Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
https://www.informate.com.mx/nacionales/informacion-general/75-la-nacion/469518-proyecto-minero-de-litio-en-sonora-iniciara-operaciones-en-2020.html
Hermosillo, Jan 29 .- The Sonora Lithium mining project for the extraction of lithium in the municipality of Bacadéhuachi, in the high mountains of Sonora, continues in development to start operations in the year 2020.
The head of the Ministry of Economy in the state, Jorge Vidal Ahumada, told Notimex that in the coming days the investors of this project will visit the entity, which will place Sonora as one of the main producers of this metal.
He noted that around this project have already made investments for about 25 million dollars and entrepreneurs already have the financial backing that will fund this important development for Sonoran and Mexican mining.
Follow the project walking, "we hope that by the middle of this year and we will announce the investments that will be made in the state," he said.
The state official said that the businessmen have acquired properties in the vicinity of the mountain municipality of Bacadéhuachi, located 275 kilometers east of Hermosillo, in the Sierra Madre Occidental.
The total investment projected for Sonora Lithium by the company Bacanora Lithium is 420 million dollars for the construction of the first stage that will generate the raw material for batteries of cell phones and electric cars.
According to previously published information, in its initial phase of operation, the mining plant will have an annual production capacity of 17,500 tons and will employ around 250 people.
Later the company would seek to raise production to about 35 thousand tons per year, which will become one of the main producers of this metal in the world.
The Sonora Lithium project contains resources of almost nine million tons of lithium carbonate, which makes it one of the largest deposits of lithium in the world.
The mineral resources of the project have a life of 200 years and the production costs are estimated at less than four thousand dollars per ton, which makes Sonora attractive due to the low costs.
The CEO of the company Bacanora Lithium, Peter Secker, said that with the support of the authorities of Sonora, the company is headed to build one of the largest lithium carbonate projects in the world.
https://faces.grantthornton.co.uk/faces/janet-boyce/
Soft, silvery-white and the lightest metal in the world, lithium is hailed as the fuel that could drive the green revolution. Someone who knows more than most about the chemical element is Janet Boyce, CFO of AIM-listed Bacanora Lithium.
Bacanora is developing the world’s next major lithium project in Sonora, Mexico, where there are an estimated five million tonnes of lithium carbonate resources. Due to the automotive industry’s thirst for sophisticated battery technology, the value of lithium could quadruple by 2020.
“With a 35,000 tonnes per annum operation at Sonora, Bacanora will be a significant industry player,” Janet says. “I am committed to putting Mexico on the lithium supplier map, alongside other Latin American countries and creating more jobs and opportunities.”
Under Janet’s direction, Bacanora is enjoying success in Asian and U.K. markets where it has strong relationships with several large institutional investors.
Janet credits her business success to perseverance and teamwork, “Knowing yourself and sticking to your values is key. Commercial success is dependent on empowering people to work towards a common goal.”
lol lay off the wacckybaccy,why have you bought if you have no idea why financing may be or not sorted!
Bacanora Lithium is looking to return to the London market to fund its lithium project in Mexico, following its abrupt cancellation of a $100m share sale in July due to volatile market conditions.
The Aim-listed company is looking for a cornerstone investor to help anchor the fundraising, which it needs to bring the mine into production, chief executive Peter Secker said.
“We’re talking to a number of strategic investors looking for a big brother,” he said. “We’ll go back to the market once the lithium price has stabilised and when we have someone behind us that will make the financing easier.”
Bacanora is one of a number of smaller companies looking to develop lithium mines to meet growing demand for the metal that is used in electric car batteries. Analysts predict that demand for lithium, which is also used in smartphone batteries, is expected to double by 2022.
But despite the outlook for electric cars investors have been worried about an oversupply of lithium and a drop in prices for the material in China this year. Chinese lithium prices have more than halved this year, according to analysts at Wood Mackenzie.
This month lithium producers Ganfeng Lithium and Livent raised less than they expected in initial public offerings in Hong Kong and New York, in a sign that investors remain cautious on the sector.
Bacanora needs $460m to build its Sonora open pit mine in northern Mexico but has so far only secured $240m, in a mix of debt and $90m conditional investment by Japanese trading company Hanwa and the Sultanate of Oman.
Mr Secker said even though domestic Chinese lithium prices had fallen, global prices for battery-grade lithium had held up at around $13,000 a tonne. Bacanora says it can produce lithium at $4,000 a tonne, according to its feasibility study.
“The demand is still strong for battery-grade material,” Mr Secker said. “Some of the announcements from BMW and Volkswagen show they are moving down the electrification track much quicker than expected.”
Bacanora also has a 50 per cent interest in the Zinnwald lithium project near Dresden in Germany.
Shares in Bacanora have fallen by 71 per cent this year to trade at 31.5p
https://www.ft.com/content/e4252294-d2e1-11e8-a9f2-7574db66bcd5
https://twitter.com/MikeFlo46795160/status/1050073953455075328
Hurry Up and get digging
https://twitter.com/EconomiaSonora/status/1050113766678036482
https://twitter.com/hallgartenco/status/1045674568772472833?s=21
https://themazatlanpost.com/2018/09/17/sonora-mexico-compete-for-world-lithium-suppliers/
https://themazatlanpost.com/2018/09/17/sonora-mexico-compete-for-world-lithium-suppliers/
Originally, the exploitation of lithium went to the manufacture of portable electronics, such as batteries for cell phones or laptops; but, for about five years, demand has been boosted by electric car manufacturers, and it is believed that this will continue for the next decade.
As a result, the main lithium producers do everything possible to meet the growing demand, with an increase in production of around 13% between 2016 and 2017, which reached 43,000 metric tons, explains the report "Top Lithium Producers by Country ", prepared by Investing News.
"It is one of the fastest growing raw materials," says Secker, who, unlike the report, says that demand grows at a rate of 17% per year. If this step continues, production would reach 78,876 metric tons by 2020.
http://www.fuerzaminera.com.ar/noticia/98
In September, Bacanora Lithium will begin the construction of Sonora Lithium, a mining project located in the Sierra Madre Occidental, which will place the State of Sonora as one of the world's leading producers of a vital element for the batteries of cell phones, laptops and automobiles. electric
The potential of the project is dictated by the lithium demand of Asian and American companies, such as Tesla; But, before production begins, the mining company will have to go out and look for capital.
Sonora Lithium, which will start operating in 2020, in the municipality of Bacadéhuachi, will require an investment of 420 million dollars (mdd) for the construction of its first stage. The amount is high, but the retribution will be too, since it is a business with operating margins estimated above 40%.
In recent years, the company has been given the task of concluding feasibility studies, building a pilot plant to produce lithium carbonate and obtaining permits and land.
One of the most important jobs has been the raising of capital. As of April, the company listed on the London AIM Stock Exchange had only 20 million dollars, but on July 16 it announced the entry of another 65 million dollars of investment from the General Reserve Fund of the State of Oman (SGRF). in English) and 25 million dollars from Hanwa (partner of Bacanora Lithium). To this must be added the line of 150 million dollars of debt secured by RK Mine Finance, one of the leading specialized mining lenders, and a 100 million dollar placement of the mining company.
At the moment, most of the capital comes from the United Kingdom. "But yes, we are looking for new investors from Mexico, North America and Asia," says Peter Secker, CEO of Bacanora Lithium, a company founded approximately seven years ago as the holding company of Bacanora Minerals (Bacanora Canada), a Canadian company that explores and develops industrial mining projects, focused mainly on lithium.
"All I can say is that we've talked to a lot of people in Mexico. We will continue doing it ", adds Secker. The manager ensures that, when they achieve more liquidity, they will seek to consolidate new Mexican investors, which is why they have already met with people from the mining, raw materials, financial and energy sectors.
The big market
The construction of the mine will begin in an environment in which the demand for lithium is on the rise and the global market develops strongly. The ceo of Bacanora Lithium calculates that, at present, 95% of the consumption comes from Asia: China, Korea and Japan.
The manufacture of batteries absorbs 35% of the global production of the element; that of ceramic and glass, 32%; fats and lubricants, 9%; air conditioning, 5%; polymers, 4%; primary aluminum production, 1%; and other uses, 9%, according to the report "Lithium market profile", prepared by the Ministry of Economy (SE), dated December 2017.
Originally, the exploitation of lithium went to the ma
In case you missed the shareholder call hosted by Peter Secker, CEO of Bacanora yesterday, you can find the recording on the home page of the Company website http://www.bacanoralithium.com/
https://twitter.com/hallgartenco/status/1020202298826424320
Christopher Ecclestone is a Principal and mining strategist at Hallgarten
& Company and is based in London.
http://www.mineriamexico.com/interview-of-the-week-peter-secker-bacanora-lithium/
https://www.ft.com/content/17663d46-8026-11e8-bc55-50daf11b720d
Bacanora Minerals has secured $150m in debt funding from London’s Red Kite fund to develop its lithium project in Mexico.
The London-listed company said the facility with RK Mine Finance, a subsidiary of Michael Farmer’s Red Kite hedge fund, was at “competitive rates.”
“We believe that senior debt facilities of this size have been few and far between in the junior resource space in recent years,” Bacanora’s chief executive Peter Secker said. “Furthermore, we consider that the costs and terms of the Facility are highly competitive when compared to other debt packages that have recently been reported for greenfield lithium projects in Canada and Australia.”
The $150m facility is structured as two separate Eurobonds. A $136m bond will have an interest rate of 8 per cent above the three month Libor rate for six years, Bacanora said. A separate $56m bond will have a 20-year term and be repaid by reference to monthly production of lithium at a rate of $160 per tonne of lithium produced.
In addition Bacanora will grant 6m warrants exercisable over five years at a 20 per cent premium to the 20-day volume-weighted average price of the company’s shares.
Still, analysts at Numis said the cost of the debt was more expensive than they had anticipated.
“Whilst it is positive that Bacanora has secured debt the first bond is more expensive than we had previously envisaged with the second bond being more like a very expensive stream,” they said. “We remain cautious on the shares given both the significant amount of funding that the company still needs to secure and the uncertainties set out above.”
Bacanora still needs around $300m to develop initial operations at the Sonora lithium project producing 17,500 tonnes of lithium a year, according to analysts at Canaccord.
Bacanora is continuing financing discussions with Japanese trading house Hanwa, a shareholder in the company, as well as “other strategic, long term investors for the additional funding,” it said.
https://www.ft.com/content/17663d46-8026-11e8-bc55-50daf11b720d