Eye on Lithium: Global EV sales were 7.8 million in 2022, and we haven't even reached tipping point yet

Patriot Battery Metals hits stunning 156.9m interval of 2.12% Li2O, including 25m at 5.04% Li2O at the CV5 pegmatite
Pure Resources has been granted remaining titles at the Laforge Lithium Project in Quebec,~65km from Patriot’s project
C29 Metals begins drilling in Argentina’s Salta province

All your lithium news on Thursday, January 19.

Global electric vehicles sales hit a 10% market share for the first time in 2022, according to fresh research from LMC Automotive and EV-Volumes.com.

Total global sales of full EVs totalled around 7.8 million units, an increase of 68% from the previous year, the analysis says, driven mainly by strong growth in China and Europe.

Ralf Brandstätter, the head of Volkswagen AG’s China business, told reporters at the Wall Street Journal on Friday that electric vehicles would continue expanding fast and that China could soon reach a point where sales of conventional vehicles begin to permanently decline as plug-in vehicles take bigger market share.

“Last year, every fourth vehicle we sold in China was a plug-in, and this year it will be every third auto,” Mr. Brandstätter said.

“We haven’t reached the tipping point yet, but we’re expecting to get there between 2025 and 2030.”

Meanwhile, prices for lithium chemicals in the Chinese domestic market continued to fall between January 11 – 18 as cathode manufacturers started to wind down operations ahead of the Spring Festival.

According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI), downstream manufacturers who were still operating “looked to work through inventory” rather than purchase new material, pressuring prices under stagnant demand.

Going forward, BMI notes the supply chain is positive about the demand picture from the stationary energy storage market, which may buoy lithium demand in 2023, even if the EV industry is weaker than anticipated.

Here’s how ASX lithium companies are tracking:

CODE	COMPANY	PRICE	% RETURN TODAY	MARKET CAP
AAJ	Aruma Resources Ltd	0.094	19%	$12,399,959
AOA	Ausmon Resorces	0.007	17%	$5,143,736
VKA	Viking Mines Ltd	0.008	14%	$7,176,809
KGD	Kula Gold Limited	0.03	11%	$9,752,722
IPT	Impact Minerals	0.01	11%	$22,332,335
LRD	Lordresourceslimited	0.21	11%	$6,324,078
XTC	Xantippe Res Ltd	0.0055	10%	$51,460,174
LRV	Larvottoresources	0.19	9%	$11,769,576
FG1	Flynngold	0.105	8%	$7,597,383
SGQ	St George Min Ltd	0.076	6%	$60,097,689
EPM	Eclipse Metals	0.021	5%	$40,561,196
KTA	Krakatoa Resources	0.044	5%	$14,477,817
LLI	Loyal Lithium Ltd	0.38	4%	$19,158,850
BYH	Bryah Resources Ltd	0.026	4%	$7,031,337
DAF	Discovery Alaska Ltd	0.027	4%	$5,830,102
AML	Aeon Metals Ltd.	0.028	4%	$29,602,817
TEM	Tempest Minerals	0.028	4%	$13,628,687
MMC	Mitremining	0.285	4%	$7,448,403
VMC	Venus Metals Cor Ltd	0.15	3%	$25,821,409
AKE	Allkem Limited	12.67	3%	$7,811,311,554
1MC	Morella Corporation	0.0155	3%	$91,478,707
RIO	Rio Tinto Limited	125.69	3%	$45,284,665,946
AM7	Arcadia Minerals	0.23	2%	$10,507,026
INF	Infinity Lithium	0.1225	2%	$55,511,051
MLS	Metals Australia	0.049	2%	$29,137,737
JRL	Jindalee Resources	1.96	2%	$110,454,510
RGL	Riversgold	0.03	2%	$27,891,298
AGY	Argosy Minerals Ltd	0.645	2%	$891,798,761
A11	Atlantic Lithium	0.6475	2%	$386,160,308
LIS	Lisenergylimited	0.37	1%	$60,558,678
LIT	Lithium Australia	0.0485	1%	$58,617,200
ZNC	Zenith Minerals Ltd	0.2525	1%	$87,828,645
PLS	Pilbara Min Ltd	4.05	1%	$12,021,857,655
IGO	IGO Limited	14.33	1%	$10,760,775,623
PAT	Patriot Lithium	0.3025	1%	$17,388,751
NVA	Nova Minerals Ltd	0.665	1%	$138,635,726
WES	Wesfarmers Limited	49.86	1%	$56,132,625,236
NMT	Neometals Ltd	0.89	1%	$489,175,941
LTR	Liontown Resources	1.5	0%	$3,283,670,848
CXO	Core Lithium	1.0525	0%	$1,940,785,442
MIN	Mineral Resources.	87.88	0%	$16,641,834,507
ADV	Ardiden Ltd	0.008	0%	$21,506,683
AVZ	AVZ Minerals Ltd	0.78	0%	$2,752,409,203
EUR	European Lithium Ltd	0.083	0%	$120,286,852
LPD	Lepidico Ltd	0.016	0%	$122,204,340
RLC	Reedy Lagoon Corp.	0.01	0%	$5,667,196
SYA	Sayona Mining Ltd	0.245	0%	$2,128,250,097
TKL	Traka Resources	0.009	0%	$6,504,971
BMM	Balkanminingandmin	0.29	0%	$12,983,884
ARN	Aldoro Resources	0.23	0%	$25,969,833
PAM	Pan Asia Metals	0.38	0%	$55,805,124
AX8	Accelerate Resources	0.027	0%	$10,195,247
EMS	Eastern Metals	0.088	0%	$3,437,668
FRS	Forrestaniaresources	0.17	0%	$10,351,522
GSM	Golden State Mining	0.045	0%	$5,265,639
IMI	Infinitymining	0.26	0%	$19,884,363
RAG	Ragnar Metals Ltd	0.013	0%	$4,929,404
CTN	Catalina Resources	0.008	0%	$9,907,895
TMB	Tambourahmetals	0.115	0%	$4,737,149
WML	Woomera Mining Ltd	0.019	0%	$18,167,063
AZL	Arizona Lithium Ltd	0.067	0%	$163,647,811
PNN	Power Minerals Ltd	0.52	0%	$37,567,308
KZR	Kalamazoo Resources	0.21	0%	$31,252,069
QXR	Qx Resources Limited	0.049	0%	$43,946,254
SCN	Scorpion Minerals	0.072	0%	$24,890,846
ENT	Enterprise Metals	0.01	0%	$7,050,807
KAI	Kairos Minerals Ltd	0.025	0%	$49,102,337
AVW	Avira Resources Ltd	0.003	0%	$6,401,370
BNR	Bulletin Res Ltd	0.105	0%	$30,722,066
RMX	Red Mount Min Ltd	0.005	0%	$9,941,744
MRR	Minrex Resources Ltd	0.04	0%	$43,394,700
A8G	Australasian Metals	0.2	0%	$8,234,099
EFE	Eastern Resources	0.018	0%	$21,070,241
SRZ	Stellar Resources	0.014	0%	$14,064,833
LSR	Lodestar Minerals	0.005	0%	$8,692,187
SRI	Sipa Resources Ltd	0.034	0%	$7,717,521
G88	Golden Mile Res Ltd	0.026	0%	$5,319,334
EVR	Ev Resources Ltd	0.015	0%	$13,934,761
THR	Thor Mining PLC	0.006	0%	$8,731,877
CZL	Cons Zinc Ltd	0.0175	0%	$8,441,262
MM1	Midasmineralsltd	0.18	0%	$10,283,718
M2R	Miramar	0.078	0%	$5,513,176
WMC	Wiluna Mining Corp	0.205	0%	$74,238,031
AUN	Aurumin	0.062	0%	$11,021,299
ALY	Alchemy Resource Ltd	0.017	0%	$20,027,296
TYX	Tyranna Res Ltd	0.022	0%	$52,919,357
FTL	Firetail Resources	0.145	0%	$9,425,000
IR1	Irismetals	1.16	0%	$72,766,800
LNR	Lanthanein Resources	0.022	0%	$21,594,663
DAL	Dalaroometalsltd	0.09	0%	$2,688,750
GL1	Globallith	2.18	0%	$466,849,431
ESS	Essential Metals Ltd	0.5075	0%	$136,204,014
AS2	Askarimetalslimited	0.685	-1%	$34,043,994
LLL	Leolithiumlimited	0.545	-1%	$542,661,302
LLO	Lion One Metals Ltd	1.055	-1%	$12,319,184
OCN	Oceanalithiumlimited	0.44	-1%	$16,204,230
MNS	Magnis Energy Tech	0.425	-1%	$417,242,538
STM	Sunstone Metals Ltd	0.0405	-1%	$107,438,303
TUL	Tulla Resources	0.37	-1%	$79,818,169
DRE	Dreadnought Resources Ltd	0.0915	-2%	$287,344,724
GT1	Greentechnology	0.89	-2%	$172,618,246
VUL	Vulcan Energy	6.9	-2%	$1,008,350,166
LEL	Lithenergy	0.77	-2%	$47,217,750
PSC	Prospect Res Ltd	0.1175	-2%	$55,471,135
PGD	Peregrine Gold	0.47	-2%	$18,600,907
RDT	Red Dirt Metals Ltd	0.46	-2%	$195,809,437
WR1	Winsome Resources	1.83	-2%	$263,094,079
QPM	Queensland Pacific	0.1125	-2%	$200,830,011
PLL	Piedmont Lithium Inc	0.845	-2%	$366,292,900
CRR	Critical Resources	0.042	-2%	$68,384,303
MXR	Maximus Resources	0.041	-2%	$13,400,342
ZEO	Zeotech Limited	0.041	-2%	$68,909,638
LKE	Lake Resources	0.815	-2%	$1,162,879,906
MQR	Marquee Resource Ltd	0.04	-2%	$13,415,508
CY5	Cygnus Gold Limited	0.385	-3%	$72,630,314
GLN	Galan Lithium Ltd	1.165	-3%	$366,606,486
GW1	Greenwing Resources	0.32	-3%	$48,859,425
LPI	Lithium Pwr Int Ltd	0.465	-3%	$301,966,829
WC8	Wildcat Resources	0.031	-3%	$21,184,727
DTM	Dart Mining NL	0.06	-3%	$9,648,475
AOU	Auroch Minerals Ltd	0.056	-3%	$24,815,018
ASN	Anson Resources Ltd	0.1825	-4%	$223,868,435
LRS	Latin Resources Ltd	0.12	-4%	$275,211,719
TKM	Trek Metals Ltd	0.07	-4%	$26,567,991
CAI	Calidus Resources	0.4075	-4%	$186,670,697
RAS	Ragusa Minerals Ltd	0.115	-4%	$17,111,854
CMD	Cassius Mining Ltd	0.022	-4%	$9,395,337
EMH	European Metals Hldg	0.645	-4%	$84,939,647
CHR	Charger Metals	0.41	-5%	$18,797,178
INR	Ioneer Ltd	0.5	-5%	$1,101,627,590
EMC	Everest Metals Corp	0.1	-5%	$11,175,476
NWM	Norwest Minerals	0.059	-5%	$13,770,658
TON	Triton Min Ltd	0.035	-5%	$51,163,015
AZI	Altamin Limited	0.076	-6%	$31,729,057
WCN	White Cliff Min Ltd	0.0125	-11%	$10,545,993
VSR	Voltaic Strategic	0.023	-12%	$7,967,197
MTM	Mtmongerresources	0.083	-12%	$5,360,277

A total of only 38 lithium stocks finished the day in the green, 54 fell flat and 45 ended in the red.

Who’s got news out?

PATRIOT BATTERY METALS (ASX:PMT)

PMT has hit a stunning 156.9m interval of 2.12% Li2O, including 25m at 5.04% Li2O at the CV5 pegmatite within its Corvette project in the James Bay region of Quebec.

Vice president Darren Smith says it is hard to find words to adequately describe the impressive nature of the lithium mineralisation.

For most hard rock mines, typical grades are within the 0.9 to 1.9% Li2O range – the deposits are then processed to a concentrate before they undergo conversion to either lithium carbonate or hydroxide.

Smith says the winter drill program will continue to probe and delineate this area ahead of an initial mineral resource estimate planned for the first half of 2023.

“Drill hole CV22-083 has raised the bar ever higher with respect to the considerable potential at CV5 as we continue to delineate it, and by extension, the rest of the CV lithium district held by the company that has yet to be drill tested.”

PURE RESOURCES (ASX:PR1)

PR1 has been granted the remaining titles of its belt-scale Laforge Lithium Project in Quebec – around 65km northeast of PMT’s Corvette project.

Canadian based geological consultants Apex Geoscience recently conducted an aerial reconnaissance, mapping, and sampling program over the project and according to PR1, the prospectivity of Laforge has been enhanced.

Around 240 outcropping rock samples were collected and submitted to ALS laboratories in Vald’Or, Quebec for multi-element analysis with results expected to be returned in six weeks.

C29 METALS (ASX:C29)

Lithium drilling has begun across C29’s Pocitos 7 exploration licence in the Salta province of Argentina to establish the presence of brines as well as the acquifier profile.

It is expected the two hole program might be able to provide data which will form the basis of an initial mineral resource estimate at Pocitos 7.

ZENITH MINERALS (ASX:ZNC)

Zenith has secured an option to acquire the Hayes Hill Lithium-Nickel Project in the Norseman – Widgiemooltha area of Western Australia.

The project consists of 2 granted exploration licences and 3 exploration licence applications around 10 to 14km southeast of the Dome North lithium pegmatite deposit and east of the Sinclair caesium pegmatite mine both owned by Essential Metals Limited (ASX:ESS).

A further 43km to the southeast is Liontown’s (ASX:LTR) Buldania lithium deposits.

While modest lithium soil anomalies have been identified, much of the ground is yet to be adequately screened using systematic soil or auger techniques, providing a greenfields opportunity for lithium in a well-located tenure package.

PAN ASIA METALS (ASX:PAM)

Metallurgical flotation test work results based on diamond drill core samples have been finalised showing lithium mica concentrate grades up to 3.0% Li2O with lithium recoveries up to 78%.

Both fresh and weathered mineralisation are amenable to conventional crushing, grinding and flotation using almost identical flowsheets, PAM says.

“With further optimisation test-work underway… we are confident that grade and recovery improvements will be seen,” PAM managing director Paul Lock explains.