Eye on Lithium: Future lithium supply to be dominated by Aussie, US spodumene and Latin American brines, Macquarie says

Macquarie: Direct lithium injection (DLE) tech is in spotlight but spodumene and brines will continue to dominate supply
Wildcat identifies 4km by 2km lithium soil anomaly at Bolt Cutter project
Firefinch satisfies all conditions precedent for Ganfeng’s investment in Goulamina project

All your ASX lithium news for Monday, March 28.

Despite POSCO putting direct lithium extraction (DLE) in the spotlight with its announcement of a US$4B investment in a new mine in Argentina, Macquarie reckons supply will continue to be “dominated” by Aussie and US spodumene (hard rock) and Argentinean and Chilean brine.

Quick refresher – DLE is an extraction technology that targets the removal of lithium from brine without the need for evaporation ponds. It is supposed to be cheaper, provide a better product, and be more environmentally friendly than the alternative.

“Despite the development in DLE production, we expect lithium supply to continue dominated by spodumene from Australia and the US and conventional brine volumes from Argentina and Chile,” Macquarie said.’

Notably, spodumene prices edged higher last week to US$2,810/t, while Chinese lithium carbonate prices remained flat.

Preference for Aussie players

Macquarie also said it’s a fan of Pilbara Minerals’ (ASX:PLS) which recently announcing its first $114m profit for the first half of 2022 – from a statutory loss of $21.2m a year earlier.

“Our preference for Australian based producers remains unchanged with PLS our key pick which offers strong near-term production growth.

“Alkem (ASX:AKE) offers unique exposure to both lithium brine in South America and spodumene production in Australia.”

Graph: Spodumene and conventional brine production outlook. Source: Macquarie Research, March 2022

Here’s how ASX lithium stocks are tracking today:

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Code	Company	Price	% Month	% Week	% Today	Market Cap
TEM	Tempest Minerals	0.085	270%	286%	270%	$9,151,720.65
NVA	Nova Minerals Ltd	0.805	-12%	15%	13%	$127,943,622.35
LRV	Larvottoresources	0.24	23%	23%	12%	$8,859,612.50
WC8	Wildcat Resources	0.035	17%	25%	6%	$21,293,999.99
KZR	Kalamazoo Resources	0.375	26%	25%	6%	$51,544,002.77
RMX	Red Mount Min Ltd	0.0095	19%	12%	6%	$14,781,274.72
MLS	Metals Australia	0.1	144%	35%	5%	$34,383,169.03
AVZ	AVZ Minerals Ltd	1.195	60%	31%	5%	$3,935,351,911.20
1MC	Morella Corporation	0.0355	78%	22%	4%	$175,991,275.52
EUR	European Lithium Ltd	0.145	75%	32%	4%	$161,263,815.86
EPM	Eclipse Metals	0.029	0%	7%	4%	$53,791,539.56
AML	Aeon Metals Ltd.	0.059	23%	26%	4%	$49,351,106.62
PGD	Peregrine Gold	0.495	-2%	4%	3%	$18,377,601.12
FRS	Forrestaniaresources	0.35	11%	13%	3%	$9,553,593.36
MMC	Mitremining	0.18	-10%	0%	3%	$4,739,892.50
VMC	Venus Metals Cor Ltd	0.18	0%	3%	3%	$26,438,769.53
JRL	Jindalee Resources	3.07	18%	-1%	3%	$161,770,858.34
GLN	Galan Lithium Ltd	1.7425	27%	16%	3%	$512,020,679.50
WR1	Winsome Resources	0.465	37%	9%	2%	$61,179,297.27
TMB	Tambourahmetals	0.25	25%	14%	2%	$10,092,186.51
MIN	Mineral Resources.	49.61	11%	7%	2%	$9,195,116,773.59
IGO	IGO Limited	13.91	27%	16%	2%	$10,359,423,681.84
FFX	Firefinch Ltd	0.96	49%	16%	2%	$1,113,338,709.00
AKE	Allkem Limited	11.17	23%	12%	1%	$7,019,156,701.86
CAI	Calidus Resources	0.99	36%	7%	1%	$396,262,552.88
PLS	Pilbara Min Ltd	3.215	17%	15%	0%	$9,555,637,759.53
CXO	Core Lithium	1.22	62%	8%	0%	$2,080,762,320.92
GXY	Galaxy Resources	0	-100%	-100%	0%	$2,715,139,305.12
TON	Triton Min Ltd	0.027	-13%	-4%	0%	$33,555,172.78
AM7	Arcadia Minerals	0.255	24%	13%	0%	$8,923,087.50
AS2	Askarimetalslimited	0.54	54%	23%	0%	$20,843,766.18
DTM	Dart Mining NL	0.086	-14%	8%	0%	$10,706,219.98
EMS	Eastern Metals	0.195	-5%	3%	0%	$6,942,000.00
FG1	Flynngold	0.14	-15%	0%	0%	$8,968,547.00
GSM	Golden State Mining	0.084	6%	12%	0%	$6,979,390.74
RAG	Ragnar Metals Ltd	0.031	-3%	0%	0%	$11,553,231.56
TSC	Twenty Seven Co. Ltd	0.0035	-13%	0%	0%	$9,312,848.67
WCN	White Cliff Min Ltd	0.025	4%	-7%	0%	$16,265,659.98
KGD	Kula Gold Limited	0.047	12%	9%	0%	$10,113,254.70
LRS	Latin Resources Ltd	0.076	111%	33%	0%	$113,619,408.80
MTM	Mtmongerresources	0.185	12%	28%	0%	$6,412,106.11
SCN	Scorpion Minerals	0.062	-9%	-9%	0%	$16,709,383.90
ENT	Enterprise Metals	0.0135	-10%	-4%	0%	$8,335,515.17
KAI	Kairos Minerals Ltd	0.028	22%	8%	0%	$54,938,617.75
AVW	Avira Resources Ltd	0.006	20%	9%	0%	$12,712,740.00
GT1	Greentechnology	0.9	19%	17%	0%	$95,400,000.00
LSR	Lodestar Minerals	0.014	40%	27%	0%	$24,338,122.87
AOA	Ausmon Resorces	0.008	14%	0%	0%	$6,858,314.74
VKA	Viking Mines Ltd	0.012	0%	20%	0%	$12,303,101.17
PSC	Prospect Res Ltd	0.88	-2%	-1%	-1%	$383,851,372.53
PNN	PepinNini Minerals	0.44	11%	1%	-1%	$27,242,149.73
EMH	European Metals Hldg	1.255	10%	14%	-1%	$178,786,745.55
ZNC	Zenith Minerals Ltd	0.37	16%	12%	-1%	$128,964,058.13
AZI	Altamin Limited	0.073	8%	12%	-1%	$28,776,524.45
ARN	Aldoro Resources	0.315	-17%	-7%	-2%	$28,716,348.48
NWM	Norwest Minerals	0.061	13%	-2%	-2%	$11,197,657.99
ASN	Anson Resources Ltd	0.1375	25%	20%	-2%	$142,995,899.20
LIT	Lithium Australia NL	0.1125	2%	7%	-2%	$118,797,339.79
SYA	Sayona Mining Ltd	0.225	100%	36%	-2%	$1,632,865,728.30
RAS	Ragusa Minerals Ltd	0.082	26%	15%	-2%	$10,555,257.72
CRR	Critical Resources	0.076	1%	-1%	-3%	$115,860,147.16
GL1	Globallith	2.18	69%	8%	-3%	$346,314,368.96
IMI	Infinitymining	0.165	-6%	-6%	-3%	$9,775,000.00
PLL	Piedmont Lithium Inc	0.985	45%	4%	-3%	$537,426,158.50
AAJ	Aruma Resources Ltd	0.094	16%	11%	-3%	$15,225,265.79
RLC	Reedy Lagoon Corp.	0.03	20%	11%	-3%	$16,999,074.13
AX8	Accelerate Resources	0.059	51%	16%	-3%	$15,460,992.84
ADV	Ardiden Ltd	0.0135	4%	4%	-4%	$37,248,992.98
INR	Ioneer Ltd	0.535	-1%	2%	-4%	$1,160,254,361.45
EVR	Ev Resources Ltd	0.053	13%	4%	-4%	$50,929,123.91
EFE	Eastern Resources	0.05	-2%	2%	-4%	$51,464,842.31
LPD	Lepidico Ltd	0.0365	22%	11%	-4%	$237,821,610.99
VUL	Vulcan Energy	9.8	14%	-3%	-4%	$1,345,412,819.80
A8G	Australasian Metals	0.46	2%	-5%	-4%	$19,281,837.12
BMM	Balkanminingandmin	0.325	12%	18%	-4%	$11,135,000.00
LTR	Liontown Resources	1.835	28%	11%	-4%	$4,209,072,380.16
LPI	Lithium Pwr Int Ltd	0.64	14%	-7%	-4%	$233,675,798.16
LKE	Lake Resources	1.695	87%	9%	-5%	$2,247,993,316.70
AZL	Arizona Lithium Ltd	0.1475	28%	-5%	-5%	$315,573,112.27
LEL	Lithenergy	0.88	1%	-3%	-5%	$41,625,000.00
STM	Sunstone Metals Ltd	0.078	3%	-6%	-5%	$183,640,720.28
NMT	Neometals Ltd	1.64	31%	-3%	-5%	$945,949,283.10
RDT	Red Dirt Metals Ltd	0.655	20%	15%	-5%	$206,442,457.92
QPM	Queensland Pacific	0.18	38%	24%	-5%	$293,191,494.89
WML	Woomera Mining Ltd	0.018	13%	6%	-5%	$12,954,828.25
CHR	Charger Metals	0.71	15%	1%	-5%	$24,423,276.00
SHH	Shree Minerals Ltd	0.017	6%	-15%	-6%	$19,138,264.06
BYH	Bryah Resources Ltd	0.048	2%	-4%	-6%	$11,536,565.93
QXR	Qx Resources Limited	0.057	84%	8%	-7%	$50,682,601.58
AGY	Argosy Minerals Ltd	0.405	31%	4%	-7%	$576,656,438.04
INF	Infinity Lithium	0.1625	20%	5%	-7%	$72,595,152.18
SRZ	Stellar Resources	0.026	4%	-10%	-7%	$23,444,473.53
ESS	Essential Metals Ltd	0.45	41%	3%	-7%	$118,465,486.96
IPT	Impact Minerals	0.012	9%	0%	-8%	$28,476,000.62
G88	Golden Mile Res Ltd	0.059	13%	-6%	-8%	$11,073,172.99
MQR	Marquee Resource Ltd	0.105	5%	0%	-9%	$24,886,299.23
TKL	Traka Resources	0.01	-9%	-9%	-9%	$7,576,520.17
MRR	Minrex Resources Ltd	0.06	7%	5%	-9%	$58,249,465.56
RGL	Riversgold	0.054	116%	46%	-10%	$27,878,791.50
PAM	Pan Asia Metals	0.515	5%	-1%	-12%	$43,090,306.74
BNR	Bulletin Res Ltd	0.19	52%	31%	-14%	$63,703,180.20
SRI	Sipa Resources Ltd	0.046	-12%	-10%	-15%	$11,071,339.36

A total of 25 stocks were in the green today, with 24 flatlining and 53 in the red.

Who’s got news out today?

WILDCAT RESOURCES (ASX:WC8)

The company has identified a strong 4km by 2km lithium soil anomaly at its Bolt Cutter project, 34km north of PLS’s Pilgangoora deposit.

“To identify an anomaly, from the first systematic sampling ever completed in the area, that is large enough to contain a target of a comparable scale as two significant lithium projects along trend is very promising,” CEO Samuel Ekins said.

“We will commence follow-up field work immediately.”

Wildcat Resources (ASX:WC8) share price today

FIREFINCH (ASX:FFX)

All conditions precedent for Ganfeng’s investment into the Goulamina Project have now been met following transfer of the Goulamina Exploitation Licence.

This now triggers the US$130 million to be delivered to the JV company – which FFX and Ganfeng hold 50% each of – with US$39 million in funding to be released from escrow to the JV company and a further US$91 million to be transferred by Ganfeng in the coming days.

Ganfeng will also be required to provide a further US$40 million in Ganfeng debt or source US$64 million in third party debt.

Gold focused Firefinch will now proceed with the demerger of Goulamina into Leo Lithium, which is expected to list on the ASX in the near future.

Firefinch (ASX:FFX) share price today

GREEN TECHNOLOGY METALS (ASX:GT1)

The company has exercised its right to acquire a further 29% interest in the Ontario Lithium Projects in Canada. This will take GT1’s Joint Venture (JV) interest in the OLP to 80% (from its current 51%).

“With concurrent Phase 2 (Central Aubry zone) and Phase 3 (Pye prospect) drilling programs underway at our flagship Seymour Project, and a mineral resource update on track for Q2 2022, GT1 continues to rapidly progress its plans to become the preeminent vertically integrated lithium company in Ontario,” GT1 CEO Luke Cox said.

Ardiden (ASX:ADV) holds the other 20% which it said allows the company to retain exposure while focusing on its gold projects.

Green Technology Metals (ASX:GT1) share price today

ANSON RESOURCES (ASX:ASN)

This week Anson plans to kick off resource expansion drilling at its Paradox lithium brine project in Utah, USA.

The drilling is initially targeting the Long Canyon No.2 (LC2) well which the company says has the potential to deliver a significant increase to the Paradox resource – which will support a Details Feasibility Study (DFS) for the project.

Notably, the highest lithium value reported to date (253ppm Li) was recorded in this well.

Anson Resources (ASX:ASN) share price today

LEPIDICO (ASX:LPD)

The Ministry of Mines and Energy, Republic of Namibia has granted Lepidico an Accessory Works Permit for the development of its Karibib lithium operations, with construction work scheduled to start in the September 2022 quarter.

All Stage 1 works including the Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) have been completed, and the company’s board has also approved A$1.2 million of Stage 2 EPCM works to be funded from existing working capital in parallel with completion of the FEED works for the chemical conversion plant to be located in Abu Dhabi.

These works remain on schedule for completion in June.

Lepidico (ASX:LPD) share price today

NEOMETALS (ASX:NMT)

The company has invested US$500k in fast-charging vanadium-based lithium battery start-up, Tyfast, a spin-out from the University of California San Diego.

Tyfast is targeting the production of battery cells that reduce charging times by 20-fold (down to 3 minutes), extending battery life-cycle by 20-fold (up to 20,000 cycles) and maintaining the high energy density found in state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries.

The start-up aims to use the US$1m its raised to scale up commercialisation activities for this breakthrough battery technology and is also developing its vanadium technology to be a drop-in replacement for standard-graphite anodes in lithium-ion battery manufacturing – to allow direct integration into existing manufacturing lines for rapid commercialisation.

Neometals (ASX:NMT) share price today

PAN ASIA METALS (ASX:PAM)

The explorer says there’ll be a “slight delay” in reporting the mineral resource estimate (MRE) update for its Reung Kiet project in Thailand due to increasing assay backlogs at all testing laboratories – plus the company’s decision to include its latest extensional drilling results.

PAM emphasised that the delay is not to do with the project, its geology or its mineralogy.