Eye on Lithium: BNEF forecasts $14bn needed to finance lithium refining capacity by 2025

• BloombergNEF says $14 billion is needed to finance lithium refining by 2025
• Mt Monger flags potentially lithium-bearing pegmatites at Albion project in WA
• Riversgold confirms lithium at the Bengal prospect of its Tambourah project

All your ASX lithium news for Tuesday, April 5.

Demand for lithium will jump fivefold by the end of the decade, according to BloombergNEF.

BNEF forecasts that around $14 billion of investment is needed to finance lithium resource and refining capacity by 2025.

Plus, as much as another $5 billion will be needed by 2030.

Just last week, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Boss Simon Moores flagged that  EV makers need to actually get involved with mining if they want to make EVs at scale.

And there are some signs that governments, producers, and consumers are now recognising the scale of that task.

“Tesla Inc. signed two recent supply pacts with developers of future projects in Australia, while Ganfeng Lithium Co. — one of the world’s largest producers — said last week it’ll use record profits to support a huge expansion program, aimed at delivering the eventual capacity of 600,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, compared to the production of about 89,000 tonnes now,” BNEF said.

And China’s authorities have even called for quicker development of a domestic lithium sector that already dominates world production – highlighting growth prospects in Qinghai, Sichuan and Jiangxi provinces.

“In the U.S., President Joe Biden last week added battery metals, including lithium, to a list of items covered by the Defence Production Act, meaning companies can access funding to boost output or to study potential new developments,” BNEF says.

Here’s how ASX lithium stocks are tracking today:

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Only 29 stocks were in the green today, with 14 flatlining and a whopping 67 in the red.

Who’s got news out today?

MT MONGER RESOURCES (ASX:MTM)

Extensive quartz veining and potentially lithium-bearing pegmatites were observed in the field by the crew undertaking soil sampling at the company’s Albion project in WA.

Limited historical exploration programs on the tenement have mainly targeted gold and nickel, “there is no recorded exploration for lithium-bearing pegmatites and we are excited to test this additional opportunity on the tenement,” the company says.

Further reconnaissance mapping and sampling will be undertaken to evaluate the size and potential for lithium pegmatites across the project area.

MTM share price today 

RIVERSGOLD (ASX:RGL)

The company has confirmed lithium mineralisation at the Bengal prospect at its Tambourah project, mapping the location of historical results collected by Fortsecue (ASX:FMG) in 2018, including:

• 49% Li2O, 364 ppm Cs, 40 ppm Ta, 46 ppm Nb, 1,810 ppm Rb;
• 21% Li2O, 254 ppm Cs, 38 ppm Ta, 70 ppm Nb, 3,476 ppm Rb; and
• 15%Li2O,547ppmCs,182ppmTa,52ppmNb,3,470ppmRb

CEO Julian Ford said detailed geological mapping along the granite-greenstone contact is underway and will further explore the 6kms of strike length of contact between the Tambourah granite dome and the greenstone units.

RGL Share price today

AUSTRALASIAN METALS (ASX:A8G) 

A8G says the Exploration License (EL) 32830, representing the ‘Mt Peake’ lithium project in the Northern Territory, has been successfully granted by the Mines Department.

“The granting of the Mt Peake exploration license allows us to be more aggressive with our on-ground exploration,” MD Dr Qingtao Zeng said.

“The soil sampling program successfully identified the northwest striking structures which are consistent with the DGPR interpretation.

“This gives us added confidence in our exploration strategy in identifying potentially mineralised pegmatites and helps to firm up our future drilling targets.”

A8G share price today 

MINERAL RESOURCES (ASX:MIN)

MinRes and US partner Albemarle will speed up the return of their giant Wodgina mine in WA’s Pilbara region as lithium concentrate prices continue to rise, with spodumene spot sales in China averaging US$5750/t.

The first 250,000tpa train at Wodgina will be ready to produce spodumene in May.

Before it’s even reopened the owners have approved the resumption of production at the second train, with first concentrate expected in July – and more expansions are on the cards.

“MinRes and Albemarle have also agreed to review the state of global lithium market towards the end of this calendar year to assess timing for the start-up of Train 3 and the possible construction of Train 4,” MinRes said, a ramp up that would make Wodgina a million tonne a year operation.

Plus, MinRes and Ganfeng have also agreed to upgrade their Mt Marion mine near Kalgoorlie-Boulder immediately from 450,000t to 600,000tpa this month to capitalise on the lithium boom.

A second stage expansion will incorporate a dense media separation plant upgrade by the end of the year to take its full run rate to 900,000tpa of mixed grade spodumene or the equivalent of 600,000tpa at a 6% grade.

And the first train of the Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant MinRes is building with Albemarle in a 40-60 partnership is expected to produce its first battery grade chemicals in May after spodumene feed was introduced recently, with a second train targeting mechanical completion and first product in the December quarter.

MIN Share price today

TAMBOURAH (ASX:TMB)

First pass prospecting at Tambourah gold project and identified the presence of pegmatite rocks at several sites across the project area.

And they’re hosted in the Soansville Group Formation which hosts Pilbara Minerals’ (ASX:PLS) Pilgangora Lithium Deposit (226Mt at 1.29% Li2O) and Mineral Rersources’ (ASX:MRL) Wodgina Lithium deposit (236Mt at 1.2% Li2O).

Follow-up prospecting is being undertaken to assess these initial sites and more widely across the project to identify more potential pegmatite sites.

Mapping and sampling for pegmatites will commence in the upcoming weeks.”

TMB Share price today 

MIRAMAR RESOURCES (ASX:M2R) 

The company says up to 50 pegmatite occurrences indicate the potential for rare earth element (REE) and/or lithium mineralisation at the 210sqkm ‘Lang Well’ project in WA.

But there’s been no mineral exploration between 2010 and the company securing the ground in 2019 – and there has been no systematic exploration for lithium or REEs

Miramar will shortly complete soil and rock chip sampling across the northern pegmatite trend.

M2R share price today