Member Info for MajorOak

Lithium hydroxide from recycled black mass. I EXPECT news very soon for UK progress and new ( US ) companies to come in to play to supply.

https://www.kitco.com/news/2023-05-24/Critical-materials-firm-AMG-Fortum-ink-MOU-for-supply-of-recycled-lithium-hydroxide.html

Lithium hydroxide production in Australia , Korea ... And ?

https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/onshore-lithium-opportunity-worth-10b-says-mckinsey-20230608-p5deyq

This may explain any investors worries about slips in timelines ?

I hope people find this helpful? Quote to take in and link only. ;-)

"A number of new policy packages are under discussion in the European Union, Brazil, Canada and Japan, which could materialise by the end of the Northern Hemisphere summer. Should the Canadian and Japanese packages come to fruition in their envisaged format, they alone could add around USD 200 billion to the global total.

Many of these packages are designed as direct responses to the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which still represents almost one-quarter of all clean energy support globally since 2020. Already, schemes to boost local clean energy production competitiveness are multiplying among advanced economies, mostly through calls for project or specific sectoral grants. The IEA estimates that direct manufacturer incentives since 2020 have reached around 90 billion of the total clean energy investment support since 2020; a clear sign that the global race for clean energy competitiveness is picking up. Recent examples include manufacturing incentives in Spain and Hungary for EVs, and in Romania for batteries. The Net Zero Industry Act recently put forward for discussion by the European Commission aims at ensuring that by 2030 two-fifths of the production of eight strategic clean energy technologies remains or develops in the European Union by fast-tracking permit delivery and allowing larger financial and regulatory support. The French government is also envisaging a Green Industry Plan to develop national low-carbon sector manufacturing capacity. Canada’s 2023 budget, currently under discussion, encompasses a new clean technology manufacturing investment tax credit scheme.

A similar trend can be identified among EMDEs. Some of them previously established domestic production incentives – such as India’s Production Linked Incentive Scheme, or the New Energy Automobile Industry Development Plan in the People’s Republic of China (hereafter “China”). In South-East Asia, the Malaysian Government introduced new income tax incentives for EV charger manufacturers operating in the country. The Thai government aims to boost local EV battery production and bring down the price of EVs on the domestic market through a new subsidy scheme. Trade policy instruments are also being mobilised: in January, the Philippines enacted a 5-year reduction in import tariffs, notably targeting EV components. More such incentives are on the horizon, including indirect incentives, such as local content requirements to qualify for investment incentives. The IEA will closely monitor these incentives in its upcoming updates. "

June 2023 so very current view.

https://www.iea.org/reports/government-energy-spending-tracker-2

Alkemy Capital Investments plc ("Alkemy") (LSE: ALK) (JV2:FRA) is pleased to announce that it has granted 430,000 share options at £1.75 per share, for a period of 5 years, to further align Directors, senior management and key staff with shareholders.

The share options will vest one-third immediately, one-third following completion of construction finance for train 1 of either TVL's LHM refinery in Teesside or the LSM refinery in Port Hedland, and one-third following commissioning of train 1 of either refinery.

In addition the share options will only be exerciseable if the share price of the Company is in excess of £5 per share for 10 consecutive days."

Wow just how lucky can you be to cough up a loan and a week later the US does a deal with UK green critical minerals....

;-)

Https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/08/the-atlantic-declaration-a-framework-for-a-twenty-first-century-u-s-uk-economic-partnership/

"Negotiations will begin immediately on many aspects of the partnership, including on a Critical Minerals Agreement. An agreement would give buyers of vehicles made using critical minerals processed, recycled or mined by UK companies access to tax credits in line with the US Inflation Reduction Act. The Inflation Reduction Act provides a $3,750 incentive for each vehicle, on conditions including that the critical minerals used in its production – principally used in the battery – are sourced from the US or a country with whom the US has a critical minerals agreement.

The UK is already a net exporter of raw materials for EV batteries to the US and this agreement will help UK-based firms involved in the mining, recycling and refining of critical minerals who are suppling US electric vehicle and battery manufacturers – benefitting this growing industry. This is a a sector with companies all over the UK, including nickel production in Wales and lithium processing in Teesside."

TEESIDE....

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-and-us-launch-first-of-its-kind-economic-partnership

UK Gov website 50 minutes ago.

With a trading relationship worth £279 billion a year, and shared investment totalling over £1 trillion, the US is already our most important trading partner. Earlier this week the Prime Minister announced £14 billion of new US investment into the UK, demonstrating the importance of this relationship to UK growth and jobs."

I had an email overnight regarding new brine drilling in Argentina from an ASX Australian owned company.

Not really thought that an ASX listed company with head office in Oz office exploring / producing lithium in Argentina may be one to supply / fund JV with ALK TVL ?

I was focused on Pilbara region and the huge cash pile and loss of CATL contract to Pilbara Minerals in 2025 the date TVL are due to be built and starting up to supply Europe and UK? Looks like an speculative opportunity.

Just thoughts.

Have good days today one and all

RNS ALK

Interesting that - from my memory , time short this am - the last three raisings all small incomparrison a couple of mill being actioned at £1.45, £1.50 & £1.75p ?

I'm not 100% sure on this but I cannot remember recently anything near £1.00 ish.

So the next action is after funding for 1st train , then after construction of that first train with final action above £5.00.

Please feel free to check this

Last point here but certainly relevent.

In 2018 EMH were in a position of high majority ownership by Geomet and the founders of around 60-70% from memory.

When they had talks with VW the expectation was VW would want total access to the then largest lithium mine in Europe.

VW were in the dieselgate situation and in the EV infancy phase in Europe with very little pressure other than being Europes largest car manufacturer.

They eventually took a short term view as it seems now that at the time they did not want to end up mining for materials.

Then the Russia v German politics came up the sewer and the whole thing rotted when the Czech , Russian backed gov kicked in, then it all got dirty.

My point ?

Alkemy/Tees Valley Lithium are purely a chemical processing company supplying end product at high spec / client pecific spec which is a huge bonus.

The fact the boards are both working in unison ( as you would assume ) Alkemy owning Tees Valley Lithium and raising minimal amounts leaving the chess board clear for a large JV is still quite impressive.

I hope they see this ( I doubt they would bother reading such low grade forums ) but I would applaud the focus and what seems like clear headed thinking to get through these unforseen drags on plans going forward.

Very glad to see this kind of RNS today

A good RNS. Clear and specific.

£5.00+ for 10 days on the final tranche sounds fair to me. For the men they are being made out to be by some , £3.00 could easily have been the trigger point.

So fair play.

Sets up a JV quite nicely imho.

Theorist, I would love to mate , it'd save me a lot of time.

Over the years I have been on lse more often than not people read the link then wonder why I've brought it up, so then ask why I haven't posted my thoughts / reason for the post ie to back up either my view or simple link.

I would say I do post a lot , often looking way to left field possibilities or to where I feel the wheels within wheels within wheels are looking like possibly aligning. As yo know I have on many occasions been accused of posting ramping dross or laughably being a part of Alkemys/TVL's PR or board , teehee soooo funny that one.

Anyway, I have much reduced my posting , look back over the last month. I would love other people to post information but nobody does so you already have a much slower and quiet board here.

Anyway relative in hospital so have to go.

I didnt want to ignore the suggestion, but explain the reasons.

Happy to go to link only but you get less info back ?

All the best

Flights to Australia, S Africa, S America, US and EU all with varying amounts of days.

Meeting with the Australian PM & Minister for Energy, the Management team of Port Hedland , Rio Tinto, BP etc etc

Meetings / investor presentations and meeting with lithium supply clients, plant supply via SembaCorp , site visits for clients, visits to financiers all on the book ?

Marketing & advertising is a cost and it may not be in this country.

How did TVL/ALK get the Port Hedland Australia lithium processing engineers ? Lucky dip in a Walkers crisp box ?

I would like to see some form of presentation across the media though, I think it would help in general for 2023 as a guide but things have obviously slipped in timescale. So has Pilbara Minerals doubling of production in Oz strangely enough ....

Final part of the Woods McKenzie lithium review and conclusion. Is there a need for global lithium hydroxide ... Yes. Interesting Pilbara pops up , teehee

"6. Partnerships will be key to the lithium industry’s future

In 2022, 52% of lithium supply came from just five companies. However, we do not anticipate significant M&A activity in the industry and predict these companies’ share will decline to 36% by 2032 as smaller firms grow and new ventures emerge. But while horizontal integration will not be a big theme going forward, vertical integration certainly will be.

Partnerships between miners and refiners make sense, since they can share both the risk and the huge capital requirement involved in new projects. Working together, upstream and downstream operations can leverage each other’s expertise to improve margins and capture more market share. This sort of alliance is already happening; for example, Pilbara Minerals have partnered with POSCO in South Korea, while SQM and Wesfarmers have joined forces on a project in Western Australia. We expect similar partnerships to become prevalent in the industry in future."

Cont...Woods McKenzie lithium review

"5. The lithium market is still relatively immature

Perhaps the biggest challenge in forecasting the future of the lithium market is that the industry is still essentially in its infancy. There are no globally accepted specifications for the product, and therefore no accepted anchors to ground pricing.

The need for unique and very precise specifications makes lithium products almost comparable to speciality chemicals in terms of pricing complexity. At the same time, the need to keep up with continued demand growth prevents the industry from taking a step back and assessing how to establish a more uniform and consistent approach. Greater standardisation is likely in the future, but it will take time to emerge."

Cont...Wood McKenzie lithium review.

"3. Lithium is not really a single product

Another complicating factor in assessing future lithium supply and demand is that the market actually comprises two different key products. Both lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide are used in the production of rechargeable batteries for EVs and electronics. However, the use of one or the other is decided by the cathode chemistry used in the batteries.

Lithium carbonate is mainly driven by lithium iron-phosphate (LFP), which has been widely used in batteries in the Chinese market and is now making inroads in other regions. Lithium hydroxide is driven by high nickel cathode chemistries, which are increasingly favoured by the premium EV market due to their higher energy density. This has important implications for the pricing of the two different compounds.

4. Sources of lithium supply in the long term are unclear

Our knowledge of existing, planned and potential projects means we can project the trajectory of lithium supply until the end of the decade with reasonable accuracy. Mapping this against expected demand makes it possible to forecast price trajectories over the medium term with reasonable confidence.

From 2030 visibility becomes much less clear. At this point incentive pricing – the price at which it becomes attractive for companies and investors to commit to new projects – becomes an important factor. Assuming 1.5 million tonnes of supply, the fully allocated cost of lithium (C3), including operating costs, indirect costs and interest charges, would be around US$15,000 per tonne. Market pricing would therefore be somewhere north of this."

Cont...Wood McKenzie lithium review

"2. Quality is an issue as batteries become the dominant market for lithium

While more and more lithium is being deployed to make rechargeable batteries, not all lithium is useable for this purpose. Battery-grade lithium products have to be of the highest quality and purity and are therefore the most complex to produce. New refineries will tend to start by producing lower quality, technical-grade lithium, which is not directly useable in batteries.

As new plant operators gain experience and fine-tune their operations, the purity of the refined product can be improved to the point where it becomes viable for batteries. Only at this point can the qualification process begin, which is something that each cathode maker does individually.

As a result, despite a high overall supply surplus battery-grade lithium products will see a tighter market, at least in the short term."

Wood McKenzie lithium carbonate & lithium hydroxide current review.

"1. Strong growth is creating a ‘bumpy’ lithium market

Lithium strongly demonstrates the characteristics of an immature market, with the supply balance fluctuating between deficit and surplus. A single end use is rapidly coming to dominate the market, with rechargeable batteries now accounting for approximately 85% of global demand. As EV uptake took off through 2021 and 2022, demand surged.

However, infrastructure development in terms of both mines and refineries requires massive investment of both time and money. As a result, supply struggled to keep up.

This imbalance caused prices to soar in 2022, peaking above US$70,000 per tonne. However, demand growth has been slowing down somewhat as EV subsidies are reduced or removed and prices have fallen back in 2023. Going forward, we expect prices to enter a period of controlled decline, settling back to around US$20,000 per tonne by the end of the decade."

https://www.woodmac.com/news/opinion/shaping-lithium-market/

Piedmont rns yesterday. Is there a market for global lithium hydroxide ? As I have said many times if TVL ALK can get going before 2025 thats a big heaf start on the majority of plants for hydroxide opening from 2027 onwards. Yes there are some due to open 2025-27 BUT get that funding over the line now and they'll be quids in.

"Tennessee Lithium: lithium hydroxide production from spodumene concentrate sourced from our international investments – 2026.

Carolina Lithium: integrated spodumene concentrate and lithium hydroxide production – 2027."

https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/1016762/piedmont-lithium-to-showcase-development-of-lithium-supply-chains-in-raft-of-june-industry-conferences-1016762.html

Is lithium hydroxide wanted globally ? BMW sign two deals in 24 hours lol. I think its game on.

"This new agreement marks a significant milestone for the company, as the JV aims to convert lithium concentrate into lithium hydroxide, meeting the specifications of a long-term supply agreement with BMW."