Eye on Lithium: Construction starts on first large-scale UK lithium plant

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The lithium train continues to pick up speed with construction starting on the first large-scale refinery in UK that will produce about 50,000t of low-carbon, battery-grade lithium chemicals per annum to meet Europe’s growing demand.

For some context, the forecast level of production from Green Lithium’s plant at PD Ports will enable the production of roughly 1 million electric vehicles – a significant portion of the anticipated European production of over 15 million by 2030.

Construction of the facility is expected to take three years with commissioning to be carried out during 2025.

While the facility certainly highlights the growing demand for lithium, the developer is also keen to reduce emissions – historically an issue with the lithium refining process – down to an absolute minimum.

This work, which includes integrating low-energy processes with renewable electricity, ensuring that the plant can use hydrogen gas and enabling carbon capture, is expected to result in Teesside having a carbon footprint 80% lower than traditional processes currently used internationally.

It also underscores the push for lithium processing to be diversified away from East Asia, which currently accounts for 89% of global hard rock processing, due to uncertainty over security of supply, price, and volume.

South Korea risking supply security

While the UK appears to be taking steps to secure European lithium supply, South Korea seems to have dropped the ball in securing supplies.

The Financial Times quoted Australian Chamber of Commerce in Korea chair Ross Gregory as saying that not enough deals appear to have been reached by South Korean companies to secure supplies of critical minerals – including lithium – through direct investments in producers.

At least part of this is due to the perception that investing in the many small companies operating critical mineral projects in Australia as being risky, leading to delays in the signing of long-term supply contracts.

This caution extends to Korean export credit agencies who had been burned by failed mining ventures in the past.

Here’s how ASX lithium stocks are tracking:

Lithium was a little balanced today with 58 companies finished in the green while 42 writing in red ink.

Who’s got news out?

Askari Metals (ASX:AS2)

Askari has started a field exploration program at its recently acquired Myrnas Hill lithium project in Western Australia’s eastern Pilbara region, 45km northwest of Global Lithium Resources’ Archer lithium deposit.

The program will consist of extensive soil auger drilling in areas identified by the Hyperspectral survey and internal geological target generation, to define priority exploration targets in an area with no previous lithium-focused exploration.

Field reconnaissance will also be conducted in areas identified through high-resolution satellite imagery.

Myrnas Hill is prospective for lithium-tin-tantalum mineralisation and has the same host lithology as Archer.

Balkan Mining and Minerals (ASX:BMM)

Over at the Tango lithium project in Ontario’s Thunder Bay North Mining District, Balkan Mining and Minerals’ initial mapping has identified a new pegmatite dyke field.

This program had found 100 outcrops which in turn led to the discovery of three new pegmatite dykes.

Grab samples from various locations were collected and sent for analysis to confirm the presence of lithium-bearing minerals using multi-element analysis.

Balkan has now started an airborne magnetic survey over the entire property.

Cygnus Gold (ASX:CY5)

Cygnus Gold is aiming to define resources at its Pontax lithium project in James Bay, Canada, with the start of a 10,000m diamond drilling program.

This targets multiple shallow spodumene bearing pegmatites in the top 150m over an initial 1,000m strike that were already outlined by historical reconnaissance drilling.

Additionally, recently completed fieldwork, mapping, magnetics and LiDAR has delivered numerous additional walk-up drill targets.

Pontax hosts over 40km of strike along the highly prospective Chambois Greenstone Belt.

Green Technology Metals (ASX:GT1)

Green Technology Metals has made the first new discovery at its Seymour project in 50 years with sampling and drilling finding a spodumene-bearing pegmatite under cover.

Ongoing diamond drilling and channel sampling is now delineating the Blue Bear deposit while a second diamond rig is undertaking sterilisation drilling for Seymour plant site and infrastructure.

The company also continues to rapidly progress Preliminary Economic Assessment work on a development of Seymour, with scheduled completion in the first quarter of 2023.

QX Resources (ASX:QXR)

Sampling at QX Resources’ Turner River hard rock lithium project in Western Australia has returned high-grade samples topping up at 1.6% Li2O, extending the previously identified Carbonate Hill area of interest.

Coincident elevated tin and rare earth results are from interpreted pegmatites hosted within a monzogranite and the surface outcrop appears more subtle than typical pegmatites in the Pilbara.

Other tested pegmatites have also returned further anomalous lithium results, leading the company to fast-track a maiden drill program at its Pilbara project.

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