The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode featuring financial educator and author Jared Dillian has been released. Listen here.
Wow, great find. Galp and Savannah once again linked, the ducks are lining up. Keep the faith.
Wow, Great article re Northolt and Portugal Lithium - There are no signed agreements yet, but interest is not lacking. The Swedish Northvolt, which wants to assert itself as one of the main European manufacturers of batteries for electric vehicles, is looking for partners in the lithium industry, and sees an “excellent potential” in Portugal. The director of the company’s environmental department admits to Negócios that the country is in the crosshairs.
The jigsaw pieces are coming together nicely.
The translation of the doc in link posted today - Galp wants to act as a liaison between companies extracting lithium in Portugal and battery manufacturers, CEO Andy Brown said today.
I work in the steel industry and the momentum to make Green Steel is gathering pace, but experts reckon it will cost the UK steel industry over £6billion to be green producers. Who will pay for this. Reckon China will be using iron ore for the next 20 years at least, as it will be impossible to change all their steel plants - hundreds of them - into Green Steel producers.
More from eco article -
In June, Galp CEO Andy Brown left no room for doubt. And announced on Capital Markets Day 2021 that the company is already in negotiations with a major European manufacturer of lithium batteries [Swedish Northvolt] with a view to creating the first processing unit for this mineral in all of Europe.
The official believes that this is a project — the birth of the first lithium refinery in Europe, with "a capacity of at least 25 kilotonnes" — that could accelerate rapidly, until 2025 and in the second half of the decade. By 2025, more than 10% of Galp's investment (800 million to billion euros per year) will be directed to green hydrogen and lithium.
“Portugal is very well positioned for this scenario. It has some of the best lithium reserves on the continent and Galp is already in discussions for a contract to purchase raw material from a mine [in Barroso, in Boticas] here in Portugal”, explained British Andy Brown, without ruling out the possibility of import lithium too.
Extract from eco article - Earlier, the minister hopes, the extraction and production of lithium will start in the field at Savannah's Boticas mine. “We also have a strong expectation of what will be the decision of the Environmental Impact Assessment of the Barroso mine, in Boticas. So we believe that this is the one that is closest (if there is a positive DAY and I hope it will happen) to move forward as soon as possible. And then we are already talking about production and not just prospecting”, concluded the minister.
So, if new Li deposits/ areas are to be put out to public tender then this must mean that the SAV EIA will be approved, perhaps with a few caveats. Otherwise, no point in putting out to tender new Li deposits.
Am I thinking correct ?
Or you could be optimistic and it could be a happy ending, just like the price of Li ore
SAV
Thanks for the article. Another interesting bit is, ‘ And so, aided by various government incentives, new gigafactories are springing up all over Europe, with a view to bringing battery manufacturing closer to home.
In Spain, a US$5bn electric vehicle battery production programme is being kick-started and mostly funded by European Union recovery funds.’
Surely SAV will be the preferred supplier of the raw Li material, which once processed will be used by the Spanish Giga battery factory. Surely, the Spanish would not build a battery factory - as part of their EV production - unless they had a reliable source of ESG Lithium ? Hello SAV.
Thanks to IB for an interesting article re VW to have SIX battery Gigafactories by the end of 2030- with Spain and eastern Europe possible locations for a third and fourth plant. Hmm, guess who could easily supply the likely Spanish plant with Li - once refined.
Welcome aboard Levs, great timing.
Absolutely agree with Starfoxx, many investors are awaiting EIA approval of the MdB mine. In recent months the hints from Portuguese ministers and EU officials are that approval will be given, but due process is required to demonstrate to all that SAV have ‘played by the book’.
The EU officials in Brussels know how important this Li mine is to the Portuguese economy and the EU Green economy in the coming decades.
Don’t think it’s rocket science to predict that , EV car sales in the next 5yrs will be massive in Europe, supplies of European ESG mined Li will be limited, Li ore prices will rise as supplies are constrained, etc. And SAV has a mine in the right place, great IRR, low impurities in Li ore which is ideal for car batteries ( after processing), so now is the time to buy SAV shares ! - IMHO
Many gold miners have operational & financial challenges. But for CD to suggest that a bad rainy season for HUM is ‘game over’ is a bit over the top comment. My understanding is that HUM is now debt free despite Betts been in charge ! How many small gold miners are debt free ?
I
Yes Thanks for info. However your comments re ‘question marks’ over SAV & Portugal Li are completely misleading. The MdB mine in Portugal will produce Li ore - 2023- for Europe ultimately- once refiners come on stream. Portugal needs Li mining/ processing, etc and this will supercharge their economic recovery in manufacturing.
From RNS - · From extraction through to production, research, development, distribution, and recycling, Portugal is in a privileged position to take the lead in Europe and develop this essential value chain and the transition to clean forms of energy.
Surely this RNS is telling us that Portugal wants to be a key player in the production of Li batteries, from the Li mine to final production of Li batteries.
Great article re SAV and the MdB mine. Thanks for sharing link. Clearly, so many positives for Portugal and the EU in progressing and help in financing the mine and the overall Li battery supply chain.
The EV car revolution is gathering pace and a key raw material is Li ore, which as DA has said recently that many companies are/ have started to knock on his door re desperate for high grade ESG mined local Li ore supply.
To avoid confusion, a blast furnace makes iron not steel. A steel plant would cost hundreds of millions of pounds to build. A steel plant takes the liquid iron from the blast furnace and turns the iron to liquid steel in an oxygen steelmaking furnace. Then the liquid steel has to refined in a secondary Steelmaking unit, after which the steel is tuned into a cast product using a continuous casting machine. The cast product, e.g. a slab or billet is then rolled in a rolling mill to make beams, rebar or strip steel, etc. A new continuous casting machine can easily cost £60 million.
As per previous poster very positive words from DA on lse last night. Hundreds of job applicants indicating very good acceptance of the mine by many in the local community.
Also, the demand for the Li ore from the MdB mine is enormous, as companies have started to realise that high quality ESG mined Li ore is hard to find not just in Europe, but world wide.
DA certainly believes that the Portuguese government recognise the importance of the mine to the economic prosperity of Portugal and therefore the people of Portugal.
I live a few miles from a iron works which did employ thousands of people for over a hundred and fifty years. Unfortunately it’s environmental performance was not great , but it did improve massively in the last 20 years of production. The iron works jobs were very well paid and thus benefited thousands of families in the area, who bought new cars, holidays to Spain and Portugal, new houses, joined the golf club, sports clubs, etc. The community realised the massive benefits of the iron works. Sadly, the iron works closed due to global competitiveness, and is a great loss to the area.
Industry can be very good for a community, so with the MdB mine a leader in ESG credentials, providing good quality jobs for the area, my advice is to examine the benefits of the mine, and compare with the negatives to your community and all your families.