Eye on Lithium: Giant CATL to capitalise on battery appetite with second plant in Hungary

CATL eyes second gigawatt battery plant in Europe with construction to kick off later this year
AKE acquires 100% of María Victoria lithium tenement in South America
CXO kicks off 40,000m reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at BP33

All your lithium news for Monday, August 15.

China-based Contemporary Amperex Technoloy Co (CATL), one of world’s largest EV battery manufacturers, has invested €7.3 billion euros (US$7.6 billion) to build a second gigawatt battery plant in Europe. Construction of the first production facilities is earmarked to begin later this year.

Covering an area of ~561 acres in Dubreacen east of Hungary, the project is set to supply both cells and modules to European automakers with a capacity of 100 gigawatt hours – enough to power more than 1 million cars.

As part of its commitment to reducing the carbon footprint in battery manufacturing, CATL will use electricity from renewable energies, and is considering developing solar power with local partners in the country.

CATL says the plant will be within proximity to some automakers of customers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Stellantis and Volkswagen, enabling it to better cope with battery demands of the European market, improve its global production network development, and help accelerate e-mobility and energy transition in Europe.

China’s battery maker CATL makes the biggest ever greenfield investment in the history of Hungary with plan to build 7.34 billion euro 100 GWh battery plant to supply European automakers. https://t.co/LhDVf8IQoI

— Henry Sanderson (@hjesanderson) August 12, 2022

“There is no doubt that our plant in Debrecen will enable us to further sharpen our competitive edge, better respond to our European customers, and accelerate the transition to e-mobility in Europe,” Robin Zeng, founder and chairman of CATL says.

“The greenfield project in Hungary will be a giant leap in CATL’s global expansion, and also an important step in our efforts to make an outstanding contribution to the green energy drive for humankind.”

The new project was also well received from CATL’s European customers.

“This new state-of-the art European CATL plant in Hungary is another milestone for the scale-up of our EV production,” said Markus Schaefer, chief technology officer at Mercedes.

Here’s how ASX lithium stocks were tracking today:

Code	Company	Price	% Month	% Week	% Today	Market Cap
RAS	Ragusa Minerals Ltd	0.19	126%	126%	36%	$17,603,061.84
PLL	Piedmont Lithium Inc	0.92	84%	39%	16%	$416,780,932.00
NWM	Norwest Minerals	0.048	55%	7%	14%	$7,585,510.25
MTM	Mtmongerresources	0.135	13%	29%	13%	$4,501,203.96
VKA	Viking Mines Ltd	0.009	29%	29%	13%	$8,202,067.45
CRR	Critical Resources	0.065	76%	41%	12%	$86,304,883.86
ALY	Alchemy Resource Ltd	0.02	21%	25%	11%	$17,155,333.03
TYX	Tyranna Res Ltd	0.04	111%	43%	11%	$55,164,984.01
CXO	Core Lithium	1.6275	90%	27%	11%	$2,548,104,027.00
STM	Sunstone Metals Ltd	0.053	20%	18%	10%	$124,629,428.11
AOA	Ausmon Resorces	0.0055	10%	0%	10%	$4,286,446.72
XTC	Xantippe Res Ltd	0.011	57%	38%	10%	$81,257,346.58
1MC	Morella Corporation	0.027	50%	50%	8%	$141,905,349.65
PGD	Peregrine Gold	0.965	138%	31%	7%	$34,458,286.50
TKM	Trek Metals Ltd	0.076	38%	9%	7%	$22,053,320.65
LLL	Leolithiumlimited	0.54	40%	20%	7%	$498,261,740.56
OCN	Oceanalithiumlimited	0.55	59%	22%	7%	$17,265,375.00
FG1	Flynngold	0.095	-24%	-1%	7%	$5,701,433.45
ASN	Anson Resources Ltd	0.16	45%	19%	7%	$154,186,850.25
LIT	Lithium Australia	0.09	29%	15%	6%	$88,009,792.63
LTR	Liontown Resources	1.795	92%	19%	6%	$3,732,016,623.20
GT1	Greentechnology	0.78	29%	11%	5%	$136,359,535.82
THR	Thor Mining PLC	0.01	0%	0%	5%	$10,217,861.71
WR1	Winsome Resources	0.31	59%	22%	5%	$39,858,628.23
LKE	Lake Resources	1.45	115%	56%	5%	$1,917,983,624.28
NVA	Nova Minerals Ltd	0.87	26%	-2%	5%	$149,567,896.55
GLN	Galan Lithium Ltd	1.44	51%	7%	5%	$418,726,056.38
TEM	Tempest Minerals	0.046	12%	-2%	5%	$22,209,711.74
LRS	Latin Resources Ltd	0.115	77%	53%	5%	$214,041,750.56
CZL	Cons Zinc Ltd	0.026	30%	6%	4%	$9,683,945.33
CHR	Charger Metals	0.56	30%	11%	4%	$17,593,758.90
SYA	Sayona Mining Ltd	0.285	119%	36%	4%	$2,281,873,655.88
INR	Ioneer Ltd	0.725	67%	12%	4%	$1,468,693,853.20
PLS	Pilbara Min Ltd	3.23	44%	13%	4%	$9,287,766,958.08
MMG	Monger Gold Ltd	0.3	30%	25%	3%	$11,611,600.00
LPD	Lepidico Ltd	0.031	15%	7%	3%	$195,215,145.99
WC8	Wildcat Resources	0.031	24%	35%	3%	$19,358,181.81
AKE	Allkem Limited	12.8	34%	9%	3%	$7,906,960,266.40
PAM	Pan Asia Metals	0.48	19%	23%	3%	$34,372,912.53
GL1	Globallith	1.94	85%	24%	3%	$298,352,721.28
EVR	Ev Resources Ltd	0.033	27%	14%	3%	$29,631,490.27
AX8	Accelerate Resources	0.038	31%	6%	3%	$10,006,979.26
MIN	Mineral Resources.	60.94	36%	6%	3%	$11,240,947,035.35
RGL	Riversgold	0.04	54%	33%	3%	$30,074,299.40
LPI	Lithium Pwr Int Ltd	0.65	60%	7%	2%	$221,706,978.48
MNS	Magnis Energy Tech	0.47	62%	27%	2%	$446,352,482.18
EMH	European Metals Hldg	0.96	41%	21%	2%	$112,520,007.84
KZR	Kalamazoo Resources	0.275	12%	20%	2%	$39,202,480.98
IGO	IGO Limited	12.23	27%	6%	2%	$9,102,359,112.26
MRR	Minrex Resources Ltd	0.064	100%	8%	2%	$66,789,258.54
NMT	Neometals Ltd	1.39	49%	8%	1%	$756,714,715.96
AOU	Auroch Minerals Ltd	0.07	11%	15%	1%	$25,509,424.13
BMM	Balkanminingandmin	0.2	14%	0%	1%	$6,468,125.00
EUR	European Lithium Ltd	0.089	29%	1%	1%	$123,221,047.40
DRE	Dreadnought Resources Ltd	0.094	109%	25%	1%	$282,816,120.24
CAI	Calidus Resources	0.68	13%	-12%	1%	$275,285,896.65
WES	Wesfarmers Limited	47.57	6%	0%	1%	$53,562,613,032.08
TUL	Tulla Resources	0.5325	0%	-1%	0%	$84,914,942.16
VUL	Vulcan Energy	9.53	82%	20%	0%	$1,360,252,006.49
RIO	Rio Tinto Limited	95.69	0%	-2%	0%	$35,417,738,977.74
AGY	Argosy Minerals Ltd	0.405	29%	4%	0%	$552,853,028.43
AML	Aeon Metals Ltd.	0.03	0%	7%	0%	$32,802,923.19
AVZ	AVZ Minerals Ltd	0.78	0%	0%	0%	$2,752,409,203.44
INF	Infinity Lithium	0.155	35%	11%	0%	$64,327,025.23
JRL	Jindalee Resources	2.9	12%	11%	0%	$166,399,001.40
QPM	Queensland Pacific	0.145	16%	-3%	0%	$226,723,904.00
RLC	Reedy Lagoon Corp.	0.017	0%	6%	0%	$9,476,257.50
TKL	Traka Resources	0.007	17%	0%	0%	$4,821,421.93
TON	Triton Min Ltd	0.027	69%	-7%	0%	$33,987,172.78
LEL	Lithenergy	1.12	70%	13%	0%	$50,568,000.00
AAJ	Aruma Resources Ltd	0.079	24%	16%	0%	$12,399,958.74
FRS	Forrestaniaresources	0.165	3%	18%	0%	$5,129,240.16
GSM	Golden State Mining	0.06	43%	22%	0%	$6,985,279.14
IMI	Infinitymining	0.15	7%	15%	0%	$8,625,000.00
LRV	Larvottoresources	0.255	42%	13%	0%	$10,590,787.50
MMC	Mitremining	0.115	-12%	0%	0%	$3,114,786.50
RAG	Ragnar Metals Ltd	0.047	18%	12%	0%	$17,821,689.78
SHH	Shree Minerals Ltd	0.01	43%	25%	0%	$12,384,868.92
TSC	Twenty Seven Co. Ltd	0.003	20%	0%	0%	$7,982,441.72
WCN	White Cliff Min Ltd	0.014	8%	22%	0%	$9,150,447.07
WML	Woomera Mining Ltd	0.017	6%	6%	0%	$11,676,162.12
AZL	Arizona Lithium Ltd	0.105	28%	30%	0%	$252,517,183.91
PNN	Power Minerals Ltd	0.56	38%	11%	0%	$34,461,705.60
QXR	Qx Resources Limited	0.039	44%	18%	0%	$33,515,130.52
SCN	Scorpion Minerals	0.066	-11%	5%	0%	$21,900,858.67
AZI	Altamin Limited	0.089	-6%	-1%	0%	$34,862,790.93
ENT	Enterprise Metals	0.011	10%	10%	0%	$7,182,787.57
AVW	Avira Resources Ltd	0.004	33%	0%	0%	$8,475,160.00
BNR	Bulletin Res Ltd	0.16	45%	45%	0%	$46,814,576.00
RDT	Red Dirt Metals Ltd	0.45	29%	2%	0%	$137,049,491.70
A8G	Australasian Metals	0.28	40%	14%	0%	$11,527,738.32
EFE	Eastern Resources	0.034	42%	21%	0%	$33,942,170.45
LSR	Lodestar Minerals	0.009	29%	13%	0%	$15,645,936.13
IPT	Impact Minerals	0.008	0%	0%	0%	$19,850,964.45
SRI	Sipa Resources Ltd	0.043	8%	-4%	0%	$8,816,066.53
VMC	Venus Metals Cor Ltd	0.175	9%	-8%	0%	$28,013,769.53
ZNC	Zenith Minerals Ltd	0.305	20%	2%	0%	$105,152,495.10
G88	Golden Mile Res Ltd	0.03	3%	7%	0%	$6,111,978.42
EPM	Eclipse Metals	0.024	26%	0%	0%	$46,107,033.91
M2R	Miramar	0.099	10%	-1%	0%	$6,354,479.64
LRD	Lordresourceslimited	0.23	15%	15%	0%	$7,310,462.83
WMC	Wiluna Mining Corp	0.205	-5%	0%	0%	$74,238,030.68
ZEO	Zeotech Limited	0.059	31%	-5%	0%	$89,970,012.73
GW1	Greenwing Resources	0.29	32%	16%	0%	$35,741,731.21
DAF	Discovery Alaska Ltd	0.05	14%	28%	0%	$11,211,734.90
IR1	Irismetals	0.63	125%	47%	0%	$37,718,100.00
LNR	Lanthanein Resources	0.029	107%	38%	0%	$27,921,941.53
DAL	Dalaroometalsltd	0.099	-14%	-10%	0%	$2,957,625.00
ESS	Essential Metals Ltd	0.54	57%	10%	-1%	$134,518,573.15
MQR	Marquee Resource Ltd	0.092	44%	16%	-1%	$29,352,434.94
AS2	Askarimetalslimited	0.42	83%	22%	-1%	$19,154,439.75
BYH	Bryah Resources Ltd	0.029	0%	-6%	-2%	$6,673,111.66
FTL	Firetail Resources	0.25	11%	4%	-2%	$15,754,537.50
LIS	Lisenergylimited	0.71	26%	-8%	-2%	$120,287,785.58
DTM	Dart Mining NL	0.081	21%	4%	-2%	$11,226,593.28
MLS	Metals Australia	0.07	59%	15%	-3%	$40,898,605.75
KTA	Krakatoa Resources	0.066	35%	35%	-3%	$23,440,274.36
AUN	Aurumin	0.16	7%	7%	-3%	$18,021,836.58
KAI	Kairos Minerals Ltd	0.031	41%	3%	-3%	$62,850,991.71
MXR	Maximus Resources	0.061	39%	17%	-3%	$20,028,063.38
AM7	Arcadia Minerals	0.145	-3%	7%	-3%	$7,004,683.80
KGD	Kula Gold Limited	0.026	-15%	-6%	-4%	$5,809,742.06
CY5	Cygnus Gold Limited	0.24	60%	4%	-4%	$36,796,328.75
ARN	Aldoro Resources	0.26	73%	30%	-5%	$27,386,512.18
ADV	Ardiden Ltd	0.0085	21%	6%	-6%	$24,015,018.20
TMB	Tambourahmetals	0.17	26%	-3%	-6%	$7,414,667.64
SRZ	Stellar Resources	0.017	13%	0%	-6%	$15,107,447.27
RMX	Red Mount Min Ltd	0.0065	30%	8%	-7%	$11,496,547.01
MM1	Midasmineralsltd	0.23	18%	24%	-8%	$14,282,941.00
PSC	Prospect Res Ltd	0.105	116%	-19%	-13%	$55,471,135.44
EMS	Eastern Metals	0.14	-7%	-10%	-15%	$6,378,281.25

57 lithium companies finished the day in the green, 51 flat lined and 23 companies ended in the red.

Who’s got news out today?

ALLKEM (ASX:AKE)

AKE will acquire 100% of the strategic lithium tenement of María Victoria, north of the Olaroz Lithium Facility, from Minera Santa Rita S.R.L.

Allkem will, subject to receipt of necessary third party and regulatory approvals, also retain a portion of the gas capacity that Borax is entitled to from the Fenix and La Puna gas pipelines to be available for its Sal de Vida project.

Subject to satisfaction of the conditions precedent, completion of the Proposed Transaction is expected to occur in Q4 CY2022.

“The acquisition of the Maria Victoria tenement complements Allkem’s existing extensive lithium brine holdings in the region and will allow more efficient development of the Olaroz salar,” MD Martin Perez de Solay says.

CORE LITHIUM (ASX:CXO)

A 40,000m reverse circulation (RC) drilling program is underway at BP33 with a focus on exploring the depth and strike extensions of the main pegmatite intrusions.

This will be followed with extensional exploration and resource definition programs at Carlton, Hang Gong, Lees and Sandras to further build on the mineral resource estimates.

CXO has also confirmed that Grants NT has approved two separate applications for co-funding in Round 15 of the Northern Territory Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations program including the Ambient Noise Tomography survey and a single deep diamond drill hole targeting the down plunge extensions to the current mineral resource at the Sandras lithium deposit.

CRITICAL RESOURCES (ASX:CRR)

CRR has hit multiple spodumene-bearing pegmatite dykes at its Mavis Lake Lithium Project in Ontario, Canada including a near surface intersection of 20.8 from 42.5m to 66.05m downhole.

A total of 56 of 62 drill holes have intersected spodumene-bearing pegmatite with around 8,617m out of 10,000m completed to date.

CRR’s primary focus being to continue drilling an infill program, followed by testing the approximate 3km of potential strike length towards Pegmatite 18.

The company says these zones illustrate further continuity of the lithium enriched zones confirmed in the Company’s Phase 1 drilling program and subsequent/ongoing assay reporting.

Understanding the geometries and plunges of the pegmatites will aid in further zone delineation as the Company continues to test the continuity to the east of Pegmatite 6, towards Pegmatite 18.

ANSON RESOURCES (ASX:ASN)

ASN targeted four additional clastic zones in resource expansion drilling at the Paradox Lithium Project which have the potential to contribute to the upcoming resource upgrade at the project and deliver new indicated and inferred resources.

The zones sampled contain supersaturated brines similar to the previously sampled Clastic Zones where a JORC Indicated and Inferred Resource has been confirmed.

Assay results, if favourable, will confirm that multiple additional clastic zones contain lithium rich supersaturated brines.

This assay data and rock chip samples from these new horizons will also provide additional geological information on the brine horizons in the Project area, which can be sampled in future exploration programs.