Daily Express10 Dec 2021 07:40
Boris Johnson sent China warning as Xi eyes up UK's £285m lithium goldmine
BORIS JOHNSON has been warned not to let China's "undemocratic regime" seize control of the UK's only listed lithium miners.
Minister and investors fear China's growing monopoly in the lithium mining market poses a threat to Britain's national security. Their warning to the Prime Minister comes after the Chinese giant Ganfeng Lithium was reportedly edging towards a takeover of the London-based Bacanora Lithium PLC. According to a report published earlier this summer, the Jiangxi-based firm was eyeing up a £285million deal that would grant it access to the UK's valuable lithium stores.
In February, Ganfeng Lithium already controlled a 17.5 percent stake in Bacanora but The Telegraph said plans were set in motion to nearly double this stake.
However, experts warned at the time the deal was "deeply worrying" and former Conservative party leader, Sir Iain Duncan Smith called on the Government to "block it".
Because of its unique physical and chemical properties, lithium and its compounds can pack a lot of energy into a very small space.
This makes lithium the ideal material for batteries that power a wide range of items, from smartphones to electric cars.