Eye on Lithium: Chinese power outage could sting lithium buyers, push prices 10pc higher

Lithium producers in China’s Sichuan province are suspending production due to the power crunch
VP Capital’s John So says lithium prices may surge 10% in the next few weeks
TYX acquires 80% of the issued capital of Angolan Minerals

All your ASX lithium news for Thursday, August 18.

The lithium sector can’t seem to catch a break with China’s heatwave now expected to cause further havoc on the supply chain.

Lithium producers in the Sichuan province, home to factories of some of the world’s biggest companies and the producer of about half the country’s lithium, have either suspended production or lowered their operating rates in response to the power crunch, sources told Fastmarkets.

“We have halved our production due to the power rationing in Sichuan province,” a lithium producer source said.

Underlining the seriousness of the power crunch, a second lithium producer source in the province said: “The city where our factories are based have rarely experienced power shortages before – this is the first time that we have halted production due to power rationing.”

A third lithium producer source said: “Our production has been suspended since Monday August 15 and prior to this, we were required to stagger our electricity consumption.”

In an interview with Stockhead, VP Capital co-founder John So says in in the short term there will be a supply squeeze in terms of downstream lithium coming out of China, which will push up prices for processed lithium elsewhere in the world.

“This will also push up raw lithium prices because Sichuan is a mining hub for lithium in China – I don’t expect this to go on for months because by October the weather will reverse in the northern hemisphere,” he says.

“We will continue to see these sorts of outages in August and intermittently in September as well.

“Other provinces in China are also talking about potentially curbing power supply to some of the industrial companies and factories – so expect to see more of this over the next two months.

“Lithium is going to be in shortage in China, and all the data is indicating that electric vehicle demand is on the upside and is a lot stronger than what most may think despite what appears to be a general slower economic environment.

“With high unexpected demand and short-term supply crunch, we may see prices go up another 10 per cent in the next few weeks.”

Here’s how ASX lithium stocks were tracking today:

CODE	COMPANY	LAST	% MONTH	% WEEK	% TODAY	MARKET CAP
MMG	Monger Gold Ltd	0.38	95%	33%	27%	$12,012,000
DAF	Discovery Alaska Ltd	0.084	87%	75%	22%	$15,472,194
TSC	Twenty Seven Co. Ltd	0.0035	17%	17%	17%	$7,982,442
RMX	Red Mount Min Ltd	0.007	17%	8%	17%	$9,854,183
IR1	Irismetals	0.75	206%	46%	16%	$38,616,150
IPT	Impact Minerals	0.009	29%	13%	13%	$19,850,964
TKM	Trek Metals Ltd	0.077	40%	18%	10%	$21,742,711
AM7	Arcadia Minerals	0.18	13%	29%	6%	$7,938,642
SCN	Scorpion Minerals	0.074	9%	17%	6%	$23,228,183
LEL	Lithenergy	1.035	53%	-2%	6%	$44,247,000
XTC	Xantippe Res Ltd	0.0105	31%	-5%	5%	$81,257,347
RAG	Ragnar Metals Ltd	0.046	18%	0%	5%	$16,684,135
INF	Infinity Lithium	0.145	26%	-3%	4%	$58,101,829
WC8	Wildcat Resources	0.029	16%	0%	4%	$18,067,636
LNR	Lanthanein Resources	0.032	113%	10%	3%	$29,847,593
AML	Aeon Metals Ltd.	0.034	21%	17%	3%	$36,083,216
TMB	Tambourahmetals	0.17	13%	6%	3%	$6,796,779
G88	Golden Mile Res Ltd	0.035	25%	13%	3%	$6,926,909
TYX	Tyranna Res Ltd	0.037	85%	-3%	3%	$55,164,984
AX8	Accelerate Resources	0.038	31%	0%	3%	$10,006,979
BMM	Balkan Mining and Min	0.2	5%	0%	3%	$6,386,250
LRD	Lord Resources limited	0.21	5%	-19%	2%	$6,515,847
GL1	Globallith	1.835	78%	0%	2%	$285,656,861
ARN	Aldoro Resources	0.265	89%	-4%	2%	$25,892,702
JRL	Jindalee Resources	2.77	12%	5%	1%	$156,644,577
AOU	Auroch Minerals Ltd	0.07	19%	3%	1%	$25,509,424
M2R	Miramar	0.1	11%	0%	1%	$6,354,480
PNN	Power Minerals Ltd	0.54	33%	-1%	1%	$32,923,237
ASN	Anson Resources Ltd	0.15	36%	0%	0%	$154,186,850
AVZ	AVZ Minerals Ltd	0.78	0%	0%	0%	$2,752,409,203
TKL	Traka Resources	0.007	40%	0%	0%	$4,821,422
CHR	Charger Metals	0.52	18%	-5%	0%	$16,942,138
AAJ	Aruma Resources Ltd	0.07	13%	-11%	0%	$10,987,305
PAM	Pan Asia Metals	0.465	21%	6%	0%	$34,372,913
BYH	Bryah Resources Ltd	0.028	0%	0%	0%	$7,819,097
EMS	Eastern Metals	0.15	0%	7%	0%	$5,798,438
FG1	Flynngold	0.099	-6%	13%	0%	$6,342,044
FRS	Forrestaniaresources	0.15	3%	-14%	0%	$5,004,196
IMI	Infinitymining	0.16	19%	19%	0%	$9,200,000
LRV	Larvottoresources	0.24	30%	0%	0%	$9,967,800
MMC	Mitremining	0.115	-8%	0%	0%	$3,114,787
SHH	Shree Minerals Ltd	0.009	0%	13%	0%	$11,146,382
WCN	White Cliff Min Ltd	0.012	-8%	-8%	0%	$7,843,240
WML	Woomera Mining Ltd	0.016	7%	-6%	0%	$10,989,329
KGD	Kula Gold Limited	0.025	-13%	-7%	0%	$5,379,391
WR1	Winsome Resources	0.255	46%	-6%	0%	$34,454,068
AZI	Altamin Limited	0.083	-14%	-6%	0%	$32,512,490
AVW	Avira Resources Ltd	0.005	67%	67%	0%	$10,593,950
NVA	Nova Minerals Ltd	0.86	19%	6%	0%	$154,973,965
A8G	Australasian Metals	0.295	48%	4%	0%	$12,145,296
SRZ	Stellar Resources	0.017	6%	6%	0%	$14,268,145
LSR	Lodestar Minerals	0.007	8%	-13%	0%	$12,169,061
NWM	Norwest Minerals	0.046	70%	18%	0%	$8,307,940
AOA	Ausmon Resorces	0.007	17%	27%	0%	$6,001,025
VKA	Viking Mines Ltd	0.007	0%	0%	0%	$7,176,809
SRI	Sipa Resources Ltd	0.044	26%	0%	0%	$9,021,091
VMC	Venus Metals Cor Ltd	0.165	3%	-6%	0%	$26,412,983
RAS	Ragusa Minerals Ltd	0.185	143%	85%	0%	$23,261,189
EPM	Eclipse Metals	0.021	5%	-5%	0%	$40,343,655
THR	Thor Mining PLC	0.009	0%	-5%	0%	$9,680,080
CZL	Cons Zinc Ltd	0.023	28%	5%	0%	$8,909,230
MXR	Maximus Resources	0.055	20%	-5%	0%	$17,539,817
MM1	Midasmineralsltd	0.255	46%	13%	0%	$14,568,600
WMC	Wiluna Mining Corp	0.205	8%	0%	0%	$74,238,031
ZEO	Zeotech Limited	0.063	40%	9%	0%	$96,069,675
GW1	Greenwing Resources	0.26	8%	-7%	0%	$32,044,311
FTL	Firetail Resources	0.24	20%	0%	0%	$14,827,800
DAL	Dalaroometalsltd	0.099	-1%	0%	0%	$2,957,625
CY5	Cygnus Gold Limited	0.23	59%	18%	0%	$33,852,622
TUL	Tulla Resources	0.52	-2%	3%	0%	$83,312,773
RIO	Rio Tinto Limited	96.6	4%	-3%	0%	$35,911,456,542
RDT	Red Dirt Metals Ltd	0.4725	43%	13%	-1%	$144,663,352
IGO	IGO Limited	12.11	31%	3%	-1%	$9,231,094,640
CAI	Calidus Resources	0.645	6%	-16%	-1%	$265,155,123
ESS	Essential Metals Ltd	0.465	31%	-8%	-1%	$116,006,843
AKE	Allkem Limited	12.17	25%	1%	-1%	$7,849,571,039
WES	Wesfarmers Limited	48.38	5%	3%	-1%	$55,524,156,651
AGY	Argosy Minerals Ltd	0.37	16%	-12%	-1%	$511,900,952
CXO	Core Lithium	1.41	58%	-2%	-1%	$2,478,767,863
INR	Ioneer Ltd	0.69	59%	1%	-1%	$1,468,693,853
MIN	Mineral Resources.	59.65	38%	2%	-1%	$11,462,546,160
NMT	Neometals Ltd	1.3325	42%	-2%	-2%	$748,429,518
MLS	Metals Australia	0.058	26%	-5%	-2%	$33,514,135
GSM	Golden State Mining	0.057	36%	13%	-2%	$6,752,437
KAI	Kairos Minerals Ltd	0.0285	36%	-14%	-2%	$56,958,711
LTR	Liontown Resources	1.69	78%	-2%	-2%	$3,775,922,701
LLL	Leolithiumlimited	0.545	27%	10%	-2%	$547,594,586
1MC	Morella Corporation	0.0255	50%	28%	-2%	$147,581,564
KZR	Kalamazoo Resources	0.255	9%	-7%	-2%	$37,750,537
PLS	Pilbara Min Ltd	3.055	28%	3%	-2%	$9,287,766,958
STM	Sunstone Metals Ltd	0.047	12%	7%	-2%	$124,629,428
LIS	Lisenergylimited	0.64	8%	-10%	-2%	$108,673,792
EUR	European Lithium Ltd	0.084	24%	-7%	-2%	$120,420,569
TEM	Tempest Minerals	0.042	-7%	-7%	-2%	$21,704,946
EMH	European Metals Hldg	0.86	31%	10%	-3%	$105,936,390
SYA	Sayona Mining Ltd	0.2525	87%	-5%	-3%	$2,157,407,820
EVR	Ev Resources Ltd	0.033	18%	3%	-3%	$31,483,458
QPM	Queensland Pacific	0.15	20%	3%	-3%	$242,360,035
ZNC	Zenith Minerals Ltd	0.3	18%	2%	-3%	$106,876,306
AUN	Aurumin	0.15	3%	0%	-3%	$16,929,604
TON	Triton Min Ltd	0.029	93%	7%	-3%	$37,763,525
CRR	Critical Resources	0.055	41%	2%	-4%	$84,816,869
MNS	Magnis Energy Tech	0.41	41%	19%	-4%	$412,390,880
LKE	Lake Resources	1.22	102%	-8%	-4%	$1,758,151,656
MRR	Minrex Resources Ltd	0.053	71%	-5%	-4%	$58,980,059
MQR	Marquee Resource Ltd	0.078	18%	-6%	-4%	$25,565,024
LIT	Lithium Australia	0.075	6%	-9%	-4%	$80,761,927
MTM	Mtmongerresources	0.12	0%	0%	-4%	$4,688,754
LPI	Lithium Pwr Int Ltd	0.58	45%	-3%	-4%	$211,232,633
LRS	Latin Resources Ltd	0.115	69%	25%	-4%	$233,500,092
PLL	Piedmont Lithium Inc	0.905	87%	27%	-4%	$498,554,406
DTM	Dart Mining NL	0.0765	18%	18%	-4%	$10,820,813
GLN	Galan Lithium Ltd	1.28	32%	-3%	-4%	$408,067,575
PSC	Prospect Res Ltd	0.105	115%	-19%	-5%	$50,848,541
ENT	Enterprise Metals	0.01	0%	-17%	-5%	$6,856,297
KTA	Krakatoa Resources	0.059	16%	9%	-5%	$21,372,015
RGL	Riversgold	0.038	41%	9%	-5%	$30,845,435
ALY	Alchemy Resource Ltd	0.018	13%	20%	-5%	$18,108,407
AZL	Arizona Lithium Ltd	0.089	5%	-1%	-5%	$226,251,003
AS2	Askarimetalslimited	0.35	67%	-11%	-5%	$16,675,630
GT1	Greentechnology	0.7	17%	1%	-5%	$136,359,536
ADV	Ardiden Ltd	0.0085	42%	-6%	-6%	$24,015,018
PGD	Peregrine Gold	0.84	89%	11%	-6%	$34,231,597
DRE	Dreadnought Resources Ltd	0.099	115%	16%	-6%	$319,308,523
VUL	Vulcan Energy	8.16	41%	-8%	-6%	$1,244,150,413
QXR	Qx Resources Limited	0.031	15%	-16%	-6%	$28,358,957
RLC	Reedy Lagoon Corp.	0.015	-21%	-6%	-6%	$8,918,831
LPD	Lepidico Ltd	0.029	7%	0%	-6%	$201,722,928
EFE	Eastern Resources	0.029	16%	-12%	-6%	$30,947,273
BNR	Bulletin Res Ltd	0.135	17%	4%	-7%	$42,425,710
OCN	Oceanalithiumlimited	0.6	60%	21%	-8%	$21,958,875

A total of 60 companies ended in the red today, 43 fell flat and just 28 made it to the green.

Who’s got news out today?

TYRANNA RESOURCES (ASX:TYX)

TYX has completed the acquisition of 80% of the issued capital and 100% of the issued options of Angolan Minerals as well as appointing two new executive directors to the team – Paul Williams and Peter Spitalny.

TYX director Joe Graziano says the company looks forward to the exciting road ahead as it explores the potential of the Giraul Pegmatite Field in Namibe.

“We have seen some very positive signs from the initial exploration activity undertaken by Angolan Minerals and to that end, we will update the market in relation to outstanding assay results as soon as those results have been received and verified.

“It is anticipated that this will be prior to the end of August – for now, we will be progressing towards a maiden drilling program to test the potential of selected areas at depth.”

IRIS METALS (ASX:IR1)

IR1 is now the largest holder of lithium mining claims in South Dakota, USA after increasing its footprint by 290%.

With about 42,287 acres up its sleeve, the company has secured highly mineralised corridors of spodumene bearing lithium-cesium-tantalum pegmatites in the Black Hills – famous for its historic lithium producing mines containing some of the largest spodumene crystals on record.

“The company now has a great mix of drill-ready targets and extensive prospective corridors over known lithium bearing LCT pegmatites,” executive technical director and head of exploration Chris Connell says.

“I am currently on site, directing and supervising the staking and exploration activities over an area that is exhibiting regional scale lithium potential.”

EASTERN RESOURCES (ASX:EFE)

A 2,000m reverse circulation (RC) drilling program will kick off during the first half of September at the Trigg Hill and East Curlew prospects in the Pilbara.

The aim is to test a number of vertical and low angle lithium caesium and tantalum (LCT), pegmatites to obtain an understanding of zonation and lithium mineralisation.

Site preparation works commenced on August 17 and are expected to complete by next week with 30 drill pads for the upcoming drilling program.

PX Drilling has been secured to carry out the initial program and are expected to mobilise at site in early September.

Mapping and rock chip sampling will continue in areas previously not covered.

PAN ASIA METALS (ASX:PAN)

Pan Asia is already eyeing upgrades to its less than two-month old inaugural Reung Kiet lithium resource after receiving more positive drilling results.

Assays from a further four infill holes (RKDD058-61) returned strong lithium results which supports the company’s geological model of extensive lithium mineralisation hosted in lepidolite rich pegmatite dykes-veins and adjacent metasediments.

Highlights include 8.5m grading 1.03% Li2O from a down-hole depth of 29m in RKDD059, 12.7m at 0.47% Li20 from 16.3m in RKDD061 and 3.45m at 1.62% Li2O from just 4.55m in RKDD058.

These results rather neatly support and enhance the current Inferred resource of 10.4Mt grading 0.44% Li2O, 0.04% tin, 0.009% tantalum, 0.16% rubidium and 0.02% caesium, or about 113,000t of lithium carbonate equivalent, so an upgrade to higher confidence Indicated resources might be on the cards.

MONGER GOLD (ASX:MMG)

This Torian Resources (ASX:TNR) spin-off has secured an option to acquire the Brisk Lithium project in the prolific James Bay lithium district of Quebec, which is emerging as the hard rock capital of North America.

Covering six prospects over some 98.5km2, the Brisk project is host to several known pegmatite outcrops and is within close proximity to the La Grande Complex – one of the world’s largest hydroelectric developments providing carbon free energy for future mine development.

IMPACT MINERALS (ASX:IPT)

Four large and significant soil geochemistry anomalies for a range of battery metals and precious metals have been identified at IPT’s 100% owned Beau Project, part of the greater ArkunBeau-Jumbo project area in Western Australia’s southwest.

Two of these are lithium-caesium-tantalum anomalies, each about 1km in dimension and may be part of a large zoned intrusive pegmatite system.

Follow-up field checking will begin later this month in order to define targets for first-pass drilling and to identify the bedrock which is mostly obscured by laterite.

METALICITY (ASX:MCT)

MCT has secured the highly prospective Mt Surprise Lithium Project, roughly 57km northeast of the town of Mt Surprise in Queensland.

A historic rock chip sample returned 3.55% Li2O, 125ppm tantalum, 0.25% caesium and 1.26% Rubidium highlighting the significant potential of the ground, which remains sparsely explored.

Work by previous explorers suggests that high grade lithium occurs at the contact between granite and volcanic rocks on the project and the company plans to undertake a thorough field review of the Mt Surprise area.

This includes detailed mapping and collection of rock chip and soil samples targeting new pegmatites and lithium mineralisation across the extensive land holding.