The Race is On to Secure Lithium Supply Channels

The Race is On to Secure Lithium Supply Channels

By: Dylan Sikes - AllPennyStocks.com News

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

According to CNBC, China is beating the U.S. and other countries in a worldwide competition to lock-down supplies of lithium, a critical metal used in nearly every rechargeable battery in electric vehicles.  Against the backdrop of China looking to push the roll-out of EVs to combat a major pollution problem and other countries like Norway, Britain, France and India wanting to give combustion-engine cars the boot, there is an eruption gurgling in the global EV market that has companies big and small looking to squarely address what very well could be a shortfall in battery-grade lithium supplies in the future.

The old axiom goes along the lines of, “If you want to hunt for big game, go where big game has been seen before.”  Extrapolating that adage to lithium means, “look to Chile,” where the Salar de Atacama in the northern part of the country provides every bit of the country’s lithium production and about 40 percent of the world’s production annually.

Some of the highest-grade lithium in the world is found in Chilean dry salt lakes.  Furthermore, the country is known to host about 7.5 million metric tonnes of lithium, more than double that of the next closest competitor, China at 3.2 million metric tonnes, and over half of the world’s known lithium reserves.

While Atacama is a household name in lithium circles, the nearby Maricunga salar is recognized as the highest-grade undeveloped lithium salar in the Americas and highest-grade pre-production lithium brine project in the world.

The leading player in the space is a joint venture between Bearing Lithium Resources (TSX-Venture:BRZ) (OTCQB:BRGRF), privately-held Minera Salar Blanco and Lithium Power International (ASX:LPI).  Currently, LPI is shouldering all of the financing for the project through a definitive feasibility study expected in 1H 2018 in order to earn a 50% stake (currently at 32.5%), with the remainder to be owned by Minera (32.3%) and Bearing Lithium (17.7%).

Ahead of the feasibility study, investors are looking for a preliminary economic assessment by the end of 2017.  The PEA will be based on an estimated production rate of 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year and cover the gamut of information on the project, including, but not limited to, a process flow diagram, equipment list, concentration and purification process info, production pond plan, capital and operational expense estimate and other cash flow components.

More than $30 million has been invested in the 4,463-acre Maricunga project, mostly through Minera and Li3 Energy, a company acquired by Bearing Lithium in October.  Together, the JV has already grown the resource nearly four-fold from a 2012 estimate in what is highly anticipated to be a world-class, low-cost project with a long mine life.

Commercial production is targeted for as early as 2020 and no later than 2022, thanks to a grandfather clause and the fact that Maricunga is close to all the necessary infrastructure (port, roads, electricity, workers, etc.).  The project hosts a National Instrument 43-101 Measured and Indicated resource of 1.7 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at a grade of 1,143 mg/L lithium plus an Inferred resource of 400,000 tonnes of LCE at a grade of 1,289 mg/L.

Moreover, the NI estimate is only calculated to a depth of 200 meters.  Recent drilling shows mineralization still open at depth of 360 meters, with seismic surveying and geophysics showing the basin to potentially extend greater than 500 meters in depth.

The JV partners enjoy the benefit of the project being grandfathered in under previous Chilean mining code, which permits for lithium to be immediately extracted from the salar.  This fact gives Bearing and partners a competitive edge over others that could languish in regulatory red tape for years before advancing a project in the region, time that cannot afford to be wasted in light of the need for lithium for Li-ion batteries.

Another edge for future lithium sales goes to the JV with Minera entering into discussion last month with the Fulin Group, a large Chinese consolidation company.  A memorandum of understanding has been penned between Fulin and Minera to discuss Fulin potentially taking between a 20-50% stake in Minera and providing the necessary funding to cover construction and development costs at the project.  While negotiations are in the early stages and consummation of any deal is not assured, the interest reaffirms the value of the Maricunga project.

Lending further credence to the potential of the property, steel-making giant Pohang Iron & Steel invested $18 million in Li3 Energy and still holds a 7% stake in Bearing Lithium.  Pohang has developed a revolutionary rapid lithium extraction technology that can cut extract lithium from brine in as little as 8 hours, versus over a year by conventional methods.

As it is setting up, Bearing Lithium, who also controls a lithium property in Nevada optioned to First Division Ventures and gold assets in the Yukon optioned to Golden Predator, is putting together a tremendous final quarter to 2017 and setting the stage for what should be a prosperous 2018.  Surprisingly, Wall and Bay Streets haven’t fully caught on to this little gem with big partners in the most promising lithium salar the world has to offer.  As sure as the EV evolution is coming, it’s just as likely Bearing Lithium won’t continue to fly under the radar of investors.


Copyright © 2017 AllPennyStocks.com. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of AllPennyStocks.com's content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AllPennyStocks.com. AllPennyStocks.com shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

AllPennyStocks.com has been compensated two thousand five hundred dollars from a third-party, NativeAds, Inc. for its efforts in presenting the BRZ profile on its web site and distributing it to its database of subscribers as well as other services.

Other Penny Stock Movers

Miner Scores with Acquisition of Promising Silver District in Mexico
Mixed Signals: Durable Goods Orders Up, But Not All Sectors Are Soaring
Biotech Steals The Show Following Pre-Clinical Data Announcement
Most Popular
5
FREE Newsletter


Back to Top