Eye on Lithium: Global lithium supply needs to increase 42 times in 17 years, says US

US says current global lithium supply needs to increase 42 times by 2050 to meet EV demand
International Energy Agency says 60% of global energy spend is on clean tech this year
Ore sorting looks to be the go for Global Lithium because it 2X’d it’s lithium % at Manna

All your lithium news, Tuesday, May 30.

While the number 42 may be the answer to the universe, it could also be one of the answers on our journey towards becoming a cleaner planet.

US officials reckon that the global supply of lithium alone needs to increase 42X by 2050 to meet the rising demand for electric vehicles, even though investment in clean technologies (yep, this means digging lithium too), is significantly outpacing spending on fossil fuels.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) agrees, as it estimates US$1.7 TRILLION – about 60% of our global energy spend of US$2.8 trillion – this year will go on clean tech, including renewables, electric vehicles, nuclear power, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency improvements and heat pumps. The paltry remainder will be spent on coal, gas and oil.

“Clean energy is moving fast – faster than many people realise. This is clear in the investment trends, where clean technologies are pulling away from fossil fuels,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said.

“For every dollar invested in fossil fuels, about 1.7 dollars are now going into clean energy. Five years ago, this ratio was one-to-one.

“One shining example is investment in solar, which is set to overtake the amount of investment going into oil production for the first time.”

Here’s how Aussie lithium stocks are tracking:

Code	Company	Price	% Today	Market Cap
WC8	Wildcat Resources	0.1075	25%	$56,933,955
BYH	Bryah Resources Ltd	0.021	24%	$4,781,309
TKM	Trek Metals Ltd	0.08	13%	$25,840,101
XTC	Xantippe Res Ltd	0.0045	13%	$45,920,399
G88	Golden Mile Res Ltd	0.022	10%	$5,592,863
A8G	Australasian Metals	0.17	10%	$8,078,677
LPD	Lepidico Ltd	0.013	8%	$91,653,387
LLL	Leolithiumlimited	0.915	8%	$838,658,375
FBM	Future Battery	0.1175	7%	$47,062,965
AML	Aeon Metals Ltd.	0.018	6%	$18,638,811
LLO	Lion One Metals Ltd	0.82	5%	$9,454,349
MAN	Mandrake Res Ltd	0.044	5%	$25,147,917
EMC	Everest Metals Corp	0.09	5%	$11,131,247
EMC	Everest Metals Corp	0.09	5%	$11,131,247
ARN	Aldoro Resources	0.125	4%	$16,130,849
FRS	Forrestaniaresources	0.075	4%	$4,384,174
ZNC	Zenith Minerals Ltd	0.135	4%	$45,809,515
LNR	Lanthanein Resources	0.0155	3%	$16,823,634
OCN	Oceanalithiumlimited	0.31	3%	$11,752,950
GL1	Globallith	1.43	3%	$361,376,889
BUR	Burleyminerals	0.23	2%	$16,789,456
PSC	Prospect Res Ltd	0.1325	2%	$60,093,730
MMC	Mitremining	0.28	2%	$10,514,653
AUN	Aurumin	0.028	2%	$5,678,075
ZEO	Zeotech Limited	0.058	2%	$93,520,223
MIN	Mineral Resources.	72.61	2%	$13,839,938,238
LPI	Lithium Pwr Int Ltd	0.32	2%	$198,165,731
SCN	Scorpion Minerals	0.07	1%	$23,853,727
LTR	Liontown Resources	2.765	1%	$6,029,316,460
IGO	IGO Limited	14.565	1%	$10,934,947,220
EMH	European Metals Hldg	0.59	1%	$73,683,067
INR	Ioneer Ltd	0.3425	1%	$713,435,011
WES	Wesfarmers Limited	49.3	1%	$55,622,328,642
AKE	Allkem Limited	14.88	0%	$9,475,599,158
RIO	Rio Tinto Limited	109.115	0%	$40,499,688,947
ADV	Ardiden Ltd	0.007	0%	$18,818,347
ASN	Anson Resources Ltd	0.18	0%	$220,237,309
AVZ	AVZ Minerals Ltd	0.78	0%	$2,752,409,203
EUR	European Lithium Ltd	0.1	0%	$148,923,918
JRL	Jindalee Resources	2.03	0%	$116,479,301
PLL	Piedmont Lithium Inc	0.845	0%	$365,698,255
QPM	Queensland Pacific	0.11	0%	$192,098,271
RLC	Reedy Lagoon Corp.	0.006	0%	$3,400,318
TKL	Traka Resources	0.005	0%	$4,356,646
AX8	Accelerate Resources	0.023	0%	$8,684,840
AM7	Arcadia Minerals	0.16	0%	$7,471,663
FG1	Flynngold	0.069	0%	$7,098,274
IMI	Infinitymining	0.13	0%	$9,942,181
RAG	Ragnar Metals Ltd	0.019	0%	$7,204,513
CTN	Catalina Resources	0.004	0%	$4,953,948
TMB	Tambourahmetals	0.115	0%	$4,737,149
TEM	Tempest Minerals	0.014	0%	$7,095,503
WCN	White Cliff Min Ltd	0.006	0%	$5,754,326
WML	Woomera Mining Ltd	0.014	0%	$13,386,257
LRS	Latin Resources Ltd	0.18	0%	$457,347,885
KZR	Kalamazoo Resources	0.125	0%	$19,050,794
ENT	Enterprise Metals	0.005	0%	$3,525,403
KAI	Kairos Minerals Ltd	0.018	0%	$35,353,683
STM	Sunstone Metals Ltd	0.026	0%	$80,131,607
AVW	Avira Resources Ltd	0.002	0%	$4,267,580
NVA	Nova Minerals Ltd	0.3	0%	$63,266,933
GT1	Greentechnology	0.695	0%	$132,563,183
CAI	Calidus Resources	0.185	0%	$101,633,046
MQR	Marquee Resource Ltd	0.026	0%	$8,507,395
SRZ	Stellar Resources	0.011	0%	$11,050,940
LSR	Lodestar Minerals	0.005	0%	$9,216,987
NWM	Norwest Minerals	0.029	0%	$7,173,765
AOA	Ausmon Resorces	0.004	0%	$3,877,157
IPT	Impact Minerals	0.011	0%	$31,291,743
SRI	Sipa Resources Ltd	0.019	0%	$4,335,005
VMC	Venus Metals Cor Ltd	0.19	0%	$34,433,450
RAS	Ragusa Minerals Ltd	0.08	0%	$11,407,903
EVR	Ev Resources Ltd	0.015	0%	$14,039,761
THR	Thor Energy PLC	0.005	0%	$7,368,064
MXR	Maximus Resources	0.041	0%	$13,081,286
DRE	Dreadnought Resources Ltd	0.055	0%	$183,025,052
MM1	Midasmineralsltd	0.18	0%	$10,283,718
M2R	Miramar	0.05	0%	$4,019,087
LLI	Loyal Lithium Ltd	0.32	0%	$19,036,800
WMC	Wiluna Mining Corp	0.205	0%	$74,238,031
GW1	Greenwing Resources	0.265	0%	$39,726,090
KTA	Krakatoa Resources	0.026	0%	$9,447,791
TYX	Tyranna Res Ltd	0.021	0%	$50,534,932
DAF	Discovery Alaska Ltd	0.036	0%	$8,432,449
FTL	Firetail Resources	0.093	0%	$7,161,000
IR1	Irismetals	1.16	0%	$74,506,800
DAL	Dalaroometalsltd	0.062	0%	$1,852,250
CMD	Cassius Mining Ltd	0.017	0%	$6,944,379
PAT	Patriot Lithium	0.24	0%	$14,733,000
RMX	Red Mount Min Ltd	0.004	0%	$9,087,404
ENT	Enterprise Metals	0.005	0%	$3,525,403
FIN	FIN Resources Ltd	0.019	0%	$11,752,172
NIS	Nickelsearch	0.071	0%	$4,295,885
IEC	Intra Energy Corp	0.008	0%	$5,646,253
A11	Atlantic Lithium	0.61	-1%	$374,683,621
PLS	Pilbara Min Ltd	4.495	-1%	$13,611,747,174
ESS	Essential Metals Ltd	0.445	-1%	$120,405,012
AZL	Arizona Lithium Ltd	0.0445	-1%	$121,093,457
VSR	Voltaic Strategic	0.072	-1%	$26,970,415
AAJ	Aruma Resources Ltd	0.07	-1%	$11,144,267
LPM	Lithium Plus	0.305	-2%	$15,775,342
PAM	Pan Asia Metals	0.27	-2%	$42,698,234
LIS	Lisenergylimited	0.27	-2%	$45,626,401
LKE	Lake Resources	0.525	-2%	$761,007,918
DTM	Dart Mining NL	0.05	-2%	$8,786,649
NMT	Neometals Ltd	0.495	-2%	$279,134,294
MTM	MTM Critical Metals	0.1225	-2%	$11,044,695
LEL	Lithenergy	0.935	-2%	$90,734,550
AGY	Argosy Minerals Ltd	0.46	-2%	$660,071,524
BMM	Balkanminingandmin	0.225	-2%	$10,987,563
CRR	Critical Resources	0.042	-2%	$68,574,459
EG1	Evergreenlithium	0.38	-3%	$21,929,700
LIT	Lithium Australia	0.036	-3%	$45,184,092
MLS	Metals Australia	0.036	-3%	$23,089,339
LRV	Larvottoresources	0.18	-3%	$12,442,124
PL3	Patagonia Lithium	0.18	-3%	$9,065,648
KOB	Kobaresourceslimited	0.18	-3%	$19,502,083
BNR	Bulletin Res Ltd	0.065	-3%	$19,670,604
TUL	Tulla Resources	0.325	-3%	$107,804,341
CXO	Core Lithium	1.0175	-3%	$1,951,442,634
GSM	Golden State Mining	0.031	-3%	$3,744,455
MNS	Magnis Energy Tech	0.155	-3%	$174,517,902
PNN	Power Minerals Ltd	0.455	-3%	$33,997,113
PGD	Peregrine Gold	0.28	-3%	$16,269,757
EMS	Eastern Metals	0.048	-4%	$1,953,221
GLN	Galan Lithium Ltd	0.95	-4%	$303,846,251
INF	Infinity Lithium	0.11	-4%	$53,198,091
WR1	Winsome Resources	1.685	-5%	$286,299,798
CY5	Cygnus Metals Ltd	0.205	-5%	$46,040,253
VUL	Vulcan Energy	3.7	-5%	$641,209,321
QXR	Qx Resources Limited	0.037	-5%	$34,977,631
DLI	Delta Lithium	0.64	-5%	$305,991,556
1MC	Morella Corporation	0.0085	-6%	$54,887,224
AS2	Askarimetalslimited	0.255	-6%	$18,193,505
TON	Triton Min Ltd	0.032	-6%	$53,086,091
VKA	Viking Mines Ltd	0.008	-6%	$8,714,697
RGL	Riversgold	0.016	-6%	$16,072,951
ALY	Alchemy Resource Ltd	0.016	-6%	$20,027,296
MRR	Minrex Resources Ltd	0.014	-7%	$16,273,013
EPM	Eclipse Metals	0.013	-7%	$28,392,837
LM1	Leeuwin Metals Ltd	0.325	-7%	$14,799,750
AZI	Altamin Limited	0.069	-8%	$29,378,756
CHR	Charger Metals	0.51	-8%	$24,261,474
SGQ	St George Min Ltd	0.041	-9%	$37,822,975
EFE	Eastern Resources	0.01	-9%	$13,661,411
LRD	Lordresourceslimited	0.105	-11%	$4,363,024
LRD	Lordresourceslimited	0.105	-11%	$4,363,024
YAR	Yari Minerals Ltd	0.016	-11%	$8,682,441
SYA	Sayona Mining Ltd	0.185	-12%	$1,910,738,158
KGD	Kula Gold Limited	0.017	-15%	$7,464,238

There were 33 lithium players in the green today, 61 had no change in price, while 51 fell in price.

WHO’S GOT NEWS OUT?

PAN ASIA METALS (ASX:PAM)

PAM has added to its list of lithium discoveries, finding new pegmatite zones at the Bang I Tum lithium prospect, within its Reung Kiet Lithium project in southern Thailand.

The first assay was received from a recent drilling campaign and is consistent with the company’s exploration target of 8-14mt @ 0.5%-0.8% Li2O at the project.

Drilling is ongoing at the prospect, with two holes underway and another 11 pending assays at the lab.

“Initial assays and visual observations at the Bang I Tum lithium prospect are very pleasing, supporting the exploration target and indicating new extensions to the mineralised zones. Robust lithium assays have been reported in hole BTDD007,” PAM MD Paul Lock said.

“Visual observations in most other holes support and improve our initial expectations for the program.

“The next batch of assay results is due in June, and we are already drilling holes BTDD022 and 023, meaning we can expect an inaugural mineral resource estimate for Bang I Tum to be reported later this year.

“Successfully incorporating Bang I Tum into the inventory will boost the scale of our project, making it more attractive as a strategic mineral resource in South East Asia.”

GLOBAL LITHIUM RESOURCES (ASX:GL1)

GL1 sent an ore sample from its Manna lithium project to Steinert’s ore sorting test facility in Perth, and boy, are they glad they did — first-stage ore sorting returned a huge 90% increase in lithium head grade from 0.88% Li2O to 1.67% Li2O.

GL1 says the ore sorting trial work will help improve the available tonnes of lithium pegmatite ore that can be economically mined at Manna, as it allows larger areas to be mined.

Ore sorting solutions can also help reduce the plant size in the downstream stages of processing and beneficiation to reduce overall costs.

There’s also the potential for direct shipping ore (DSO) concentrates to be created at low cost in small, remote mining installations, improving transport costs and reaping higher prices per tonne at market.

GL1 project director Tony Chamberlain said the initial ore sorting results have shown the technology is a perfect fit for Manna and more samples have been collected for further large-scale trials.

“The Manna lithium project has the distinct advantage of having great visual control between ore, which is predominantly white in colour, and surrounding waste rock which appears dark grey to black,” Chamberlain said.

“Additional bulk diamond core has been obtained from Manna and further samples are being prepared for larger scale trials.

“Ore sorting technology will ultimately provide greater operational flexibility within the mining operation and increase head grade to the mill.

“We look forward to updating the market with further results from these trials as activities continue towards completion of the Manna DFS by December 2023.”

PURE RESOURCES (ASX:PR1)

PR1 is making its move into Quebec by kicking off the next phase of exploration at its Laforge lithium project.

The explorer will be getting boots on the ground with APEX Geoscience to complete mapping and sampling during the summer months with the aim of delineating targets for follow-up drill testing.

A heap of outcropping pegmatites have already been mapped and will provide a primary focus for current exploration wortk.

The project area is 261km2 and located is 65km northeast of Patriot’s CV5 lithium discovery and Corvette’s lithium trend to the southwest, and exhibits similarities with both projects.

“We’re very excited to commence exploration properly on the Laforge lithium project that follows on from an opportunistic fieldwork campaign completed late last year,” PR1 executive chairman Patric Glovac said.

“The previous field work was completed on less than 5% of Pure’s 261km2 landholding and the company is looking forward to building on the previous work with the goal of generating targets for follow-up drill testing.

“We maintain the belief that the Laforge Lithium project represents a genuine opportunity to discover a significant lithium deposit in a Tier-1 jurisdiction.

“Our technical team have recently visited the Project and are working closely with APEX Geoscience to unlock the Project’s full potential and we look forward to keeping the market updated on results as they come to light.”

LITHIUM PLUS MINERALS (ASX:LPM)

LPM has uncovered a 43m thick pegmatite interval downhole from 443m-486m at the Lei prospect within its Bynoe lithium project in the NT.

The first of three holes drilled as part of its Phase 3 drilling program at Lei provides a strong indication of the extension of the pegmatite system at depth and beneath its 2022 intersection which showed 21.2m @ 1.74% Li2O from 398.8m.

“We are delighted with the first hole of Phase 3 drilling at the Lei prospect, which intersected a wide pegmatite interval, suggesting an extension to the 2022 spodumene-bearing pegmatite hit,” LPM chairman Bin Guo said.

“This rapid success at the start of our 2023 program gives us confidence that we may be on the cusp of a highly significant lithium discovery at the Bynoe Project.”

Drilling is ongoing and the company is eagerly awaiting assay results and remains confident for the potential to delineate a maiden resource by Q4 this year.