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@starfoxx - the nov 2021 RNS regarding the Minviro LCA was very strong and highlighted how/why Cinovec can become low carbon- neutral - indeed the revised PFS picked up on that along with the SMS group study regarding back-fill etc - any IMO what’s possibly holding things up is the CEZ gigafactory plans and off takes.

Clarification on this is needed from EMH!

cont...

According to Roman Gazdík, if mining starts in Cínovec, a new mine and processing plant could create about a thousand jobs.

Another up to three thousand people could work in a battery factory, for which CEZ offers land in the Prunérov power plant complex.

Although the land is too small for the intended Volkswagen Group flashlight, for which the Czechia competes with Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, and for which Volkswagen is eventually offered land at the former Army Airport in Lín near Pilsen.

However, CEZ still believes that another investor can build another battery plant in the Czech Republic. As many as 16 such projects are planned throughout Europe.

We continue to negotiate with car manufacturers and battery manufacturers, "said Pavel Cyrani, CEZ's strategic head, on Twitter.

The demand for lithium motivates the opening of new deposits in different parts of the world. But especially in Europe, these plans often hold back concerns about environmental impacts. In January this year, the Serbian government revoked the license of the Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, which was working on the development of the largest European deposit Jadar in Europe.

Bad languages ??claim that it was retaliation for the exclusion of tennis player Novak Djokovic from the Australian Open. In reality, however, it was more of a political pre-election reaction to demonstrations against the start of mining.

Environmental activists and locals fear the negative impacts of mining on groundwater and the landscape. The future of the Adriatic is to be decided in a referendum.

Environmental risks can also become the biggest problem for the development of the Czech deposit. Today, expensive deep mining is planned at Cínovec, which would reduce the impact on the surroundings, but at the same time limit the use of Cínovec reserves. And it worsens the economic effect of the project.

"Agreed and planned mining would extract only 13.1 percent of measured and indicated reserves in 25 years," says Janout, a prospect living in Canada. He does not hide the fact that he considers this to be too cautious.

"There are few mineral deposits in the world on which to build a company," he explains. An example, according to him, is Broken Hill in Australia, where the world's largest mining group BHP grew up today. "And then there really is only a small handful of deposits on which entire nations stand. As Arab countries on oil, "says Janout. According to him, lithium is a "new oil".

That is why Mexico and Chile plan to nationalize their lithium resources, which Bolivia has done before. That is why Serbia decided to freeze the Jadar mega-deposit until the elections and let mining be decided in a referendum, "he said.

He adds: "I am sorry that there has never been a debate in the Czech Republic as to whether it would not be possible to withstand the economic benefits and the effect of quarrying on Cínovec."

cont....

It is still unknown which method would extract lithium from the ore. Two methods are now being tested in the Czech Republic and Germany: the traditional method of leaching lithium from ore with chemicals, which is verified for Geomet by the German-Austrian SMS Group.

Another of its own technologies was developed by the University of Chemical Technology in Prague, which counts on the evaporation of lithium from cinvaldite ore at high temperatures. The procedure is verified in the laboratory, operational tests take place in the cement plant in Cížkovice.

According to Gazdík, in the last two years since the entry of the CEZ Group into the project, the mapping of the deposit has progressed, on which dozens of exploratory wells have been drilled.

"Permitting processes have also been postponed and EIA (mandatory environmental impact study of the project - editor's note) has been launched. The latest news is the signing of a memorandum with the Ústí nad Labem Region on the development of the project and the fact that the Ústí nad Labem Regional Council also recommended the start of an update of the Territorial Development Principles, which is a key document, ”adds a CEZ spokesman.

What pulls lithium up? "High demand for it is caused, among other things, by high energy prices. These increase interest in renewable sources with batteries, electric cars and other modern energy solutions for which lithium is needed, ”explains CEZ spokesman Gazdík.

Geopolitical development also plays a role. "With the war in Ukraine, the importance of raw material security and self-sufficiency is growing. Europe aims to become a major global player in battery production, thus achieving strategic autonomy, including the local provision of strategic battery raw materials such as lithium, ”describes Gazdík.

According to him, the new European strategy can also bring money for the development of Czech plans with lithium: “At the level of the European Union, initiatives such as EIT RawMaterials are being created, which support the sustainable development of the European minerals, metals and materials sector. Part of the allocated funds can be used for the creation of new projects with high added value in the Czech Republic.

These are all impulses that increase lithium prices and increase the attractiveness of lithium produced on European soil, ”adds the spokesman.

However, further market development is in the stars. In February this year, Bloomberg asked six experts how they saw the lithium trade over the next three years. Estimates related to 2025 ranged from a possible 13 percent deficit to an oversupply of 17 percent. Similarly, market size forecasts vary - from the lowest demand estimate of 502 thousand tonnes to 1.25 million tonnes.

However, Bloomberg says that when he averages the estimates, it still looks like the lithium market is growing by 20 percent a year. Which is five times faster than what we normally see for similar commodit

translated for those yet to do so:

The price of lithium, which is hidden under the Ore Mountains Cínovec, is rising at a record high. The lithium market is attracted by the growing interest in electromobility. However, it is still not clear whether the Czechia will mine lithium.

Lithium, the main raw material for the production of batteries for electric cars, is the champion of commodity exchanges. The price of lithium carbonate (the compound in which it is purchased) has almost doubled in the last two months on the London Metal Exchange. Tuna sells here for a record more than $ 80,000.

According to the trading website tradingeconomics.com, the price of lithium carbonate has risen since last April from less than $ 14,000 per tonne to the current 75,000. The rise began in late 2020 and since then the curve has gone up.

The value of lithium hidden under the Ore Mountains in Cínovec is also rising. The deposit, on which the Czech-Australian company Geomet works, has total estimated reserves corresponding to up to 7.39 million tons of lithium carbonate. This is stated in this year's report by the Australian co-owner of Geomet, the company EMH.

"Today, Cínovec Hill is worth more than 10 trillion Czech crowns."

"Today, Cínovec Hill is worth more than 10 trillion Czech crowns," says Otto Janout, a Czech-Canadian who initially participated in the development of the Cínovec deposit with the Geomet company."

According to the EMH report, 4.52 million tonnes are confirmed from the estimated stocks. These so-called measured and indicated reserves now have a value approaching seven trillion crowns. However, it is still unclear whether it will be possible to mine and process Cínovec lithium.

"It is not possible to prepare the project at Cínovec on the basis of lithium price jumps on stock exchanges. We are preparing it so that it will be competitive in the long run and so far everything indicates that it will be." says Roman Gazdík, a spokesman for CEZ, which has been a 51 percent shareholder in Geomet for two years now.

According to Gazdík, the assessment of the project continues. "Final feasibility studies are being developed for both the mining and the processing of lithium," he says. Both main studies contain a number of partial auxiliary analyzes and are to be completed by next spring. Subsequently, CEZ and Geomet decide to start mining or stop the project.

"If the study confirms our current assumptions and goes through all the relevant permitting processes, the construction of the plant would start in 2025 and mining a year later," Gazdík added.

Mining at Cínovec is to take place in a deep mine. Even underground, lithium ore would separate from the mined rock. On the surface, lithium carbonate would then be obtained from the ground ore in a processing plant, which, according to the latest information, could grow in the Dukla industrial area in Újezdec na Teplicku.

cont...

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