Surging Demand for Lithium Reaching New Highs as EV's Popularity is Still Growing

FinancialNewsMedia.com News Commentary

PALM BEACH, Fla., April 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The surging demand for storing grid-based energy is one of the key factors that is expected to drive the demand for Lithium ion batteries and, hence, propel the metal's mining requirement. Growing technological investments in metallurgy and mining would accelerate the metal's production through mining. New technological studies have led to developing such mining techniques, which are more energy and resource-efficient. New techniques, such as direct extraction technologies, use organic sieves instead of vast evaporation ponds, making mining and extraction a sustainable practice. Hence, growing advancements and technological development of such mining practices would propel the market growth during the projected period through the next several years. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global lithium mining market size is projected to grow to $516.22 million by 2028, growing at Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6% through 2028. It said that the high demand for power because of the surging urbanization and industrialization worldwide would affect growth positively. It would result in the increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries for storing the excessive energy. The report said: "The market has been analyzed across major countries, including the United States, Canada, Portugal, China, Australia, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Brazil, Namibia, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe. The market is dominated by Australia due to a high amount of lithium reserves, coupled with massive mining projects in the country. The growing awareness of utilizing environment-friendly electric vehicles would also drive the market growth in the country." Active mining stocks in the markets this week include: Lithium South Development Corporation (OTCQB: LISMF) (TSX-V: LIS), Livent Corporation (NYSE: LTHM), Sayona Mining Limited (OTCQB: SYAXF), American Lithium Corp. (NASDAQ: AMLI) (TSX-V: LI), Piedmont Lithium Inc. (NASDAQ: PLL).

The United States and Canada are the two countries in the North American region that indulge in production. While the United States has major brine production, Canada has hard rock production. Chile holds the second-largest lithium mining market share due to the increasing brine mining activities in the region, leading to this growth. In South America, Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil possess vast reserves that can be used to their full potential by greater investments in mining activities. In Europe, currently, Portugal is the only major Li-producing country with huge deposits of hard rocks. Many upcoming mining projects are expected to increase such mining activities in the country. The growing industrialization and urbanization have given rise to the demand for power in the world. The rising functions of the digitized world require a lot of electrical power. The dependence on process automation and round-the-clock network usage has given rise to the high demand for a consistent power supply, a key driving factor for the energy storage sector. Non-renewable sources are fast depleting and are being substituted by renewable energy sources. This growing inclination towards renewable energy has given rise to the demand for energy storage.

Lithium South Development Corporation (OTCQB: LISMF) (TSX-V: LIS), BREAKING NEWS: Lithium South Drills 1176 mg/L Lithium at Natalia Maria Claim Block - Lithium South Development Corporation is pleased to announce outstanding results from the Natalia Maria claim block at the Hombre Muerto North (HMN) Lithium Project, located in Salta Province, Argentina. High-grade lithium results have been encountered in exploration corehole NM01. Brine samples collected from NM01 have an average lithium grade of 1176 mg/L Li and a low magnesium to lithium ratio of 2.66. Full results are summarized in Table 1.

Table 1: Lithium and magnesium results for the brine samples collected from exploration hole NM01 at the Natalia Maria claim block.

One additional shallow monitoring well was completed at Natalia Maria adjacent to the deep monitoring well in the original corehole. These monitoring wells will be used to carry out hydraulic testing ("slug testing") on NM01, to provide preliminary insight into the permeability of the area and help estimate the future well flow.

With the compilation of final results from the drill program, the Company looks forward to the full program results and to the delineation of an updated lithium resource. The high-grade lithium results across seven holes at Alba Sabrina, as well as the very high-grade lithium samples from Natalia Maria, demonstrate the potential of the HMN Li Project. The Company is on track to achieve its objective to potentially expand the current National Instrument 43-101 Lithium Carbonate Equivalent resource. Groundwater Insight of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada is providing the technical guidance for the 2022-23 exploration program and will supervise the new updated lithium carbonate equivalent resource estimate. CONTINUED…. Read this release for the Lithium South news at: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-lis/

Other recent mining developments in the markets include:

Livent Corporation (NYSE: LTHM) recently reported results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2022.

Fourth quarter revenue was $219.4 million, down 5% and up 79% from the third quarter of 2022 and the prior year's quarter, respectively. Reported GAAP net income was $82.7 million, compared to $77.6 million and $7.5 million in the previous quarter and the prior year's quarter, respectively, or 39 cents per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA was $107.6 million, 3% below the previous quarter and nearly four times higher than the prior year's quarter, and adjusted earnings per diluted share were 40 cents. Continued strength in lithium market conditions and customer demand resulted in higher sequential volumes, the impact of which was partially offset by a less favorable customer mix.

For the full year, Livent reported revenue of $813.2 million, nearly double 2021 results. GAAP net income was $273.5 million, or $1.36 per diluted share, compared to $0.6 million in 2021. Full year Adjusted EBITDA was $366.7 million, over five times higher than the prior year, and adjusted earnings per share were $1.40per diluted share. This significant improvement was a result of higher average realized prices across all lithium products.

American Lithium Corp. (NASDAQ:AMLI) (TSX-V:LI) recently announced it has filed an independent National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report (the "Report") on the Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for the Tonopah Lithium Claims ("TLC") project located in the Esmerelda lithium district northwest of Tonopah, Nevada. Highlights of the PEA were previously announced on February 1, 2023. The PEA and accompanying Technical Report were completed by DRA Global and Stantec Consulting Services Inc. ("Stantec") and demonstrate that the TLC project has the potential to become a substantial, long-life producer of low-cost, high purity lithium carbonate ("LCE").

The Company also announces that it has engaged DRA Global as lead engineer for the TLC Preliminary Feasibility Study ("PFS"). As part of the initial PFS work, large diameter (5.7") diamond core drilling has commenced at TLC with 10 holes planned to target 10-15 tonnes of high grade TLC lithium claystone mineralization. The 10-hole program is spread throughout the proposed PEA mine plan footprint and will provide sufficient quantity and variability of mineralized material for detailed metallurgical and pilot process plant testing later in the year.

North American lithium producer Sayona Mining Limited (OTCQB: SYAXF) and Piedmont Lithium Inc. (NASDAQ: PLL), a leading global developer of lithium resources, recently announced the successful restart of commercial spodumene concentrate production at the jointly-owned North American Lithium ("NAL") project in Quebec. The $US80 million restart of NAL was completed on time and on budget and is the only major source of new spodumene production expected in North America in the next two years. Sayona is targeting 226,000 metric tons per year of annual production with first commercial shipments expected in Q3 2023.

Sayona's Managing Director Brett Lynch commented on the efficient recommencement of NAL. "Since announcing our restart intentions in 2021, our project team has maintained a forward-looking focus to improve lithium capture, achieve more consistent runtimes, and streamline operating costs from the past-producing operation. Improvements were made as planned in our timeline and budget, and we are eager to see the impact the upgrades bring to both product quality and operational efficiency as we prepare for our first commercial shipments of spodumene concentrate expected in July of this year."

Piedmont's President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Phillips added, "We applaud the work of the operating team in bringing the restart of NAL to fruition. This marks an exciting milestone not only for Piedmont Lithium and Sayona Mining, but the North American market for which we are working to supply critical lithium resources. NAL is positioned to be a key contributor to the electric vehicle and battery supply chains as demand for lithium continues to rapidly expand along with the electrification economies in both Canada and the U.S."

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