NetworkNewsWire
Editorial Coverage: Tesla CEO Elon Musk in December made true
his promise to
build in South Australia the world’s biggest lithium ion battery.
“The world’s largest lithium ion battery will be an important part
of our energy mix, and it sends the clearest message that South
Australia will be a leader renewable energy with battery storage,”
Australian Premier Jay Weatherill said in statement (http://nnw.fm/m2Lzh).” Musk’s vow came after a
challenge for Tesla to address power blackouts and energy shortages
in South Australia. In tandem with Weatherill’s enthusiasm over the
success of the project, the achievement reveals a broader, global
push to increase the use of lithium as a power source. Several
companies are poised to scale up their production efforts and
capitalize on the resulting global demand for lithium and cobalt,
which is essential to lithium-ion battery operation. They include
Standard Lithium Ltd. (OTCQX: STLHF) (TSX.V: SLL) (FRA:
S5L) (STLHF
Profile), Sociedad Quimica y
Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE: SQM), NRG Metals, Inc.
(TSXV: NGZ), FMC Corp. (NYSE: FMC) and
eCobalt Solutions Inc. (TSE: ECS).
China Boosts Potential for Lithium
Companies
China has the largest automotive industry in the world and it is
estimated that cars running on combustion engines account for
around 30 percent of the country’s air pollution. The government’s
decision to phase out vehicles operating on fossil fuels has been
welcomed by environmentalists.
The Chinese government aims to produce 7 million EVs and hybrid
vehicles by 2025, and Goldman Sachs has estimated that China will
account for 60 percent of all global EV sales by 2030.
China’s plans may appear ambitious, but it already has two of
the top five lithium-ion battery manufacturers in the world, BYD
and CATL. Some critics have pointed out that lithium-ion batteries
are heavy and expensive, accounting for 33 percent of the cost of
EV manufacture. However, Bloomberg reports that the price of these
batteries is decreasing and predicts that EVs will be as affordable
as vehicles powered by combustion engines by 2022 (http://nnw.fm/8iRER). As a result, demand for lithium
and cobalt is skyrocketing, paving the way for companies in the
industry to expand operations and increase production of the two
minerals.
Standard Lithium, Gears Up to Service Global
Demand
Based in Vancouver, Canada, Standard
Lithium Ltd. (OTCQX: STLHF) (TSX.V: SLL) (FRA: S5L) is
focusing its efforts on developing existing large-scale lithium
brine resources in the United States that can be brought quickly
into production. To this end, the company is exploring and
developing its California Lithium Project, which includes the
Bristol Dry Lake and Cadiz Dry Lake lithium brine properties in the
Mojave area of San Bernardino County in California. Standard
Lithium has agreements in place with both of the regions permitted
brine processor’s, National Chloride Corporation of America and
TETRA Technologies.
Under the recently announced agreement with TETRA Technologies,
Inc., Standard Lithium has increased the project scope to roughly
48,000 acres of mixed private, patented and placer claim land in
the Bristol Dry Lake and Cadiz Dry Lake basins that allow for
exclusive lithium brine exploration and processing. This agreement
marked an extension of Bristol Dry Lake’s potential, and positioned
Standard Lithium to fully leverage its working relationship with
TETRA.
“Since day one we have recognized the bigger opportunity with
respect to expanding the resource base and strengthening project
economics at Bristol Dry Lake by securing the rights for lithium
development over the entire basin. By inking an agreement with
TETRA, the only other permitted operator in the area, we have now
effectively achieved that. This is a significant and strategic move
for Standard, but has only been made possible by the excellent
relationships we have developed with the permitted brine operators
in the region. Gaining access to the adjacent Cadiz Dry Lake
operating project is an additional benefit to our relationship with
TETRA,” Standard Lithium CEO Robert Mintak noted in a press release
announcing the deal (http://nnw.fm/4yD4U).
Part of the allure of the Bristol Dry Lake project in particular
is that it is currently permitted for brine extraction and
processing activities; has significant production infrastructure in
place; and is serviced by major highways, power and a dedicated
rail siding and loading spur. Located 20 km (just under 12.5 miles)
southeast of Bristol Dry Lake is the Cadiz Dry Lake Property, of
which three initial grab samples of brine wells showed lithium
concentrations in pumped brine ranging between 112-139 mg/L.
“These concentrations from relatively shallow wells
suggests that there is a potentially significant lithium brine
deposit present in the Cadiz Dry Lake basin. Our technical team is
currently performing due-diligence on all available data for the
Cadiz Dry Lake basin and will be laying out a plan for new data
collection over the coming months. Additional investigation of
TETRA’s properties in both Bristol Dry Lake and Cadiz Dry Lake will
be performed concurrently with our existing resource definition
program, and as such, we should be able to significantly expand our
resource base as we move towards producing maiden lithium resource
estimates for the Mojave projects,” Standard Lithium president and
COO Dr. Andy Robinson.
In a development updated issued in December 2017, Standard
Lithium reported that six new separate evaporation ponds were
installed on the Bristol Dry Lake Property, allowing the company to
further assess the potential role of short-duration passive solar
evaporation in processing the lithium brines encountered at the
project.
Following previous work showing the possibility to concentrate
brines from initial lithium concentrations of 146 mg/L to
concentrations of 686 mg/L in roughly seven weeks, Standard Lithium
is conducting additional evaporation tests to assess season
variations and produce large volumes of pre-concentrated brine that
will be shipped to the company’s North American testing facilities
for use in ongoing selective lithium extraction processing work. A
bulk raw-brine sample from the Cadiz Dry Lake project will also be
transported to the evaporation ponds to assess the
pre-concentration of lithium brine from the project.
With official approval of the lithium brine sampling program at
Bristol Dry Lake, Standard Lithium said it expects the development
will be finished by the end of January.
The company’s other significant project is its Smackover Lithium
Brine Project. As announced earlier this week, Standard Lithium
furthered its existing partnership with TETRA with an option
agreement to acquire the rights to conduct exploration, production
and lithium extraction activities in a highly productive area of
Southern Arkansas’ Smackover Formation.
According to the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission, Arkansas
produces on average more than 9 billion gallons of brine per year,
mostly from the Smackover Formation. Standard Lithium’s brine
leases, which covers an area of up to 33,000 acres of brine leases.
have extensive resource potential, with well-studied and documented
geology and hydrogeology. According to the company, this makes the
Smackover deposit one of the most promising in the lithium
industry, which has the benefit of existing regional large-scale
brine extraction, processing and brine re-injection facilities.
Historical data from Standard Lithium’s lease area indicates
lithium content of 370-424 mg/L in these brines.
“The Company chose the Smackover Formation as a key development
target, precisely because it combines a very large resource
potential, with well-studied and documented geology and
hydrogeology, along with a permitting regime that has a long
history of approving operations that remove, process and re-inject
massive volumes of brine. Combined with a wealth of existing
infrastructure in the project area (power, rail, gas, water,
trained workforce, cheap reagents etc.), this makes Standard
Lithium’s new opportunity in Southern Arkansas the perfect location
to locate a modern lithium brine processing operation. Due to the
wealth of already-available data from our new project area, we can
start the process of compiling a maiden resource estimate for this
large lease package extremely quickly, with a minimum of additional
intrusive investigation,” president and Chief Operating Officer Dr.
Andy Robinson stated in the press release announcing the option
agreement (http://nnw.fm/q1Pw8).
As Standard Lithium expands its project portfolio, management
continues to invest in the company itself with the inclusion of
industry professionals to its team.
In November 2017, Standard Lithium named Craig J. Brown, P. Eng.
and a qualified Chemical Engineer, to its Scientific Advisory
Council, as well as announced that that John E. Young, P. Eng.
would join the company as senior corporate development officer.
Brown is widely respected as a hydrometallurgical expert and
played a central role in the development of ion exchange
technology. He has more than 45 years of experience in developing
processes for the separation of a wide range of chemicals from
aqueous solutions. The company intends to utilize Brown’s expertise
in selective ion-exchange and hydrometallurgical technologies to
improve its lithium extraction processes. Standard Lithium also
announced that it had begun test work on a new lithium-selective
Ion Exchange resin that has been in development for some years by
one of the largest suppliers of these resins in the world. This
shows the company’s commitment to expand its testing program to
include cutting-edge technology in its drive to develop optimal
process solutions for its lithium brine projects.
Young’s mandate will be to head up the company’s acquisition and
development activities, while expanding and managing strategic
partnerships and alliances, focusing on the southern U.S. region.
He has more than 35 years of experience in reservoir engineering,
economic evaluation, project development and property acquisition.
As a registered professional engineer, Young holds a degree in
petroleum engineering, as well as membership of the Society of
Petroleum Engineers and the Society of Petroleum Evaluation
Engineers. Previously, he held the position of director of business
development for Legacy Reserves, LP.
Potential Comparable Companies
Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A.
(NYSE: SQM): Headquartered in Santiago, Chile, SQM
produces and markets industrial chemicals, specialty plant
nutrients, potassium, iodine and derivatives, as well as lithium
and derivatives. SQM is the world’s largest lithium producer,
supplying lithium carbonates, hydroxides and chlorides for a wide
range of applications. Its lithium carbonate is used as
electrochemical material in batteries, and lithium hydroxide for
battery cathodes.
NRG Metals (TSXV: NGZ): NRG
Metals is an exploration company with a focus on lithium brine
projects in Argentina. The company is drilling its Salar Escondito
Lithium Project, a 29,000-hectare area that has shown results of
227ppm lithium. It is also evaluating the Hombre Muerto North
Lithium Project, a 3,287-hectare site in Salta province. An
Environmental Impact Study has been filed and the company has
applied for permits to drill.
FMC Corp. (NYSE: FMC): Based
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, FMC Corporation is a company that
provides solutions and products for applications in the global
consumer, agricultural and industrial markets. Through its
subsidiary, FMC Lithium, the company markets lithium for use in
batteries, pharmaceuticals, polymers, glass, ceramics, greases and
lubricants.
eCobalt Solutions (TSE: ECS): eCobalt is a
Canadian company which focuses its cobalt producing operations on
its mineral rights in Cobalt Camp, Ontario. The company has merged
with CobalTech and Cobalt One, giving it control over 10,000
hectares of unconsolidated land for prospecting. The company is
currently developing historic mines in this area, including the
Keeley-Frontier, Silver Banner and Bellellen mines.
With the global demand for lithium and cobalt predicted to grow
exponentially over the next two decades, companies such as
Standard Lithium Ltd. (OTCQX: STLHF) (TSX.V: SLL) (FRA:
S5L), Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A.
(NYSE: SQM), NRG Metals, Inc. (TSXV:
NGZ), FMC Corp. (NYSE: FMC) and
eCobalt Solutions, Inc. (TSE: ECS) are uniquely
positioned to expand exploration and production capabilities to
establish themselves as leaders on the international lithium
market.
For more information on Standard Lithium, visit Standard
Lithium Ltd. (OTCQX: STLHF) (TSX.V: SLL) (FRA:
S5L)
For a more in-depth look into Standard Lithium (TSXV:
SLL) (FRA: S5L) (OTCQX: STLHF) you can view the full
report on Streetsignals.com.
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