Eye on Lithium: BHP says it won’t be jumping on the lithium bandwagon. Smart or stupid?

BHP says lithium boom could be short-term, prefers nickel
Lucid increases electric vehicle prices due to high raw material costs
Arcadia Minerals says there could be a large-scale lithium-in-clay and lithium-in-brines minerals-system at the Bitterwasser project

All your ASX lithium news for Monday, May 9.

Mammoth miner BHP (ASX:BHP) says it isn’t interested in this year’s most popular commodity (that’s lithium ICYMI) preferring instead to focus on nickel.

That is despite its main competitor Rio Tinto’s (ASX:RIO) excitement about the commodity. It’s spent US$825 million on a brine project in Argentina and still wants to find a way to plunge US$2.4 billion into the Jadar mine in Serbia despite its rejection by the government amid community protests this year.

BHP’s president of minerals in the Americas Ragnar Udd told Bloomberg that BHP sees lithium’s rise as a short-term thing.

“We recognise that at the moment there’s short-term supply-demand conversations,” Udd was quoted as saying. “How that plays out over the next 20 or 30 years, I don’t think it will last.”

Smart or stupid? Only time will tell.

#BHP vows to stay out of #lithium rush with shortages set to fade https://t.co/SnHt1k6uUT
“We recognize that at the moment there’s short-term S-D conversations,…” “How that plays out over the next 20 or 30 yrs, I don’t think it will last.”
BHP doesn’t seem to have a clue.

— Juan Carlos Zuleta (@jczuleta) May 8, 2022

Lucid ups EV prices

Electric carmaker Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID) is gearing up to raise the prices for most models from June off the back of rising raw materials costs.

After that date punters can expect to pay US$154,000 for Air Grand Touring, US$107,400 for Air Touring and US$87,400 for Air Pure.

And that’s just for the base models.

“The world has changed dramatically from the time we first announced Lucid Air pricing in September 2020, but I want to reassure our existing reservation holders that we will be honouring current pricing for them as well as for any new reservations made before the end of the month,” CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson said.

Lucid isn’t the first company to bump up prices, in March Tesla upped its prices citing inflationary pressure in raw materials and logistics amid the crisis in Ukraine.

Rivian also announced an increase in prices by 20% before some strong customer backlash had the EV company backpedalling.

Here’s how ASX lithium stocks were tracking today:

Lithium stocks missing from our list? Shoot a friendly mail to [email protected]

Code	Company	Price	% Month	% Week	% Today	Market Cap
EPM	Eclipse Metals	0.029	-24%	-9%	7%	$51,870,413.15
WC8	Wildcat Resources	0.034	-3%	-15%	6%	$20,648,727.26
LIT	Lithium Australia	0.0905	-18%	-10%	1%	$93,163,970.16
ADV	Ardiden Ltd	0.012	-14%	-20%	0%	$32,020,024.27
AVZ	AVZ Minerals Ltd	0.78	-32%	-21%	0%	$2,752,409,203.44
BMM	Balkanminingandmin	0.305	-18%	-9%	0%	$9,988,750.00
SHH	Shree Minerals Ltd	0.011	-31%	-15%	0%	$13,444,605.81
TSC	Twenty Seven Co. Ltd	0.004	0%	0%	0%	$10,643,255.62
AZI	Altamin Limited	0.096	3%	28%	0%	$37,604,808.19
AVW	Avira Resources Ltd	0.005	-29%	0%	0%	$10,593,950.00
RMX	Red Mount Min Ltd	0.009	0%	-5%	0%	$14,781,274.72
VKA	Viking Mines Ltd	0.01	-9%	-9%	0%	$10,252,584.31
IPT	Impact Minerals	0.011	-19%	-8%	0%	$24,095,077.45
WMC	Wiluna Mining Corp	0.565	-36%	-24%	0%	$119,392,943.93
AUN	Aurumin	0.175	-5%	-17%	-1%	$19,387,127.23
NWM	Norwest Minerals	0.05	-19%	-9%	-2%	$9,210,976.74
PSC	Prospect Res Ltd	0.945	7%	-3%	-2%	$417,691,077.68
GLN	Galan Lithium Ltd	1.5575	-27%	-10%	-2%	$485,497,842.39
JRL	Jindalee Resources	3.71	-8%	-15%	-2%	$218,040,070.80
RIO	Rio Tinto Limited	106.64	-10%	-5%	-2%	$40,559,083,541.64
VMC	Venus Metals Cor Ltd	0.18	-3%	-5%	-3%	$27,949,556.36
NVA	Nova Minerals Ltd	0.61	-36%	-20%	-3%	$113,527,439.55
TON	Triton Min Ltd	0.03	-12%	-6%	-3%	$39,022,309.49
A8G	Australasian Metals	0.425	-17%	-11%	-3%	$18,115,017.36
FG1	Flynngold	0.14	-26%	-13%	-3%	$9,288,852.25
IGO	IGO Limited	11.66	-19%	-11%	-3%	$9,147,795,181.04
KAI	Kairos Minerals Ltd	0.027	-10%	-7%	-4%	$54,938,617.75
THR	Thor Mining PLC	0.0125	-26%	-17%	-4%	$13,180,587.30
CHR	Charger Metals	0.62	-23%	-10%	-4%	$21,014,767.58
RAS	Ragusa Minerals Ltd	0.074	-15%	-17%	-4%	$9,675,652.91
ZNC	Zenith Minerals Ltd	0.365	-12%	-15%	-4%	$130,683,578.90
CZL	Cons Zinc Ltd	0.023	-39%	-15%	-4%	$8,432,587.51
ALY	Alchemy Resource Ltd	0.023	53%	-39%	-4%	$22,873,777.37
AM7	Arcadia Minerals	0.225	-18%	-21%	-4%	$8,223,237.50
MIN	Mineral Resources.	53.95	-11%	-8%	-4%	$10,663,383,408.12
ASN	Anson Resources Ltd	0.11	-31%	-24%	-4%	$118,209,918.53
SRI	Sipa Resources Ltd	0.042	-18%	-14%	-5%	$9,021,091.33
RDT	Red Dirt Metals Ltd	0.41	-39%	-20%	-5%	$128,898,004.43
SCN	Scorpion Minerals	0.081	21%	-8%	-5%	$28,205,651.32
MQR	Marquee Resource Ltd	0.1	-13%	-23%	-5%	$28,658,778.33
INF	Infinity Lithium	0.1425	-19%	-19%	-5%	$62,224,416.15
AX8	Accelerate Resources	0.037	-43%	-26%	-5%	$10,274,897.06
IMI	Infinitymining	0.18	3%	-10%	-5%	$10,925,000.00
MRR	Minrex Resources Ltd	0.054	-32%	-21%	-5%	$57,496,784.01
KZR	Kalamazoo Resources	0.35	3%	-14%	-5%	$53,721,918.38
NMT	Neometals Ltd	1.31	-25%	-18%	-5%	$759,501,308.46
PLS	Pilbara Min Ltd	2.58	-23%	-9%	-5%	$8,126,757,346.89
AAJ	Aruma Resources Ltd	0.085	-48%	-19%	-6%	$14,126,535.27
GSM	Golden State Mining	0.066	-40%	-13%	-6%	$7,267,025.64
EMS	Eastern Metals	0.16	-26%	-24%	-6%	$6,052,000.00
MM1	Midasmineralsltd	0.32	52%	-7%	-6%	$18,508,962.50
AKE	Allkem Limited	11.34	-13%	-7%	-6%	$7,683,779,936.30
LRS	Latin Resources Ltd	0.1125	-48%	-17%	-6%	$229,537,695.84
FRS	Forrestaniaresources	0.29	-18%	-19%	-6%	$8,710,629.24
INR	Ioneer Ltd	0.5275	-28%	-22%	-7%	$1,181,301,672.30
EMH	European Metals Hldg	1.05	-23%	-9%	-7%	$158,374,085.63
ESS	Essential Metals Ltd	0.49	-9%	-26%	-7%	$129,051,686.40
MMC	Mitremining	0.14	-30%	-20%	-7%	$4,062,765.00
WR1	Winsome Resources	0.42	-18%	-11%	-7%	$60,605,997.30
AOU	Auroch Minerals Ltd	0.098	-30%	-11%	-7%	$37,936,688.90
EUR	European Lithium Ltd	0.082	-41%	-15%	-7%	$121,696,399.97
RAG	Ragnar Metals Ltd	0.04	18%	-18%	-7%	$16,025,450.23
CAI	Calidus Resources	0.865	-10%	-14%	-7%	$374,136,217.44
MNS	Magnis Energy Tech	0.39	-20%	-13%	-7%	$405,629,838.18
DRE	Dreadnought Resources Ltd	0.039	-13%	-11%	-7%	$119,224,709.14
ZEO	Zeotech Limited	0.052	-12%	-17%	-7%	$85,395,266.32
VUL	Vulcan Energy	7.13	-29%	-16%	-7%	$1,011,034,291.20
PGD	Peregrine Gold	0.44	-12%	-14%	-7%	$18,186,167.78
CXO	Core Lithium	1.1475	-17%	-18%	-7%	$2,128,915,237.48
KGD	Kula Gold Limited	0.036	-27%	-25%	-8%	$8,391,849.65
G88	Golden Mile Res Ltd	0.048	-24%	-26%	-8%	$10,438,095.93
AZL	Arizona Lithium Ltd	0.1475	-22%	-16%	-8%	$355,890,694.24
SYA	Sayona Mining Ltd	0.2625	-23%	-18%	-8%	$2,046,295,700.78
LTR	Liontown Resources	1.27	-32%	-13%	-8%	$3,025,270,773.24
BYH	Bryah Resources Ltd	0.046	-10%	-18%	-8%	$11,310,358.75
SRZ	Stellar Resources	0.023	-15%	-21%	-8%	$20,932,565.65
AS2	Askarimetalslimited	0.515	-21%	-24%	-8%	$23,024,838.48
PAM	Pan Asia Metals	0.45	-18%	-17%	-8%	$36,092,735.56
WCN	White Cliff Min Ltd	0.022	-39%	-21%	-8%	$15,686,480.69
EVR	Ev Resources Ltd	0.044	-29%	-20%	-8%	$44,447,235.41
XTC	Xantippe Res Ltd	0.011	-27%	-21%	-8%	$92,108,782.79
AGY	Argosy Minerals Ltd	0.38	-28%	-16%	-8%	$562,192,569.35
MTM	Mtmongerresources	0.16	-22%	-20%	-9%	$6,065,505.78
GL1	Global Lithium Resources	1.675	-32%	-17%	-9%	$291,118,864.16
WML	Woomera Mining Ltd	0.02	-9%	-20%	-9%	$15,110,327.45
EFE	Eastern Resources	0.04	-31%	-13%	-9%	$43,755,211.76
PLL	Piedmont Lithium Inc	0.84	-8%	-11%	-9%	$488,002,990.00
QPM	Queensland Pacific	0.145	-29%	-26%	-9%	$246,898,100.96
1MC	Morella Corporation	0.028	-24%	-24%	-10%	$160,462,633.57
LPD	Lepidico Ltd	0.028	-33%	-18%	-10%	$197,774,988.42
STM	Sunstone Metals Ltd	0.056	-23%	-16%	-10%	$157,357,763.40
MMG	Monger Gold Ltd	0.325	25%	16%	-10%	$9,000,000.00
MLS	Metals Australia	0.09	-31%	-36%	-10%	$41,440,606.80
TKL	Traka Resources	0.009	-25%	-10%	-10%	$6,887,745.61
DTM	Dart Mining NL	0.063	-24%	-14%	-10%	$8,714,365.10
FFX	Firefinch Ltd	0.94	-15%	-16%	-10%	$1,234,399,165.95
TMB	Tambourahmetals	0.22	-21%	-12%	-10%	$10,092,186.51
MXR	Maximus Resources	0.07	-7%	-29%	-10%	$24,796,649.90
RLC	Reedy Lagoon Corp.	0.026	-24%	-10%	-10%	$15,902,359.67
GT1	Greentechnology	0.855	-6%	-24%	-10%	$130,101,560.00
LIS	Lisenergylimited	0.535	-32%	-16%	-11%	$99,548,512.20
LKE	Lake Resources	1.47	-30%	-25%	-11%	$2,166,094,728.60
LRD	Lordresourceslimited	0.285	43%	-25%	-11%	$9,851,078.72
AML	Aeon Metals Ltd.	0.04	-46%	-11%	-11%	$38,961,399.96
ARN	Aldoro Resources	0.24	-19%	-13%	-11%	$26,787,669.03
TEM	Tempest Minerals	0.0675	-46%	-33%	-11%	$38,342,570.68
LRV	Larvotto Resources	0.28	19%	-36%	-13%	$13,186,400.00
ENT	Enterprise Metals	0.014	-30%	-22%	-13%	$10,314,349.68
LSR	Lodestar Minerals	0.0105	-48%	-25%	-13%	$20,861,248.18
M2R	Miramar	0.13	-26%	-28%	-13%	$7,472,253.00
LPI	Lithium Pwr Int Ltd	0.62	-30%	-21%	-14%	$251,384,290.56
CRR	Critical Resources	0.078	-12%	-22%	-14%	$135,372,777.54
QXR	Qx Resources Limited	0.048	-45%	-31%	-14%	$47,424,289.98
BNR	Bulletin Res Ltd	0.145	-44%	-28%	-15%	$49,315,338.59
RGL	Riversgold	0.05	-47%	-34%	-15%	$33,715,319.55
LEL	Lithenergy	1.34	33%	-8%	-16%	$72,000,000.00
PNN	PepinNini Minerals	0.56	-10%	-35%	-17%	$41,430,249.23
AOA	Ausmon Resorces	0.008	-11%	-27%	-20%	$8,572,893.43

Oof. Only 3 stocks were in the green today, with 11 flatlining and a whopping 104 in the red.

Who’s got news out today?

ARCADIA MINERALS (ASX:AM7)

The explorer says that a review of geological literature and recent exploration work at its Bitterwasser project has indicated the potential presence of a large-scale lithium-in-clay and lithium-in-brines minerals-system.

The company says that similar closed basins elsewhere in the world are known to contain analogous geological systems similar to the Bitterwasser System – like Clayton Valley in Nevada which is host to Albemarle’s Silver Peak project and Marquee Resources’ (ASX:MQR) Clayton Valley project.

Since exploration commenced over the Bitterwasser Basin, Arcadia has not tested any targets to a depth greater than 12m below surface and limited its work over the Eden Pan.

The company’s future work program will include stratigraphic drilling to construct a geological section of the basin, water sampling and targeted drilling of potential trap sites of lithium in brine aquifers and additional lithium clay layers.

WINSOME RESOURCES (ASX:WR1)

The company has expanded its lithium footprint in Quebec, again, executing an option agreement to acquire 259 more claims totalling 149km2.

This comes after WR1 expanded its claims in Decelles region by nearly 40% in January.

“There has been a considerable amount of recent lithium focused activity in the surrounding region, with several public and private companies making successful discoveries,” MD Chris Evans said.

“By acquiring this project, we significantly increase the company’s prospective lithium landholding in Quebec and continue towards achieving our vision of supplying high grade lithium products into the North American battery supply chain.”

LITHIUM ENERGY (ASX:LEL)

The company has announced it plans to complete Transient Electromagnetic geophysics (TEM) surveys over its Solaroz Lithium Brine Project in Argentina to identify the best location and greatest widths of potential lithium-hosting conductive brines for drilling.

The TEM surveys are expected to begin in the second half of May.

The company is also in the process of finalising arrangements with drilling contractors for a ~5,000 metre drilling programme to commence after the TEM surveys are completed.

“The current exploration program which seeks to validate the Exploration Target for Solaroz will bring to focus the highly prospective nature of the project and its world class potential to host a significant lithium brine deposit,” executive chairman William Johnson said.