ADVERTORIAL
South America's Loss is North America's Gain: Lithium Miners in the Spotlight
Editorial Feature | April 10, 2023 | Industry
Due to its high-quality and diversified lithium projects, a junior explorer is in a great position to capitalize on the increasing demand for lithium in North America
There has been a rapid increase in the need for lithium as the global movement towards renewable energy sources gains steam.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global demand could increase over 40 times by 2040.
Ford, Tesla, and General Motors will need about 900,000 tonnes of lithium from the United States and Canada to meet domestic production demands if demand for electric cars (EVs) takes off as projected. North American output is expected to plateau at 600,000 metric tonnes by 2030.1
All three carmakers have already begun locking down lithium supply. Most recently, GM announced a $650 million investment into Lithium Americas Corp. to accelerate the development of the Thacker Pass project in Nevada, which has the potential to be North America’s largest lithium source.2
On March 2, LAC began construction at Thacker Pass and is targeting first production in H2 2026.3
Currently, the US produces just 1% of the global lithium supply, most of which comes from Albemarle’s Silver Peak mine, but a unique opportunity exists for miners in the region thanks to several initiatives by the government.
This opportunity bodes well for companies like who have a diversified asset base in Canada and the US making it perfectly positioned to reap the benefits of the global transition to green energy.
One company that’s come to our attention has promising assets in top mining jurisdictions (Nevada and Ontario) that are located in very close proximity to some of the most exciting lithium discoveries in recent years, including American Battery Technology’s Tonopah Flats project – one of the largest known lithium deposits in the US with an estimated 15.8 million tons of LCE.4
According to this company’s recent corporate milestones, there is strong evidence to suggest that it has the potential to become a key player in the lithium supply chain.
In October, the company raised about C$8 million5 to fund drilling and exploration activities across its three lithium projects.
Perfect Opportunity For North American Miners As Lithium Triangle Faces Multiple Challenges
For the first in time in history, global lithium production surpassed 100,000 tonnes in 2021, essentially quadrupling from 2010.6
That exponential increase in production was mainly driven by rising EV sales and multiple government incentives to hasten the shift towards green energy sources. EV manufacturers saw sales jump from 3.2 million in 2020 to over 10 million in 2022,7 illustrating the rising consumer awareness of the benefits of going electric.
In spite of the robust growth in lithium production, suppliers have found it hard to keep up with demandd. As a matter of fact, the Lithium Industry Association (LIA) forecasts that the global demand for lithium will grow from 292,000 metric tons in 2020 to 2.5 million metric tons by 2030 as usage of lithium-based batteries in electronics and vehicles ramps up.8 However, there will still be a 650,000-tonne deficit which bodes well for this company.
While South America’s ‘Lithium Triangle’ (Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile) is currently the top lithium supplier, several challenges in these countries provide North American producers the chance to grab substantial market share.
That is because the US is home to the world’s largest lithium deposits after those in the so-called Lithium Triangle region.
The states of Nevada, North Carolina, and California together host an estimated 4% of the world’s lithium reserves.
Nevada can be to lithium “what Wall Street is to finance, or what Silicon Valley is to technology” – Steve Sisolak.
The Nevada Advantage - Horizon Lithium Project
The Horizon project consists of 839 claims spanning 7,015 hectares and is located just 7.5 km from Tonopah, Nevada.
The project is prospective for near-surface claystone lithium based on regional peer analysis which indicates lithium is weakly bound to the clays, unlocking conventional mining methods including open pit.
Considering that the company’s Horizon project is located closeby to several other lithium projects with promising lithium resources, there’s a good probability that the claim can potentially yield equally encouraging results.
The project benefits from incredible access to infrastructure without being impeded by it – unlike adjacent peers, there are no major highways or powerlines that intersect the property that would need to be moved.
For better context, the property adjoins American Battery Technology’s (ABTC) Tonopah Flats Project, which has just been named one of the largest known lithium deposits in the US with an estimated 15.8 million tons of LCE.9
Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology mapping shows ABTC, American Lithium, Enertopia Corp, and Blackrock Silver Corp have Li grades at depths that indicate the Seibert Formation to be the primary host for mineralization.
All of these adjacent claims have reported highly encouraging drill sample results which bode well for this company.
ABTC drill results are especially significant because of mineralization beginning near the surface and extending to the bottom at a depth of 710ft with drill holes terminating in lithium mineralization of 1,940 (parts per million) ppm.
As part of the company’s operational execution, they partnered with RESPEC Consulting Inc., a leader in geoscience engineering, data, and integrated technology solutions for industry to prepare drilling programming, permitting, and project management. RESPEC is the same firm that worked with American Battery Technology’s SK-1300 technical report.10
The company is now fully permitted to drill 22 lithium prospecting core holes up to 1,000 ft depth/hole.11
On February 13 they began core drilling at the Phase 1 exploration drill program after commissioning KB Drilling, which has a long history of claystone lithium exploration work in the region.12
Since the start of drilling, the company has been encountering continuous lithium-bearing clay intercepts.13
On March 22, they provided a midway update on Phase 1 drilling at Horizon, announcing that six of the eleven fully-funded drill holes have been completed and intercepted over 86% of total drill footage within the Siebert Formation.14
With each drill hole, the explorer is seeing increasing thicknesses of potential lithium-bearing claystone as drilling approaches the anticipated center of the basin.
Not to mention, the base of the Siebert Formation hasn’t been encountered yet meaning tremendous opportunity for program expansion in future exploration.
Rare Earth Opportunity – The Big Mack Project
The Big Mack project is located in Ontario, Canada and provides this company with the opportunity to not only produce ‘green lithium’ but also other rare earth metals.
The project is close to important infrastructure, accessible by all-weather highway and logging roads, and 50 km by road to the Canadian National Railway. It’s also in an ideal location to ship material to the proposed lithium processing facility in Thunder Bay.
Big Mack is next to Avalon Advanced Materials’ Separation Rapids property which hosts one of the world’s largest “complex-type” rare metal pegmatite deposits known as the “Big Whopper Pegmatite.” Pegmatite is a type of rock composed entirely of crystals and pegmatite lithium deposits, also known as hard-rock lithium deposits, can contain a number of elements, including lithium, tin, tantalum and niobium.
The Big Whopper has pegmatite reserves of 8.4 million tons grading 1.408% Li2O and is only the fourth example in the world of a rare metal pegmatite with the size required to be profitably mined and only the second to be enriched with petalite – another important lithium ore that can be converted to spodumene and processed via conventional means.
Based on Emerald Field Resources’ 15-hole historical diamond drilling program in 1998 and 2001 on the property, an assessment of the results proposed the likelihood of 325,000 tonnes of petalite, which is significant considering a 5-tonne sample has been commercially approved by Corning for glass and acrylic applications.
Interestingly this company’s project hosts over 20+ pegmatites identified across the property which contain rare-metal mineralization similar to world-class TANCO (Manitoba) and Bikita pegmatites (Zimbabwe).
The highest historical drill-core sample results at the lithium-bearing zone on the property showed:
- Lithium – 2.74% – Li2O
- Cesium – 0.088% – Cs2O
- Rubidium – 0.814% – Rb2O
- Tantalum – 0.135% Ta2O5
This is especially significant considering that petalite concentrate created from a 5-tonne sample from the Big Mack Pegmatite was approved by Corning Laboratory Services.
What to do now…
There is no doubt that the future for this company looks extremely bright.
Ultimately, they are perfectly positioned to become the next big player in North America’s lithium supply chain thanks to its high-quality lithium projects.
If you want to keep this exciting company on your watchlist, don’t forget to subscribe with your email address to learn more, and make sure you don’t miss out on any news and milestones.
1https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/18/lithium-mining-nevada-boom-car-battery-us-climate-crisis
2 https://www.lithiumamericas.com/news/lithium-americas-announces-initial-closing-of-650-million-investment-from-general-motors
3 https://www.lithiumamericas.com/news/lithium-americas-commences-construction-at-thacker-pass
4 https://www.kitco.com/news/2023-02-28/American-Battery-Technology-says-identified-one-of-the-largest-premier-lithium-deposits-in-the-U-S.html
5 https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/10/13/2533797/0/en/Pan-American-Energy-Corp-Closes-8M-Private-Placement.html.
6 https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/chart-countries-produce-lithium-world/
7 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-12/electric-vehicles-look-poised-for-slower-sales-growth-this-year#xj4y7vzkg
8 https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/11/17/2558102/0/en/Global-Lithium-Market-to-Hit-Sales-of-15-45-Billion-by-2028-Sodium-Ion-Batteries-Could-Be-Potential-Threat-to-Lithium-Market.html
9 https://americanlithiumcorp.com/tlc-lithium-project/.
10 https://americanbatterytechnology.com/wp-content/uploads/ABTC-TonopahFlats_InferredResourceReport_SK1300.pdf
11 https://panam-energy.com/pan-american-energy-approved-to-increase-phase-1-drill-program-to-22-lithium-prospecting-core-holes/.
12 https://panam-energy.com/pan-american-energy-begins-core-drilling-at-the-horizon-lithium-project/
13 https://panam-energy.com/pan-american-energy-drills-continuous-clay-intercept-to-significant-depth-at-the-horizon-lithium-project-on-maiden-drill-hole-hl010/
14 https://panam-energy.com/pan-american-energy-provides-a-midway-update-on-the-horizon-lithium-phase-one-drill-program/
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