carbonates

Li-ion Batteries and How Cheap Beat Cool in the Chevy Volt

You already heard from one and you don't believe me. I am a geologist and engineer who has studied the lithium industry and visited the lithium mining operations of Chile and Bolivia. I know what I am writing about: lithium is not abundant enough at present prices to meet the supply that would be needed to convert any significant proportion of the auto fleet to lithium batteries.


On Mar 28 08:39 PM NorthernPiker wrote:

> John, I share somewhat your lack of qualifications to speak to mining
> costs.
>
> Based on the USGS 1994 Yearbook, “Production of lithium carbonate
> from brine in Nevada (and the Andes, I assume) is much less energy
> intensive (and simpler) than the production from the spodumene” (the
> ore type found in North Carolina).
>
> minerals.usgs.gov/mine...
>
>
> As for what mining production costs are, I have only a press release
> from Western Lithium Corporation on drilling results for one of the
> five deposits (lenses) at its King’s Valley hectorite clay property
> in Nevada. (Yeah, it’s not even spodumene but it is an ore.)
>
> “The PCD lens contains Indicated Resources of 48.1 million tonnes
> grading 0.27% lithium, or the lithium carbonate equivalent (seekingalpha.com/symbo...)
> of 688,000 tonnes LCE and Inferred Resources of 42.3 million tonnes
> grading 0.27% lithium, for an equivalent of 606,000 tonnes LCE, both
> at a cut-off grade of 0.20% Lithium.”
>
> “Economic assumptions for base-case cutoff grade (high-lighted),
> $3.50 Lithium Carbonate USD/lb, 60% metallurgical recovery; $45 USD/ton
> processing, $2 USD/ton Mining; Rounding errors may exist”
>
> finance.yahoo.com/news...
>
>
>
> Below a price of $4.50 per lb. or $10/kg (seekingalpha.com/symbo...),
> this ore body seems somewhat marginal when one considers capital
> needs, the ongoing drilling costs and risks – market pricing, energy
> cost escalation, … However, they may be able to tap into battery
> stimulus money to improve the project economics. The development
> of this significant lithium ore body would help to prevent the pricing
> of LCE from going absolutely silly.
>
> John, I agree that it would be good to hear from some mining engineers.
>