Eye on Lithium: 'Taxafornia' approves Salton Sea lithium tax

California goes ahead with controversial Salton Sea lithium tax
Balkan Mining picks up Gorge lithium project in Canada
Anson wraps up resource definition drilling at Long Canyon No.2 Well at the Paradox Project

All your ASX lithium news for Monday, July 4.

Late last week California approved its plan to tax lithium, despite industry concerns it would harm the sector and delay shipments to automakers.

While it was still in debate, EnergySource Minerals CEO Eric Spomer told Reuters his company had halted discussions with potential financiers and a major automaker and that the tax “would stifle our industry before it even begins.”

Controlled Thermal Resources (who have contracts to supply lithium to General Motors by 2024 and Stellantis by 2025) CEO Rod Colwell said the tax would force the company to miss those delivery deadlines.

CTR plans to produce 60,000 tonnes of lithium – enough to make roughly 6 million EVs – by mid-2024 in California, which would make it the largest U.S. lithium producer.

The California Energy Commission has even estimated that there’s enough lithium in the area to meet all of the United States’ projected future demand and 40% of the world’s demand.

But the lithium would need to be extracted via geothermal brines which hasn’t been done before at scale, and industry experts like ‘Mr Lithium’ Joe Lowry say the Salton Sea was never going to reach supply expectations anyway.

The Salton Sea was never going to meet expectations – green or volume wise even if there is ultimately some production. “Taxafornia” is giving nascent projects an excuse for bailing. $GM & @Stellantis need to make real plans for #lithium supply. https://t.co/gESFiaIYAD

— Joe Lowry (@globallithium) July 1, 2022

The tax is structured as a flat rate of $400 per metric tonne for the first 20,000 metric tonnes of lithium produced annually, $600 per metric tonne for the next 10,000 metric tonnes, and $800 per metric tonne with output of 30,000 metric tonnes or more.

It will go into effect in January and will be reviewed every year – with the possibility of switching to a percentage-based tax in future.

The reason behind the tax isn’t just to jump on the lithium money wagon while spot prices are hanging around $77,500 per metric tonne, California says some of the funds will go towards environmental clean-up in the area – which has been damaged by decades of heavy pesticide use from farming.

Here’s how ASX lithium stocks were tracking today:

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Code	Company	Price	% Month	% Week	% Today	Market Cap
ENT	Enterprise Metals	0.0105	-25%	17%	31%	$5,157,174.84
LSR	Lodestar Minerals	0.007	-30%	40%	17%	$10,430,624.09
VKA	Viking Mines Ltd	0.007	-13%	17%	17%	$6,151,550.59
AVW	Avira Resources Ltd	0.004	0%	14%	14%	$7,415,765.00
IPT	Impact Minerals	0.008	-20%	14%	14%	$17,369,593.89
LNR	Lanthanein Resources	0.018	-22%	9%	13%	$13,405,209.12
SHH	Shree Minerals Ltd	0.009	-10%	13%	13%	$9,907,895.14
BYH	Bryah Resources Ltd	0.028	-40%	-22%	12%	$5,655,179.38
ASN	Anson Resources Ltd	0.105	-19%	14%	12%	$96,623,759.49
DAL	Dalaroometalsltd	0.098	-11%	3%	11%	$2,629,000.00
TYX	Tyranna Res Ltd	0.02	18%	54%	11%	$27,582,492.01
MM1	Midasmineralsltd	0.215	-38%	13%	10%	$10,615,434.38
BMM	Balkanminingandmin	0.18	-33%	-3%	9%	$5,403,750.00
EMS	Eastern Metals	0.15	-12%	15%	7%	$4,984,000.00
QXR	Qx Resources Limited	0.03	-35%	36%	7%	$24,062,144.99
CAI	Calidus Resources	0.62	-23%	0%	7%	$233,951,501.64
IMI	Infinitymining	0.155	7%	11%	7%	$8,337,500.00
MRR	Minrex Resources Ltd	0.033	-38%	-6%	6%	$32,864,555.79
EMH	European Metals Hldg	0.685	-24%	-3%	6%	$90,801,142.43
DTM	Dart Mining NL	0.053	-24%	2%	6%	$6,763,008.00
LPD	Lepidico Ltd	0.0265	-5%	2%	6%	$162,679,288.33
KTA	Krakatoa Resources	0.055	-30%	15%	6%	$17,924,915.68
CZL	Cons Zinc Ltd	0.019	-24%	19%	6%	$6,540,440.63
EPM	Eclipse Metals	0.019	-24%	-5%	6%	$34,580,275.43
LIT	Lithium Australia	0.059	-32%	4%	5%	$57,982,695.18
KAI	Kairos Minerals Ltd	0.02	-23%	18%	5%	$37,279,776.33
RDT	Red Dirt Metals Ltd	0.4	-20%	10%	5%	$115,730,681.88
LPI	Lithium Pwr Int Ltd	0.435	-17%	13%	5%	$144,895,111.92
EFE	Eastern Resources	0.022	-27%	-8%	5%	$20,883,169.25
AML	Aeon Metals Ltd.	0.023	-34%	5%	5%	$21,804,889.11
BNR	Bulletin Res Ltd	0.115	-36%	-8%	5%	$32,185,021.00
MXR	Maximus Resources	0.047	-33%	-2%	4%	$14,305,759.56
NVA	Nova Minerals Ltd	0.71	10%	31%	4%	$122,537,553.80
AUN	Aurumin	0.12	-33%	9%	4%	$12,560,673.98
QPM	Queensland Pacific	0.12	-25%	20%	4%	$179,815,510.07
TMB	Tambourahmetals	0.13	-38%	-13%	4%	$5,149,074.75
ZEO	Zeotech Limited	0.052	-12%	4%	4%	$76,245,773.50
TUL	Tulla Resources	0.555	-12%	18%	4%	$85,716,026.52
G88	Golden Mile Res Ltd	0.028	-46%	-7%	4%	$5,500,780.58
MQR	Marquee Resource Ltd	0.064	-42%	3%	3%	$19,568,289.96
VUL	Vulcan Energy	5.64	-25%	-11%	3%	$782,724,448.03
AM7	Arcadia Minerals	0.17	-26%	-6%	3%	$7,705,152.18
LRS	Latin Resources Ltd	0.069	-30%	5%	3%	$129,314,270.45
1MC	Morella Corporation	0.0175	-30%	9%	3%	$87,995,637.76
KZR	Kalamazoo Resources	0.175	-48%	-8%	3%	$24,683,043.58
RAG	Ragnar Metals Ltd	0.037	-18%	-10%	3%	$13,650,656.00
WES	Wesfarmers Limited	43.26	-9%	-1%	3%	$47,791,366,200.30
MMG	Monger Gold Ltd	0.215	-23%	8%	2%	$8,408,400.00
AZL	Arizona Lithium Ltd	0.09	-31%	3%	2%	$196,547,735.12
CHR	Charger Metals	0.355	-34%	-4%	2%	$11,321,909.66
DRE	Dreadnought Resources Ltd	0.049	23%	23%	2%	$136,256,810.45
GLN	Galan Lithium Ltd	1.05	-21%	-3%	2%	$313,531,342.86
NMT	Neometals Ltd	0.9275	-25%	-1%	2%	$499,022,520.36
EUR	European Lithium Ltd	0.057	-22%	-10%	2%	$77,449,385.83
SCN	Scorpion Minerals	0.072	-16%	-3%	1%	$23,560,014.63
ESS	Essential Metals Ltd	0.37	-30%	6%	1%	$89,967,910.13
RAS	Ragusa Minerals Ltd	0.078	-42%	-15%	1%	$9,681,684.01
PAM	Pan Asia Metals	0.43	-11%	-9%	1%	$31,416,102.85
LEL	Lithenergy	0.695	-38%	-4%	1%	$31,153,500.00
RIO	Rio Tinto Limited	100.96	-12%	0%	1%	$37,247,834,912.76
IGO	IGO Limited	9.865	-12%	-2%	0%	$7,443,942,601.79
AAJ	Aruma Resources Ltd	0.066	-7%	6%	0%	$10,359,459.20
ALY	Alchemy Resource Ltd	0.014	-39%	8%	0%	$13,343,036.80
AOA	Ausmon Resorces	0.006	-25%	20%	0%	$5,143,736.06
ARN	Aldoro Resources	0.135	-34%	4%	0%	$13,393,834.52
AS2	Askarimetalslimited	0.25	-44%	0%	0%	$10,398,567.50
AVZ	AVZ Minerals Ltd	0.78	0%	0%	0%	$2,752,409,203.44
AX8	Accelerate Resources	0.03	-17%	0%	0%	$7,903,766.97
AZI	Altamin Limited	0.095	0%	0%	0%	$37,213,091.44
CRR	Critical Resources	0.044	-41%	0%	0%	$65,472,670.52
CXO	Core Lithium	0.935	-16%	2%	0%	$1,619,991,954.46
DAF	Discovery Alaska Ltd	0.055	-24%	8%	0%	$12,332,908.39
FRS	Forrestaniaresources	0.12	-33%	0%	0%	$3,514,356.48
GSM	Golden State Mining	0.039	-40%	-5%	0%	$4,540,431.44
GW1	Greenwing Resources	0.22	-24%	7%	0%	$27,114,416.78
IR1	Irismetals	0.235	-35%	-4%	0%	$14,011,875.00
KGD	Kula Gold Limited	0.023	-30%	0%	0%	$4,949,039.54
LRV	Larvottoresources	0.215	-32%	-12%	0%	$8,929,487.50
MLS	Metals Australia	0.05	-37%	4%	0%	$28,401,809.55
MMC	Mitremining	0.12	-14%	0%	0%	$3,250,212.00
MNS	Magnis Energy Tech	0.3	-23%	-8%	0%	$289,945,598.70
MTM	Mtmongerresources	0.12	-43%	0%	0%	$4,351,203.96
PLL	Piedmont Lithium Inc	0.52	-40%	-18%	0%	$274,336,816.00
PSC	Prospect Res Ltd	0.955	-1%	-2%	0%	$428,565,286.21
RMX	Red Mount Min Ltd	0.0055	-31%	0%	0%	$9,033,001.22
SRI	Sipa Resources Ltd	0.035	-8%	-5%	0%	$7,175,868.11
TKL	Traka Resources	0.006	-25%	20%	0%	$4,132,647.37
TKM	Trek Metals Ltd	0.055	-39%	-8%	0%	$17,083,558.25
TSC	Twenty Seven Co. Ltd	0.003	0%	20%	0%	$7,982,441.72
VMC	Venus Metals Cor Ltd	0.17	-6%	-6%	0%	$27,213,376.11
WC8	Wildcat Resources	0.025	-29%	-4%	0%	$16,131,818.18
WCN	White Cliff Min Ltd	0.011	-45%	-21%	0%	$7,189,636.98
WML	Woomera Mining Ltd	0.018	-28%	13%	0%	$12,362,995.19
WR1	Winsome Resources	0.205	-46%	5%	0%	$27,698,368.77
XTC	Xantippe Res Ltd	0.008	-20%	14%	0%	$63,569,188.51
PLS	Pilbara Min Ltd	2.225	-3%	0%	-1%	$6,668,140,380.16
GL1	Globallith	1.16	-24%	-3%	-1%	$185,676,959.52
M2R	Miramar	0.085	-29%	2%	-1%	$5,520,053.02
AKE	Allkem Limited	10.12	-13%	0%	-1%	$6,535,995,381.50
MIN	Mineral Resources.	45.65	-22%	-5%	-1%	$8,756,234,636.76
ZNC	Zenith Minerals Ltd	0.265	-32%	-5%	-2%	$93,085,815.33
FTL	Firetail Resources	0.245	-20%	-11%	-2%	$15,445,625.00
LTR	Liontown Resources	0.98	-14%	1%	-2%	$2,192,225,198.00
JRL	Jindalee Resources	2.82	-14%	2%	-2%	$165,251,422.08
INF	Infinity Lithium	0.115	-8%	-4%	-2%	$48,764,035.26
WMC	Wiluna Mining Corp	0.225	-53%	-20%	-2%	$83,291,449.05
STM	Sunstone Metals Ltd	0.043	-17%	-7%	-2%	$113,275,642.39
AGY	Argosy Minerals Ltd	0.325	-30%	2%	-3%	$454,277,080.65
LIS	Lisenergylimited	0.455	-24%	-5%	-3%	$77,979,667.89
CY5	Cygnus Gold Limited	0.15	-12%	-3%	-3%	$18,287,723.83
SYA	Sayona Mining Ltd	0.15	-17%	20%	-3%	$1,278,246,663.85
GT1	Greentechnology	0.58	-39%	0%	-3%	$110,561,785.80
AOU	Auroch Minerals Ltd	0.056	-35%	-10%	-3%	$21,428,204.34
INR	Ioneer Ltd	0.41	-15%	8%	-4%	$888,802,253.50
LKE	Lake Resources	0.73	-46%	-9%	-4%	$1,056,179,528.56
EVR	Ev Resources Ltd	0.024	-38%	-4%	-4%	$23,149,601.78
PNN	Power Minerals Ltd	0.42	-13%	0%	-5%	$27,067,420.60
FG1	Flynngold	0.095	-32%	-14%	-5%	$6,406,105.00
TEM	Tempest Minerals	0.091	94%	17%	-5%	$48,457,552.90
PGD	Peregrine Gold	0.36	-23%	-13%	-5%	$14,548,934.22
RLC	Reedy Lagoon Corp.	0.018	-31%	29%	-5%	$10,591,111.33
TON	Triton Min Ltd	0.018	-33%	-5%	-5%	$23,916,899.36
LRD	Lordresourceslimited	0.22	-14%	16%	-6%	$7,469,385.94
NWM	Norwest Minerals	0.027	-36%	-4%	-7%	$5,237,614.22
RGL	Riversgold	0.026	-35%	-10%	-7%	$21,178,527.97
A8G	Australasian Metals	0.21	-45%	31%	-9%	$9,469,213.62
LLL	Leolithiumlimited	0.4725	0%	-3%	-9%	$513,061,594.24
THR	Thor Mining PLC	0.009	-25%	-10%	-10%	$10,673,009.73
SRZ	Stellar Resources	0.015	-29%	0%	-12%	$14,268,144.64
ADV	Ardiden Ltd	0.007	-36%	0%	-13%	$21,346,682.85

A total of 60 stocks were in the green today, 35 were flat and 35 were in the red.

Who’s got news out today?

BALKAN MINING (ASX:BMM)

Balkan nabbed an exclusive option to acquire up to 100% of the Gorge lithium project in Canada which includes two prospective areas identified by historical works which are yet to be systematically explored, Nelson and Koshman.

Five grab samples from 2018 have returned values up to 3.22% Li2O (and an average of 2.24% Li2O).

Plus, the tenements are part of the larger Georgia Lake pegmatite district which is known to host late-stage pegmatite mineralised deposit types that contain rare elements including lithium, beryllium, tantalum, niobium and tin, including Rock Tech Lithium Inc’s (TSX-V: RCK) Georgia Lake project.

BMM is now raising up to $1.5m and plans to seek shareholder approval for the transaction and capital raising in August 2022.

ANSON RESOURCES (ASX:ASN)

The company has finished resource definition drilling at the Long Canyon No.2 Well at its Paradox Lithium Project in the USA.

Drilling successfully targeted the large Mississippian supersaturated brine aquifer which hosts a substantial lithium-rich zone of ~70m- 250m thickness – and it confirmed consistent high-pressures of 3,785psi.

The company says these high pressures are expected to deliver continual flow at the extraction well location over the proposed life of mine at Paradox.

The resource expansion drilling program has now progressed to high-priority Cane Creek 32-1 well, with the aim of converting a large portion of the Paradox exploration target into indicated and inferred resources.

MARQUEE RESOURCES (ASX:MQR)

Early last month the company and Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) entered into a Farm-in and Joint Venture agreement at the West Spargoville Project in WA. The companies have now extended the due diligence period from 1 to 5 weeks.

MinRes has the right to acquire an initial 25% in the lithium rights by funding all exploration and development activities and completing a feasibility study for the Project, including a JORC compliant resource within 24 months.

If MinRes proceeds with the processing farm-in, it also has the right to acquire an additional 45% legal and beneficial interest in the lithium rights by funding the Project until the point of a final investment decision on a mine development.

And they’ll provide complete mine to port services to the JV including: mining; design, construction and operation of a processing plant; on-site power generation; haulage of product to nominated port facilities; marketing of product and shipment of product to purchasers.