act ). Readers or recipients of this Release should, before making any decisions in relation to their investment or potential investment in the Company, consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to their own individual investment objectives and financial situation and seek their own professional investment, legal, taxation and accounting advice appropriate to their particular circumstances.
This Release does not constitute or form part of any offer, invitation, solicitation or recommendation to acquire, purchase, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, or issue, any Shares or any other financial product. Further, this Release does not constitute financial product, investment advice (nor tax, accounting or legal advice) or recommendation, nor shall it or any part of it or the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or investment decision.
The distribution of this Release in other jurisdictions outside Australia may also be restricted by law and any restrictions should be observed. Any failure to comply with such restrictions may constitute a violation of applicable securities laws.
Past performance information given in this Release is given for illustrative purposes only and should not be relied upon as (and is not) an indication of future performance.
Forward Looking Statements Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and beliefs and, by their nature, are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results, performances and achievements to differ materially from any expected future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, the risk of further changes in government regulations, policies or legislation; the risks associated with the continued implementation of the merger between the Company and Galaxy Resources Ltd, risks that further funding may be required, but unavailable, for the ongoing development of the Company's projects; fluctuations or decreases in commodity prices; uncertainty in the estimation, economic viability, recoverability and processing of mineral resources; risks associated with development of the Company Projects; unexpected capital or operating cost increases; uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones at the Company's Projects; risks associated with investment in publicly listed companies, such as the Company; and risks associated with general economic conditions.
Subject to any continuing obligation under applicable law or relevant listing rules of the ASX, the Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this Release to reflect any change in expectations in relation to any forward-looking statements or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based. Nothing in this Release shall under any circumstances (including by reason of this Release remaining available and not being superseded or replaced by any other Release or publication with respect to the subject matter of this Release), create an implication that there has been no change in the affairs of the Company since the date of this Release.
Competent Person Statement Any information in this announcement relating to Sal de Vida scientific or technical information, production targets or forecast financial information derived from a production target is extracted from the ASX Announcement entitled "Sal de Vida capacity increased to 45ktpa in two stages" released on 4 April 2022 which is available to view on www.allkem.co and www.asx.com.au. The Company confirms that all the material assumptions underpinning the scientific or technical information, production targets or the forecast financial information derived from a production target in the original market announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed.
Not for release or distribution in the United States This announcement has been prepared for publication in Australia and may not be released to U.S. wire services or distributed in the United States. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction, and neither this announcement or anything attached to this announcement shall form the basis of any contract or commitment. Any securities described in this announcement have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States except in transactions registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 or exempt from, or not subject to, the registration of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and applicable U.S. state securities laws.
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Allkem Limited (ASX|TSX: AKE the Company ) is pleased to provide an update on the resource extension drilling program currently underway at its Mt Cattlin spodumene operation in Western Australia.
The drilling program consists of three phases as described below:
Phase 1 – drilling within the US$900 2NW pit shell converting resource to reserve (planned 49 holes, 11,120 metres). Underway – ~77% complete.
Phase 2 – drilling to the north and down dip of the US$900 2NW pit shell to test resource extensions outside of the US$900 2NW pit (planned 80 holes, 19,125 metres) and within the US$1,100 pit shell. Underway – ~55% complete.
Phase 3 – drilling in the SW of the mine tenements to test additional targets and prospects (18 holes, 2,440 metres). To be undertaken in late 2022/early 2023.
Allkem commenced a three-phase resource extension program in mid-April that targets 147 holes for approximately 32,685 metres of reverse circulation (" RC" ) drilling.
As of 14 September, 81 holes drilled for a total of 19,177 metres were complete and assay results for 47 drillholes were available.
Highlights from the assays of the upper pegmatite include:
All significant assays are tabulated in the appendix.
Figure 1: Intercepts to the north of the US$1,100 whittle shell show potential for mineral resource expansion .
Highlights from the lower pegmatite include:
Pegmatite mineralisation to this point generally aligns with the existing geological model and of those assays returned to date and lithia (Li 2 O) content is consistent with historic (pre-2022) assays in the North West pit area of Mt Cattlin. Given the tendency for "pinch and swell" in pegmatite mineralisation, definitive conclusions are not possible at this stage, however geological logging and assay results to date are highly encouraging.
A typical cross section at northing 224160E (MGA 94) in Figure 1 shows ongoing thick pegmatite development down dip from the US$650 (Ore Reserve) pit shell and the USD 1,100 Whittle shell.
All drill hole collars for assay results are presented in Figure 2 and Appendix: Table 1.
Given the executed orientation of the drilling, assay intercepts reported are broadly true width.
Figure 2: Drilling progress as of 14 September 2022 and location relative to USD 1,100 pit shell and current NW pit design and cut-back.
The Phase 1 resource infill program at 2NW pit is on target for completion by the end of October and Perth based consultants Entech have been appointed to project manage an open pit, cut-back feasibility level study and execution.
Planning is underway for follow-up reverse circulation and diamond drilling, for the purposes of extension, geotechnical and metallurgical studies.
The study is anticipated to commence in October and aims to convert in-situ mineral resources (as announced on 25 August 2022) to Ore Reserves for scheduling, mine planning and detailed pit design in a NW pit.
Additionally, a scoping study continues to evaluate the potential for either opencut or underground development of further resource extensions from Phase 2 drilling.
On completion of the drilling at the NW pit, the focus will shift to Phase 3 and further definition in the SW part of the reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction (RPEEE) footprint and lead to programs that test pegmatite continuity in areas previously not included in resource and mineral resource modelling. These programs will continue towards the end of the year and extend onto exploration leases as conditions and permitting allows.
This release was authorised by Mr Martin Perez de Solay, CEO and Managing Director of Allkem Limited.
This investor ASX/TSX release ( Release ) has been prepared by Allkem Limited (ACN 112 589 910) (the Company or Allkem ). It contains general information about the Company as at the date of this Release. The information in this Release should not be considered to be comprehensive or to comprise all of the material which a shareholder or potential investor in the Company may require in order to determine whether to deal in Shares of Allkem. The information in this Release is of a general nature only and does not purport to be complete. It should be read in conjunction with the Company's periodic and continuous disclosure announcements which are available at allkem.co and with the Australian Securities Exchange ( ASX ) announcements, which are available at www.asx.com.au .
This Release does not take into account the financial situation, investment objectives, tax situation or particular needs of any person and nothing contained in this Release constitutes investment, legal, tax, accounting or other advice, nor does it contain all the information which would be required in a disclosure document or prospectus prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ( Corporations Act ). Readers or recipients of this Release should, before making any decisions in relation to their investment or potential investment in the Company, consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to their own individual investment objectives and financial situation and seek their own professional investment, legal, taxation and accounting advice appropriate to their particular circumstances.
This Release does not constitute or form part of any offer, invitation, solicitation or recommendation to acquire, purchase, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, or issue, any Shares or any other financial product. Further, this Release does not constitute financial product, investment advice (nor tax, accounting or legal advice) or recommendation, nor shall it or any part of it or the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or investment decision.
The distribution of this Release in other jurisdictions outside Australia may also be restricted by law and any restrictions should be observed. Any failure to comply with such restrictions may constitute a violation of applicable securities laws.
Past performance information given in this Release is given for illustrative purposes only and should not be relied upon as (and is not) an indication of future performance.
Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and beliefs and, by their nature, are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results, performances and achievements to differ materially from any expected future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, the risk of further changes in government regulations, policies or legislation; the risks associated with the continued implementation of the merger between the Company and Galaxy Resources Ltd, risks that further funding may be required, but unavailable, for the ongoing development of the Company's projects; fluctuations or decreases in commodity prices; uncertainty in the estimation, economic viability, recoverability and processing of mineral resources; risks associated with development of the Company Projects; unexpected capital or operating cost increases; uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones at the Company's Projects; risks associated with investment in publicly listed companies, such as the Company; and risks associated with general economic conditions.
Subject to any continuing obligation under applicable law or relevant listing rules of the ASX, the Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this Release to reflect any change in expectations in relation to any forward-looking statements or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based. Nothing in this Release shall under any circumstances (including by reason of this Release remaining available and not being superseded or replaced by any other Release or publication with respect to the subject matter of this Release), create an implication that there has been no change in the affairs of the Company since the date of this Release.
The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results and Mineral Resources is based on information compiled by Albert Thamm, B.Sc. (Hons)., M.Sc. F.Aus.IMM, a Competent Person who is a Fellow of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Albert Thamm is a full-time employee of Galaxy Resources Pty. Limited. Albert Thamm has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Albert Thamm consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
Any information in this announcement that relates to Mt Cattlin's Mineral Resources and Reserves is extracted from the report entitled "Mt Cattlin Resource, Reserve and Operations Update" released on 25 August 2022 which is available to view on www.allkem.co and www.asx.com.au . The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the original market announcements and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the Mineral Resources estimates in the relevant market announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed. The Company confirms that the form and context in which the Competent Person's findings are presented have not been materially modified from the original market announcement.
Not for release or distribution in the United States
This announcement has been prepared for publication in Australia and may not be released to U.S. wire services or distributed in the United States. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction, and neither this announcement or anything attached to this announcement shall form the basis of any contract or commitment. Any securities described in this announcement have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States except in transactions registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 or exempt from, or not subject to, the registration of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and applicable U.S. state securities laws.
APPENDIX 1 – DRILL HOLE INFORMATION AND ASSAY RESULTS
T able 1: Drill hole collar and orientation as surveyed
All significant intercepts with a minimum cut-off 0.4% Li 2 O%; minimum 4m interval; maximum 2m of internal waste are presented separately in Tables 2 and 3 below.
Table 2: Significant intercepts - upper pegmatite body (61)
Table 3: Significant intercepts - lower pegmatite body (62). Minimum cut-off 0.4% Li 2 O%; minimum 4m interval; maximum 2m of internal waste
APPENDIX 2 – RESOURCE AND RESERVE TABLES
Mt Cattlin Mineral Resource at 30 June 2022
Notes: Reported at cut-off grade of 0.4% Li 2 O contained within a pit shell generated at a spodumene price of USD1,100 at 6% Li 2 0. The preceding statements of Mineral Resources conforms to the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code) 2012 edition. All tonnages reported are dry metric tonnes. Excludes mineralisation classified as oxide and transitional. Minor discrepancies may occur due to rounding to appropriate significant figures. RPEEE is defined as reasonable prospects for eventual economic evaluation.
Mt Cattlin Ore Reserve at 30 June 2022
Notes: Reported at cut-off grade of 0.4% Li 2 O within current mine design. The preceding statements of Ore Reserves conforms to the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code) 2012 edition. All tonnages reported are dry metric tonnes. Reported with 17% dilution and 93% mining recovery. Revenue factor US$650/tonne applied. Minor discrepancies may occur due to rounding to appropriate significant figures.
Section 1: Sampling Techniques and Data
Section 2: Reporting of Exploration Results
Graphics accompanying this announcement are available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e6a4b0dc-668b-4a68-ab2a-16f1900fec8c
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b561eb58-bb52-46cc-8e33-be7ad6f9e1ea
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Allkem Limited (ASX|TSX: " Allkem ," the " Company ") advises that Mr Peter Coleman has been appointed as a Director of Allkem effective 3 October 2022 and will assume the role of Chair from Martin Rowley who has indicated he will retire from the Board at the close of the 2022 Annual General Meeting (" AGM ") to be held on 15 November 2022.
In welcoming Peter to the Allkem Board, current Chair Martin Rowley commented, " Peter is an outstanding successor to the Allkem Chair, having demonstrated throughout his career the attributes necessary to guide Allkem through its next growth phase. He is ideally suited to lead the Company's successful delivery of its strategy to triple production by 2026 and maintain at least 10% of global market share in the medium term. The Board and I are delighted to welcome Peter ."
CEO and Managing Director, Martin Perez de Solay said, " I would also like to congratulate Peter and welcome him to Allkem and the Board. Peter brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will be highly beneficial as we continue to grow Allkem ."
Peter Coleman said, " I am very pleased to be joining a company with such an outstanding portfolio of operating and development assets and that operates with such a strong commitment to sustainability and shared value for all stakeholders. I look forward to working with the Board, management team and all employees to continue the success that Allkem has achieved to date ."
Mr. Coleman is the former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Woodside Energy Group Limited, Australia's largest independent gas producer, having served in that role from 2011 until his retirement in June 2021.
Prior to joining Woodside, Mr. Coleman spent 27 years with the ExxonMobil group in a variety of roles, including Vice President – Asia Pacific from 2010 to 2011 and Vice President – Americas from 2008 to 2010.
Mr. Coleman is currently a Non-Executive Director of NYSE listed Schlumberger Limited (since 2021) and is the Chair of Infinite Green Energy, an unlisted Australian green hydrogen renewable energy company (since August 2021). He is also the Chair of H2EX, an unlisted Australian hydrogen exploration start-up (since April 2022) and the Chair of DIRECT Infrastructure, an unlisted Australian-based offshore wind developer (since June 2022).
Since 2012 Mr. Coleman has been an adjunct professor of corporate strategy at the University of Western Australia Business School and, has Chaired the Australia Korea Foundation since 2016. He is the recipient of an Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award from Monash University and a Fellowship from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. Mr. Coleman has been awarded Honorary Doctoral degrees in Law and Engineering from Monash and Curtin Universities respectively and, was awarded the Heungin Medal for Diplomatic service by the republic of South Korea.
Mr. Dylan Roberts has been appointed joint Company Secretary and Mr. Rick Anthon will retire from his role as joint Company Secretary effective from this announcement. Mr. Roberts joins Mr. John Sanders as the joint Company Secretaries for Allkem.
This release was authorised by Mr Martin Perez de Solay, CEO and Managing Director of Allkem Limited.
This investor ASX/TSX release (Release) has been prepared by Allkem Limited (ACN 112 589 910) (the Company or Allkem). It contains general information about the Company as at the date of this Release. The information in this Release should not be considered to be comprehensive or to comprise all of the material which a shareholder or potential investor in the Company may require in order to determine whether to deal in Shares of Allkem. The information in this Release is of a general nature only and does not purport to be complete. It should be read in conjunction with the Company's periodic and continuous disclosure announcements which are available at allkem.co and with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) announcements, which are available at www.asx.com.au.
This Release does not take into account the financial situation, investment objectives, tax situation or particular needs of any person and nothing contained in this Release constitutes investment, legal, tax, accounting or other advice, nor does it contain all the information which would be required in a disclosure document or prospectus prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act). Readers or recipients of this Release should, before making any decisions in relation to their investment or potential investment in the Company, consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to their own individual investment objectives and financial situation and seek their own professional investment, legal, taxation and accounting advice appropriate to their particular circumstances.
This Release does not constitute or form part of any offer, invitation, solicitation or recommendation to acquire, purchase, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, or issue, any Shares or any other financial product. Further, this Release does not constitute financial product, investment advice (nor tax, accounting or legal advice) or recommendation, nor shall it or any part of it or the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or investment decision.
The distribution of this Release in other jurisdictions outside Australia may also be restricted by law and any restrictions should be observed. Any failure to comply with such restrictions may constitute a violation of applicable securities laws.
Past performance information given in this Release is given for illustrative purposes only and should not be relied upon as (and is not) an indication of future performance.
Not for release or distribution in the United States
This announcement has been prepared for publication in Australia and may not be released to U.S. wire services or distributed in the United States. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction, and neither this announcement or anything attached to this announcement shall form the basis of any contract or commitment. Any securities described in this announcement have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States except in transactions registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 or exempt from, or not subject to, the registration of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and applicable U.S. state securities laws.
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Allkem Limited (ASX|TSX: " Allkem ," the " Company ") advises Deputy Chair, Mr Rob Hubbard will retire from the Board effective 3 October 2022.
Mr Hubbard was appointed as a Director of Allkem Limited ("formerly Orocobre ") in November 2012 and was appointed as Chair in July 2016. Following the merger with Galaxy Resources Limited (" Galaxy ") in 2021, Mr Hubbard assumed the role of Deputy Chair.
Mr Hubbard has been a key member of the Board and has provided invaluable stability, guidance and leadership over his tenure. Since his appointment as a director of the Company the market capitalisation of Allkem has increased from ~A$180 million to over A$10 billion recently. Together with Martin Rowley, as Chairman of Galaxy, Rob was pivotal to the transformational merger which created Allkem, a business which now has an envied global portfolio of production and development assets.
"I am proud to have been involved in the Allkem journey over my ten years on the Board. The last decade has seen many years of growth and wealth creation for our shareholders. It has given me great pleasure to be involved in a company that has not only provided a material increase in shareholder value but also embraced sustainability as a keystone of its strategy and shared value for all stakeholders. Building a company with the global ambitions of Allkem is a relay not a marathon and I am confident we are in the best of hands with my Board colleagues and Martin Perez de Solay's leadership," Mr Hubbard said.
Allkem Chairman Martin Rowley commented, " I would like to personally thank Rob for his contribution to the success of the Company over the decade he has been involved. When we first spoke in early 2021 both of us saw the huge potential of a merger of Orocobre and Galaxy but it took Rob's guidance and diplomacy as Chair of Orocobre to ensure the successful outcome. Sitting on the Board of Allkem together we have developed a very strong relationship with Rob providing invaluable support to me and the Board in his role as Deputy Chair. I am proud to call him a friend and I wish him and his family the very best in his life after Allkem ."
CEO and Managing Director, Martin Perez de Solay said, " It has been a pleasure to work with Rob who has made a significant contribution to the Company across many areas of the Company.
"Rob has been a driving force in the development of sustainability practices and reporting and has been instrumental in the improvement of governance systems throughout the business. He leaves the company in a very strong position and well placed for the planned development and growth of its world class asset portfolio. I sincerely thank Rob for his astute guidance and enduring support and wish him well in his future endeavours."
This release was authorised by Mr Martin Perez de Solay, CEO and Managing Director of Allkem Limited.
This investor ASX/TSX release ( Release ) has been prepared by Allkem Limited (ACN 112 589 910) (the Company or Allkem ). It contains general information about the Company as at the date of this Release. The information in this Release should not be considered to be comprehensive or to comprise all of the material which a shareholder or potential investor in the Company may require in order to determine whether to deal in Shares of Allkem. The information in this Release is of a general nature only and does not purport to be complete. It should be read in conjunction with the Company's periodic and continuous disclosure announcements which are available at allkem.co and with the Australian Securities Exchange ( ASX ) announcements, which are available at www.asx.com.au .
This Release does not take into account the financial situation, investment objectives, tax situation or particular needs of any person and nothing contained in this Release constitutes investment, legal, tax, accounting or other advice, nor does it contain all the information which would be required in a disclosure document or prospectus prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ( Corporations Act ). Readers or recipients of this Release should, before making any decisions in relation to their investment or potential investment in the Company, consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to their own individual investment objectives and financial situation and seek their own professional investment, legal, taxation and accounting advice appropriate to their particular circumstances.
This Release does not constitute or form part of any offer, invitation, solicitation or recommendation to acquire, purchase, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, or issue, any Shares or any other financial product. Further, this Release does not constitute financial product, investment advice (nor tax, accounting or legal advice) or recommendation, nor shall it or any part of it or the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or investment decision.
The distribution of this Release in other jurisdictions outside Australia may also be restricted by law and any restrictions should be observed. Any failure to comply with such restrictions may constitute a violation of applicable securities laws.
Past performance information given in this Release is given for illustrative purposes only and should not be relied upon as (and is not) an indication of future performance.
Not for release or distribution in the United States
This announcement has been prepared for publication in Australia and may not be released to U.S. wire services or distributed in the United States. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction, and neither this announcement or anything attached to this announcement shall form the basis of any contract or commitment. Any securities described in this announcement have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States except in transactions registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 or exempt from, or not subject to, the registration of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and applicable U.S. state securities laws.
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Winsome Resources Limited (ASX: WR1; “Winsome” or “the Company”) is pleased to provide an update on the latest drilling campaigns which have commenced at the Company’s Cancet and Adina Lithium projects in Quebec, Canada.
Following delivery of an RC rig by helicopter and assembly on site, drilling has commenced at Cancet. The exploration team continues to prepare target holes across multiple new pegmatite outcrops which were identified during on-ground exploration through the summer months.
The estimated six-week program will also drill targets where gravity anomalies have been identified, as well as confirm mineralisation extensions to the main dyke following recent stripping and channel sampling.
The drill rig will be moved by helicopter between the targets at Cancet to ensure the program runs quickly and efficiently.
At the same time, a heli-portable diamond core rig has commenced drilling multiple targets at the Company’s Adina project. The campaign will complete an estimated 5,000m of drilling, including infill holes across previously identified mineralisation, as well as testing new mineralisation announced following recent rock chip sample assay results (see Exceptional high grade Lithium assays fromAdinaASX release, 30 September 2022).
Drilling will also investigate gravity anomalies at Adina, which have the potential to reveal under cover extensions to the known pegmatites.
Following completion of the core drilling campaign at Adina, which is expected to last six to eight weeks, the rig will be redeployed to Cancet to immediately follow up on the RC drilling campaign and conduct additional infill drilling as the Company progresses towards announcing a maiden resource in 2023.
While assays from the SGS laboratory in neighbouring Ontario province are expected to take six to seven weeks or longer as the case may be due to an ongoing backlog of work, Winsome intends to dispatch samples on a weekly basis to facilitate the fastest possible turnaround.
Winsome Resources Managing Director Chris Evans said:
“The Winsome team is excited to see these latest drilling campaigns underway.
“The ongoing good news from recent visual observations, rock chip sampling and gravity surveys, coupled with previous drilling at both Cancet and Adina, have helped us to build our understanding of the mineralisation and these drilling campaigns should give us even greater clarity as we move towards announcing a maiden resources.
“We look forward to providing regular updates over the coming months as drilling and assay work progresses.”
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Winsome Resources Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Power Metals Corp. (" Power Metals " or the " Company ") (TSXV: PWM) (FRANKFURT: OAA1) (OTCQB: PWRMF) is pleased to announce ongoing drill results from the West Joe Dyke at its 100% owned Case Lake Property in Cochrane, Ontario .
Drilling on the West Joe Dyke has intersected multiple pollucite intervals with up to 24.07 % Cs 2 O at a shallow depth of 15.00 m in drill hole PWM-22-143. Pollucite is the only ore mineral of Cs. The West Joe pollucite zone is characterized by secondary lepidolite (Li) and muscovite along fractures in massive white pollucite. The pollucite zone is enclosed within the inner intermediate zone consisting of coarse-grained pale green spodumene (Li), coarse-grained white K-feldspar enriched in Rubidium (Rb), and Ta-oxide minerals.
SGS Burnaby, British Columbia analytical lab was so surprised by the exceptionally high cesium assays that they assayed the samples multiple times and further sent the samples to SGS Lakefield, Ontario which confirmed the numbers and signed off on the assay certificate. Dr. Julie Selway , VP of Exploration, reassured SGS that the cesium results were to be expected because pollucite was visible in the drill core.
Dr. Selway states, "The drill core with 24.07 % Cs 2 O over 1.0 m is the highest and most impressive cesium assay in properties that I have worked on in my career. One of Power Metals' goals for the summer 2022 drill program was to follow up on the 14.70 % Cs 2 O over 1.0 m in drill hole PWM-18-126 from 2018. The 2022 drilling cesium results have surpassed the 2018 results and has further confirmed the economic value of the West Joe Dyke."
Chairman & CEO, Johnathan More , stated "These cesium high-grade zones have far exceeded our expectations this early in the game. World leader, Sinomine Resource Group, invested in Power Metals earlier this year and both parties are excited with these results. Cesium is extremely rare to find and is currently not being mined anywhere in the world. Historically, it is found in small quantities and the current mineralization seen at Case Lake is being found near surface. These results along with reported and ongoing lithium mineralization is creating massive value for this property."
The West Joe pollucite zone has Cs grades similar to that of Sinclair cesium mine, Australia held by Essential Metals Limited (ASX: ESS). Pollucite was mined by open pit from the Sinclair mine in 2018 (Pioneer Resources Limited, press release dated Dec. 12, 2018 ). There are only two other commercial cesium mines globally: Tanco mine, Manitoba and Bikita mine, Zimbabwe . In addition to the Cs grade, West Joe has the advantages that the pollucite has shallow depths of less than 50 m below surface and road access to make it easy for future extraction. Another advantage of West Joe is that it has three economic commodities in the same zone: lithium, cesium and tantalum. Canadian, Ontario and United States governments have labelled all three commodities as critical metals.
Table 1 Assay highlights for West Joe Dyke, drill holes PWM-22-141 to 147.
Drill holes are oriented perpendicular to the strike length of the pegmatite, so mineralization is close to true width.
The pollucite zone at West Joe differs from the other three global cesium mines in that at West Joe spodumene is the dominant lithium mineral whereas at the other cesium mines petalite and lepidolite are the dominant lithium minerals.
The primary use of the cesium mined at Tanco, Manitoba is for cesium formate brines used for high pressure, high temperature well drilling for oil and gas. Cesium bromide is used in infrared detectors, optics, photoelectric cells, scintillation counters and spectrometers (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2022). Cesium isotopes are used in atomic resonance frequency in standard atomic clocks which play a vital role in aircraft guidance systems, global positioning satellites and internet and cellular telephone transmissions (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2022).
West Joe Dyke was discovered for its spodumene (Li) mineralization in August 2018 . Drilling on the Dyke lead to the discovery of cesium mineralization in the fall of 2018 with six drill holes intersecting pollucite in drill core (i.e., PWM-18-111, 112, 116, 123, 124 and 126). The best assay was 6.74 % Cs 2 O over 5.00 m , 11.00 to 16.00 m interval including 14.70 % Cs 2 O over 1.00 m , 13.00 to 14.00 m interval from drill hole PWM-18-126 (PWM press release dated Nov. 13 , 2018). Summer 2022 drilling has intersected pollucite in five drill holes (i.e., PWM-22-128, 143, 144, 145 and 147). Cesium assays of 6.53 % Cs 2 O, 1.28 % Li 2 O and 324.0 ppm Ta over 1.0 m were previously disclosed in a press release dated Aug. 19, 2022 .
Power Metals 2022 summer drill program is for 5000 m and over 2700 m has been completed to date. This press release reports assays received to date from drill holes PWM-22-141 to 147 on the West Joe Dyke. The purpose of each drill hole was to infill on known mineralization to aid in a future resource estimate.
Drill hole collar coordinates are given in Table 2.
Table 2 West Joe, Case Lake drill hole collar coordinates. NAD 83, Zone 17. Trimble R2 GPS survey with 2 cm accuracy in the horizontal.
The drill core was sampled so that 1 m of the Case Batholith tonalite host rock was sampled followed by 1 m long samples of the pegmatite dyke and 1 m of the Case Batholith. The sampling followed lithology boundaries so that only one lithology unit is within a sample, except for the Cochrane by Power Metals' geologists. The core was prepared at SGS Garson and analyzed at SGS Burnaby, British Columbia which has ISO 17025 certification. Every 20 samples included one external quartz blank, one external lithium standard and one core duplicate. The ore grade Li 2 O% was prepared by sodium peroxide fusion with analysis by ICP-OES with a detection limit of 0.002 % Li 2 O. A Quality Control review of the standards, blanks and core duplicates indicated that they all passed. The ore grade Cs 2 O% for > 10000 ppm Cs was prepared by alkaline metal digestion with analysis by FAAS with a detection limit of 0.002 % Cs. Ore grade cesium was analyzed by SGS Lakefield, Ontario which also has ISO 17025 certification.
Case Lake Property is located 80 km east of Cochrane , northeastern Ontario close to the Ontario - Quebec border. Case Lake Property consists of 585 cell claims in Steele, Case, Scapa, Pliny, Abbotsford and Challies townships, Larder Lake Mining Division. The Property is 10 km x 9.5 km in size with 14 identified tonalite domes. The Case Lake pegmatite swarm consists of six spodumene dykes: North, Main, South, East and Northeast Dykes on the Henry Dome and the West Joe Dyke on a new tonalite dome. The Case Lake Property is owned 100% by Power Metals Corp. A National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report has been prepared on Case Lake Property and filed on July 18, 2017 .
Julie Selway , Ph.D., P.Geo. supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release. Dr. Selway is the VP of Exploration for Power Metals and the Qualified Person ("QP") as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Dr. Selway is supervising the exploration program at Case Lake. Dr. Selway completed a Ph.D. on granitic pegmatites in 1999 and worked for 3 years as a pegmatite geoscientist for the Ontario Geological Survey. Dr. Selway also has twenty-three scientific journal articles on pegmatites.
Power Metals Corp. is a diversified Canadian mining company with a mandate to explore, develop and acquire high quality mining projects. We are committed to building an arsenal of projects in both lithium and high-growth specialty metals and minerals. We see an unprecedented opportunity to supply the tremendous growth of the lithium battery and clean-technology industries. Learn more at www.powermetalscorp.com
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,
Johnathan More , Chairman & CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release.
No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. The securities being offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States , or to, or for the account or benefit of, a "U.S. person" (as defined in Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act) unless pursuant to an exemption therefrom. This press release is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of the Company in any jurisdiction.
This press release contains forward-looking information based on current expectations, including the use of funds raised under the Offering. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, Power Metals assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by law.
Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to several factors and risks including various risk factors discussed in the Company's disclosure documents which can be found under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com .
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The TSXV has neither reviewed nor approved the contents of this press release.
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Latin Resources Limited (ASX: LRS) (“Latin” or “the Company”) is pleased to report the completion of the trial mining test-pit to advance mine pit design and discussions with offtake partners at its 100% owned Cloud Nine Halloysite-Kaolin Deposit (“Cloud Nine”) in Western Australia.
Latin Resources Managing Director, Chris Gale commented:
“The completion of the test-pit and collection of bulk samples is an important stepping-stone in the development of the Cloud Nine Project as a world class kaolin deposit. The bulk samples have now been sent to the potential customers for final analysis. We are also working on our scope of works, along with mine permitting for a DSO style product to sell to our potential customers. If the numbers stack up, Cloud Nine could develop into a great project for Latin Resources."
A test pit has been successfully excavated at the Cloud Nine Halloysite-Kaolin Deposit. The objective of the test pit is to:
The test pit was excavated in accordance with the Program of Works, which was approved by DMIRS early in 2022, and successfully extracted the planned volume of kaolin.
Kaolin extracted from the test-pit will be used in bulk scale metallurgical testing, and importantly, will be used to prepare bulk product samples which will be sent to two separate groups currently in discussion with the Company in respect to potential offtake agreements, this will enable them to undertake their own product qualification testing.
The Company has previously provided multiple small-scale samples from Cloud Nine to these two parties. Discussions with both groups are ongoing and have included options to supply short term Direct Shipping Ore (“DSO”) products, as well as supplying value-added processed kaolin and halloysite products in the longer term.
Excavation of the test pit has also provided the Company with valuable information to further refine preliminary assumptions, including mining and stockpile designs, mining method and equipment selection and preliminary geotechnical assumptions. Material samples will also assist with further testing and analysis to continue improving the understanding of the deposit including the overlying material.
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This article includes content from Latin Resources Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
The buildout of lithium-ion battery supply chains has become a geopolitical matter, with western economies trying to play catch up with Asia at the same time as they try to reduce carbon emissions to reach their green goals.
In Europe, the European Commission has been moving ahead with proposals to ban internal combustion engine cars, and it is now looking to address the need for battery metals in its soon-to-be announced Critical Raw Materials Act.
Back in 2020, lithium was added to Europe’s critical raw materials list for the first time, joining other key battery metals such as cobalt and natural graphite. But the region is currently lacking any meaningful production of these key raw materials, despite the ever increasing push to build out regional supply chains to avoid being overly dependent on foreign countries.
“We see Europe requiring close to 800,000 tonnes of battery grade lithium chemicals by 2030,” Infinity Lithium’s CEO Ryan Parkin said during a panel at Fastmarkets’ European Battery Raw Materials conference. “Today, there's close to 700,000 tonnes globally. So there's going to be some fair challenges as we move forward within Europe to secure key raw materials and downstream conversion capacity.”
Also speaking at the event held in Barcelona in September, Sascha Keen of Savannah Resources said that securing lithium supply in Europe is certainly a challenging task.
“The currently known resources within Europe are not sufficient,” Keen said. “I think there’s an opportunity to grow those resources … if you added up all the European projects on an exploration basis, this could be a much more substantial supply, but either way we're going to need all these projects to come on stream.”
Similarly, Austin Devany of Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ:PLL,ASX:PLL) said he doesn’t believe Europe can secure enough lithium to meet its demand.
“If you look at all the demand and supply forecasts, all of them are short — everyone sees a shortage for lithium materials,” Devany said. “It requires development of projects to build some level of self sufficiency so you can be not as reliant on other foreign countries, particularly adversaries who might use it as a weapon.”
For the chief commercial officer, Europe needs to focus not only on its mines, but also on building processing plants.
Another key EV battery material is cobalt, which Fastmarkets expects will continue to be an essential element in batteries and in EVs going forward.
“A lot of discussions looking at lithium-iron-phosphate cathodes are a headwind for cobalt, but there are still a lot of offtake agreements in place now, there are still automakers which are looking at including cobalt in their chemistries going forward, with nickel-cobalt-manganese being one of the favored chemistries in the western world,” Fastmarkets Battery Raw Materials Analyst Robert Searle said.
Today, about 70 percent of cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where mining has often been linked to human right abuses and child labour, and in coming years that supply number is expected to only strengthen.
“So it's not necessarily a case where we can say, we can look to quickly diversify or we can move away. Similarly, this extended investment that's going on in Indonesia, we are expecting more cobalt supply to come from there,” he said. “But again, there are still issues regarding environmental-social-governance in that country.”
In terms of securing graphite, which is essential to the anode side of EV batteries, the upcoming gigafactories in Europe will need anything from around 1 to 2 million tonnes of anode material in the next 10 years, according to George Frangeskides of GreenRoc Mining (LSE:GROC).
“So if you think about those four or five or six projects that are likely to come on stream, they are going to provide probably around 300,000 tonnes, so (there will be) a shortfall of anything from 700,000 to 1.7 million tonnes,” he said. “Clearly there is still going to be a need for Europe to get its graphite from somewhere else.”
Currently, about 95 percent of synthetic graphite comes from China; for natural graphite anode material, 100 percent of the refining capacity today happens in the Asian country.
Also speaking at the event in Barcelona, Joe Williams of Syrah Resources (ASX:SYR) said "there’s no way" Europe will be able to "get away" from China.
“China will remain key in the processing market, and it's very competitive there. So that's not going to change,” he said. “But we still should, of course, build that processing capacity through Europe locally.”
For miners, permitting continues to be a crucial challenge, as projects have been stopped for months before given the green light, if they are given it at all. In Europe’s battery metals sector, a prime example is Rio Tinto’s (ASX:RIO,LSE:RIO,NYSE:RIO) US$2.4 billion Jadar lithium project in Serbia — which the government blocked after massive environmental protests.
“Europe is very under-explored. So there are plenty of opportunities for raw materials to be found in Europe and elsewhere,” Massimo Gasparon of the European Raw Materials Alliance said. “So the supply itself is not the problem, the problem is the permitting, and that needs to be addressed and hopefully will be addressed in the (Critical Raw Materials) Act.”
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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: Piedmont Lithium is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.
Western Australia could play a key role in developing the critical minerals needed to help the world transition from fossil fuels to greener sources of energy.
The state accounts for around half of global lithium production and is a major exporter of nickel, cobalt, manganese and rare earths — all key raw materials used in the production of electric vehicles.
Speaking at this year’s Critical Minerals and Energy Investment conference, Western Australia’s Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston said there’s no question that the decarbonisation of the transport industry is critical.
Australia has committed to reaching net zero by 2050, as well as cutting emissions by 43 per cent compared to 2005 by the end of this decade.
“It's one of the easy wins in the pathway to net zero because we already have technologies that can replace the internal combustion engine,” he said during a panel discussion. “Electric vehicles use a lot more metal than traditional vehicles. So therefore, there's going to be that huge additional demand, depending on who you talk to, six times, or eight times, or 10 times more demand than presently.”
Lithium is currently the third highest mineral by sales value in Western Australia, with high spodumene prices driving concentrate sales to a record AU$6.8 billion — more than two-and-a-half times its previous record.
But the state government doesn’t want to stop at the upstream stage, with Minister Johnston saying Western Australia wants to go down further in the value chain for a whole range of reasons.
“Some of those are simply because we want the jobs, others are these geopolitical questions,” he said. “When we pitch to global investors about why we want them to invest in a processing project here, we talk about the domestic risks, and we point out the benefits of doing their processing here.”
In the lithium sector, Tianqi Lithium (SZSE:002466), Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) and Covalent Lithium, a joint venture between SQM (NYSE:SQM) and Wesfarmers (ASX:WES), have all invested in developing processing capacity in Western Australia.
The amount of lithium that is going to be needed will increase by four times in the next eight years, according to Resource Capital Funds chief commodities strategist Robert Gray.
“We need to add 2 million tonnes to a capacity, not a production amount, but a capacity that currently sits around 500,000 to 600,000 tonnes per annum. Most of that is going to come from hardrock deposits, and Western Australia leads the way in that respect,” he told the audience in Perth. “It’s up to the finance sector to be essentially bringing that investment capital to the development opportunities here in the state and elsewhere around the world.”
The opportunities in the critical mineral sector are clear, but in order to develop the supply chains of these metals, Ron Mitchell of Global Lithium (ASX:GL1) believes that what is needed is more of a partnership approach.
“The supply chain historically has been very segmented,” he said. “You've got the upstream, downstream; there's been very little collaboration between those segments and there needs to be greater collaboration.”
The build out of domestic or regional supply chains around the world has picked up pace in recent years, with western countries trying to reduce their dependence on Asia. Moves from the US, which launched its Inflation Reduction Act, and Europe, soon to announce a detailed Critical Raw Materials Act, point to how geopolitical the discussion has become.
Peter Nicholson of Appian Capital Advisory, who was also part of the panel discussion around how to support investments in critical minerals, said there’s a disconnect between the intent of politicians, and probably CEOs and the environmental-social-governance components of businesses, and the purchasing department.
“Because there is not a financial imperative for the purchasing guy to buy more expensive rare earths products or any other critical mineral for that matter from a more expensive supplier,” Nicholson said. “So you are seeing the Chinese supply chain remain in place, even though the rhetoric we're hearing elsewhere is around diversifying.”
For Nicholson, self sufficiency is a great concept that is easy for everyone to buy into.
“But how do we drive that? Because that's a financial game, and at the end of the day, as an investor, you are invested because you want to make money and that's the reality. And bridging that gap is incredibly difficult,” he said. “I can honestly say that the ATO has made it 30 percent harder to invest in Australia than anywhere else, because they are taxes on investors that you do not get in any other part of the world.”
For the fund manager, Australia has got the skills, the people, the materials, but has this massive barrier for finances.
“And there's just this disconnect between what governments are looking for, and the financial incentives for people that are actually going to be able to bring it to bear,” he said.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
As lithium demand continues to rise, it is useful for investors to gain an understanding of the different lithium deposit types at play.
Lithium is mined from three different deposit types: lithium brine deposits, pegmatite lithium deposits and sedimentary lithium deposits. Each comes with different project requirements, extraction methods and processing times.
Brine deposits, for example, are the most common, accounting for more than half of the world’s lithium resources, but may require longer processing periods. The majority of global lithium production comes from continental lithium brine deposits.
The best example of a continental lithium brine deposit is the 3,000 square kilometer Salar de Atacama in Chile, home to one of the world’s richest deposits of high-grade lithium. You can read more about this deposit type by clicking here.
Pegmatite lithium deposits and sedimentary lithium deposits are also important to know about, and the article below outlines their key characteristics. Scroll on to learn more about their importance today.
Pegmatite is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock formed from crystallized magma below the Earth’s crust. Pegmatite lithium deposits, also known as hard-rock lithium deposits, can contain extractable amounts of a number of elements, including lithium, tin, tantalum and niobium.
Lithium in pegmatites is most commonly found in the mineral spodumene, but also may be present in other minerals such as petalite, lepidolite, amblygonite and eucryptite.
Australia, the US, Canada, Ireland, Finland and the Democratic Republic of Congo are known to host pegmatite lithium deposits. The top-producing spodumene pegmatite operation, known as the Greenbushes mine, is located in Australia, and it is owned by Talison Lithium. Talison is controlled 51 percent by China’s Tianqi Lithium (SZSE:002466) and 49 percent by Albemarle (NYSE:ALB).
Also in Australia is the Mount Cattlin spodumene mine, an open-pit mine that rests on a flat-lying pegmatite ore body. Mount Cattlin was originally developed by Galaxy Resources, which merged with Argentina-based miner Orocobre in August 2021 to form a multinational mining corporation rebranded as Alkem (NSE:ALKEM) and considered to be one of the five largest lithium producers.
In addition, Alkem holds the James Bay lithium pegmatite project in Quebec, with indicated lithium resources of 40.3 million metric tons (MT) grading 1.4 percent lithium oxide, according to a resource estimate.
Hard-rock ore containing lithium is extracted at open-pit or underground mines using conventional mining techniques. The ore is then processed and concentrated using a variety of methods prior to direct use or further processing into lithium compounds.
Extracting pegmatite lithium from hard-rock ore is expensive, meaning that such deposits are arguably at a disadvantage compared to brine deposits. However, pegmatite lithium deposits have considerably higher lithium concentrations than brines, so deposits with extremely high lithium values may still be economically viable. The production of other metals, such as tin and tantalum, can also help offset costs.
It is worth noting that hard-rock deposits are not subject to the sometimes 12 month long processing times currently seen at some brine deposits.
Sedimentary rock deposits account for about 8 percent of known global lithium resources, and are found in clay deposits and lacustrine evaporites.
Clay deposits — In clay deposits, lithium is found in the mineral smectite. The most common type of smectite is hectorite, which is rich in both magnesium and lithium. It gets its name from a deposit containing 0.7 percent lithium found in Hector, California.
Many companies are in the research and development phases for their clay deposits, but no companies currently produce lithium from them.
Lacustrine evaporites — The most commonly known form of lithium-containing lacustrine deposit is found in the Jadar Valley in Serbia, for which the lithium- and boron-bearing mineral jadarite is named.
The Jadar deposit, owned by Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO,ASX:RIO), reportedly contains more than 200 million MT of lithium. The company claims it is one of the largest lithium deposits worldwide. The project is currently in the prefeasibility stage and could be in commercial production by 2027. Rio Tinto has committed to US$2.4 billion to developing the project.
This is an updated version of an article originally published by the Investing News Network in 2012.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company or commodity mentioned in this article.
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