Australia is calling to invest in its lithium and critical minerals sector. Pic: via Getty Images
Eye on Lithium: Australia keen for critical minerals investment from ‘allies’
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As Australia positions itself to be the alternative provider of choice for critical minerals such as lithium, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has noted that we have much gain by encouraging investment from allies.
Speaking at a conference in Sydney, he said that “foreign investment is a good thing when it’s in our national interest” but that Australia needed to be “more assertive about encouraging investment that clearly aligns with our national interest in the longer term”.
The Federal Government has set aside $1bn to “value adding” in resources as part of its National Reconstruction Fund in addition to its $2bn Critical Minerals Facility to back new projects.
He added that countries need to avoid the pitfalls of a concentrated global market, which is very much the case for the lithium sector where the vast majority of processing capability is located in China. China also produces three-quarters of all lithium-ion batteries.
“To put it as simply as I can – our international friends need to rely on someone, so let’s have them relying on us,” Chalmers added.
It comes as three of the world’s largest lithium producers outside of China continue to invest in Chinese production assets, despite the push to secure supply chains.
Albemarle, Livent and SQM have all announced new processing plants in China this year to produce lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate, with production set to dwarf that from North America, according to Benchmark Minerals.
China’s dominance in lithium processing not only makes investing in the country quicker and cheaper than building in North America, it also makes it too big for major lithium producers to ignore Benchmark analyst Daisy Jennings-Gray noted.
“They may not particularly want a decoupling because so much of their downstream demand is in China, where it looks set to remain for at least the next decade,” she said.
“It is easier and more affordable to get operations up and running in China, and it is helpful to have regional hubs to feed the demand in different areas and meet different customers’ needs.”
While North America could see lithium chemical production increase four-fold from current supply to 70,000 tonnes LCE (lithium carbonate equivalent) by 2025 if all capacity announcements come to market successfully, it still pales in comparison to China, which is forecast to have production of 847,000t LCE by 2025 if facilities from all producers are considered.
Here’s how ASX lithium stocks are tracking:
| CODE | COMPANY | PRICE | % TODAY | MARKET CAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSC | Twenty Seven Co. Ltd | 0.002 | 33% | $7,982,442 |
| ALY | Alchemy Resource Ltd | 0.03 | 15% | $30,629,983 |
| IPT | Impact Minerals | 0.01 | 11% | $22,332,335 |
| LRV | Larvottoresources | 0.19 | 9% | $8,733,463 |
| WML | Woomera Mining Ltd | 0.015 | 7% | $13,154,180 |
| MTM | Mtmongerresources | 0.105 | 7% | $3,675,983 |
| CMD | Cassius Mining Ltd | 0.03 | 7% | $11,304,745 |
| KGD | Kula Gold Limited | 0.035 | 6% | $11,919,993 |
| TKM | Trek Metals Ltd | 0.09 | 6% | $30,935,332 |
| TMB | Tambourahmetals | 0.1525 | 5% | $5,972,927 |
| CZL | Cons Zinc Ltd | 0.022 | 5% | $9,721,350 |
| BNR | Bulletin Res Ltd | 0.125 | 4% | $35,110,932 |
| LIS | Lisenergylimited | 0.41 | 4% | $65,536,104 |
| TON | Triton Min Ltd | 0.029 | 4% | $38,717,957 |
| KAI | Kairos Minerals Ltd | 0.029 | 4% | $54,994,618 |
| QXR | Qx Resources Limited | 0.061 | 3% | $52,029,877 |
| WC8 | Wildcat Resources | 0.033 | 3% | $20,856,727 |
| CY5 | Cygnus Gold Limited | 0.505 | 3% | $79,675,535 |
| WCN | White Cliff Min Ltd | 0.0175 | 3% | $12,709,257 |
| LNR | Lanthanein Resources | 0.036 | 3% | $33,698,895 |
| STM | Sunstone Metals Ltd | 0.038 | 3% | $96,956,517 |
| TUL | Tulla Resources | 0.395 | 3% | $77,228,203 |
| EFE | Eastern Resources | 0.042 | 2% | $46,448,184 |
| DRE | Dreadnought Resources Ltd | 0.094 | 2% | $282,781,463 |
| GW1 | Greenwing Resources | 0.3625 | 2% | $44,802,939 |
| EMH | European Metals Hldg | 0.76 | 2% | $88,714,066 |
| LIT | Lithium Australia | 0.052 | 2% | $62,280,775 |
| TEM | Tempest Minerals | 0.0285 | 2% | $14,133,453 |
| ZNC | Zenith Minerals Ltd | 0.315 | 2% | $107,108,806 |
| NVA | Nova Minerals Ltd | 0.71 | 1% | $128,562,893 |
| WES | Wesfarmers Limited | 49.52 | 1% | $55,388,095,822 |
| AUN | Aurumin | 0.077 | 1% | $10,264,342 |
| MRR | Minrex Resources Ltd | 0.044 | 1% | $47,134,064 |
| OCN | Oceanalithiumlimited | 0.52 | 1% | $17,728,875 |
| LPI | Lithium Pwr Int Ltd | 0.535 | 1% | $207,336,597 |
| ADV | Ardiden Ltd | 0.009 | 0% | $24,015,018 |
| 1MC | Morella Corporation | 0.018 | 0% | $104,428,004 |
| AML | Aeon Metals Ltd. | 0.028 | 0% | $30,699,217 |
| ASN | Anson Resources Ltd | 0.235 | 0% | $276,335,090 |
| AVZ | AVZ Minerals Ltd | 0.78 | 0% | $2,752,409,203 |
| ESS | Essential Metals Ltd | 0.42 | 0% | $108,764,850 |
| EUR | European Lithium Ltd | 0.088 | 0% | $127,533,047 |
| LPD | Lepidico Ltd | 0.017 | 0% | $129,842,111 |
| MLS | Metals Australia | 0.049 | 0% | $29,744,773 |
| PSC | Prospect Res Ltd | 0.165 | 0% | $76,272,811 |
| RLC | Reedy Lagoon Corp. | 0.012 | 0% | $6,689,123 |
| TKL | Traka Resources | 0.006 | 0% | $4,132,647 |
| PAM | Pan Asia Metals | 0.45 | 0% | $66,085,016 |
| AM7 | Arcadia Minerals | 0.255 | 0% | $11,907,962 |
| AS2 | Askarimetalslimited | 0.425 | 0% | $20,969,127 |
| BYH | Bryah Resources Ltd | 0.027 | 0% | $7,593,844 |
| DTM | Dart Mining NL | 0.07 | 0% | $10,868,211 |
| EMS | Eastern Metals | 0.098 | 0% | $3,828,312 |
| FRS | Forrestaniaresources | 0.18 | 0% | $9,075,568 |
| MMC | Mitremining | 0.225 | 0% | $6,094,148 |
| RAG | Ragnar Metals Ltd | 0.018 | 0% | $6,825,328 |
| SHH | Shree Minerals Ltd | 0.009 | 0% | $11,146,382 |
| AZL | Arizona Lithium Ltd | 0.076 | 0% | $183,154,343 |
| CRR | Critical Resources | 0.055 | 0% | $82,143,691 |
| SCN | Scorpion Minerals | 0.077 | 0% | $25,695,377 |
| ENT | Enterprise Metals | 0.01 | 0% | $6,529,807 |
| PGD | Peregrine Gold | 0.46 | 0% | $17,825,869 |
| AVW | Avira Resources Ltd | 0.003 | 0% | $6,401,370 |
| RMX | Red Mount Min Ltd | 0.005 | 0% | $8,211,819 |
| RDT | Red Dirt Metals Ltd | 0.575 | 0% | $191,319,265 |
| A8G | Australasian Metals | 0.22 | 0% | $9,057,509 |
| MQR | Marquee Resource Ltd | 0.052 | 0% | $16,516,114 |
| SRZ | Stellar Resources | 0.013 | 0% | $13,060,202 |
| LSR | Lodestar Minerals | 0.006 | 0% | $10,430,624 |
| NWM | Norwest Minerals | 0.055 | 0% | $12,215,906 |
| AOA | Ausmon Resorces | 0.006 | 0% | $5,143,736 |
| VKA | Viking Mines Ltd | 0.01 | 0% | $10,252,584 |
| VMC | Venus Metals Cor Ltd | 0.145 | 0% | $25,821,409 |
| RAS | Ragusa Minerals Ltd | 0.13 | 0% | $17,188,359 |
| G88 | Golden Mile Res Ltd | 0.023 | 0% | $4,705,564 |
| EPM | Eclipse Metals | 0.019 | 0% | $38,460,880 |
| EVR | Ev Resources Ltd | 0.021 | 0% | $19,445,665 |
| MNS | Magnis Energy Tech | 0.37 | 0% | $359,022,649 |
| THR | Thor Mining PLC | 0.009 | 0% | $9,925,951 |
| MM1 | Midasmineralsltd | 0.175 | 0% | $9,998,059 |
| M2R | Miramar | 0.096 | 0% | $6,785,447 |
| XTC | Xantippe Res Ltd | 0.007 | 0% | $57,016,609 |
| WMC | Wiluna Mining Corp | 0.205 | 0% | $74,238,031 |
| ZEO | Zeotech Limited | 0.037 | 0% | $59,737,715 |
| KTA | Krakatoa Resources | 0.06 | 0% | $20,682,595 |
| FTL | Firetail Resources | 0.17 | 0% | $11,050,000 |
| DAL | Dalaroometalsltd | 0.115 | 0% | $3,435,625 |
| RIO | Rio Tinto Limited | 106.01 | 0% | $39,523,390,305 |
| IR1 | Irismetals | 1.83 | -1% | $115,423,200 |
| PNN | Power Minerals Ltd | 0.635 | -1% | $46,180,501 |
| PLL | Piedmont Lithium Inc | 0.8525 | -1% | $453,710,888 |
| AZI | Altamin Limited | 0.095 | -1% | $37,604,808 |
| INF | Infinity Lithium | 0.1825 | -1% | $81,821,132 |
| CAI | Calidus Resources | 0.36 | -1% | $159,790,322 |
| QPM | Queensland Pacific | 0.1775 | -1% | $314,342,626 |
| ARN | Aldoro Resources | 0.355 | -1% | $40,495,434 |
| LEL | Lithenergy | 0.905 | -2% | $55,338,000 |
| GL1 | Globallith | 2.39 | -2% | $505,921,762 |
| BMM | Balkanminingandmin | 0.285 | -2% | $12,473,119 |
| VUL | Vulcan Energy | 7.1 | -2% | $1,036,314,226 |
| AGY | Argosy Minerals Ltd | 0.6025 | -2% | $863,710,611 |
| NMT | Neometals Ltd | 1.0175 | -2% | $574,850,823 |
| INR | Ioneer Ltd | 0.5425 | -2% | $1,164,577,738 |
| MXR | Maximus Resources | 0.041 | -2% | $13,394,042 |
| AAJ | Aruma Resources Ltd | 0.077 | -3% | $12,399,959 |
| AX8 | Accelerate Resources | 0.032 | -3% | $10,263,915 |
| DAF | Discovery Alaska Ltd | 0.029 | -3% | $6,727,041 |
| SYA | Sayona Mining Ltd | 0.2125 | -3% | $1,874,668,407 |
| A11 | Atlantic Lithium | 0.85 | -3% | $533,052,661 |
| GSM | Golden State Mining | 0.055 | -4% | $6,669,810 |
| LLI | Loyal Lithium Ltd | 0.54 | -4% | $26,174,400 |
| MIN | Mineral Resources. | 82.65 | -4% | $16,328,697,012 |
| GT1 | Greentechnology | 0.97 | -4% | $192,645,777 |
| LLL | Leolithiumlimited | 0.5375 | -4% | $552,527,871 |
| IGO | IGO Limited | 15.13 | -4% | $11,964,831,445 |
| CHR | Charger Metals | 0.56 | -4% | $25,509,530 |
| LTR | Liontown Resources | 1.985 | -5% | $4,568,585,528 |
| AOU | Auroch Minerals Ltd | 0.06 | -5% | $23,380,043 |
| LKE | Lake Resources | 0.995 | -5% | $1,453,907,151 |
| CXO | Core Lithium | 1.3425 | -5% | $2,601,221,978 |
| GLN | Galan Lithium Ltd | 1.46 | -5% | $469,037,617 |
| JRL | Jindalee Resources | 2.15 | -5% | $130,250,253 |
| RGL | Riversgold | 0.035 | -5% | $34,982,305 |
| IMI | Infinitymining | 0.34 | -6% | $22,722,750 |
| WR1 | Winsome Resources | 1.09 | -6% | $160,766,784 |
| LRD | Lordresourceslimited | 0.25 | -6% | $8,820,425 |
| TYX | Tyranna Res Ltd | 0.03 | -6% | $76,973,610 |
| PLS | Pilbara Min Ltd | 4.465 | -7% | $14,314,336,644 |
| LRS | Latin Resources Ltd | 0.125 | -7% | $271,073,324 |
| AKE | Allkem Limited | 13.32 | -8% | $9,188,653,019 |
| FG1 | Flynngold | 0.11 | -8% | $7,687,326 |
| SRI | Sipa Resources Ltd | 0.038 | -10% | $9,533,408 |
| KZR | Kalamazoo Resources | 0.22 | -10% | $36,460,747 |
35 lithium plays on our list were up today, while 44 lost ground.
Who’s got news out?
Soil sampling has started at the FMG-backed company’s Dundas project in Norseman, WA, to test for a suite of critical minerals and lithium.
Additionally, it is conducting surface mapping and reconnaissance to identify outcropping structures and further areas of potential mineralisation.
Lightning Minerals has also started interpretation of geophysical survey data with a view to develop drilling targets as part of its discovery strategy.
The company is doing so mere days after listing on the ASX.
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