https://www.miningweekly.com

Tangible growth seen in global lithium market, says project developer

Several 'gigafactories' are planned or under construction in Europe.

Several 'gigafactories' are planned or under construction in Europe.

Photo by Plymouth Minerals

11th July 2017

By: Mariaan Webb

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

     

Font size: - +

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The global lithium market has witnessed “significant and tangible” change in recent weeks, with Europe embracing lithium-ion energy storage on a political and industry level, says project developer Plymouth Minerals.

The company, which is developing the San Jose lithium/tin deposit in regional Spain, says Europe is positioning itself to be a leader in lithium-ion vehicle manufacture and use, citing the French government’s announcement last week that it would outlaw the sale of all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040. Vehicle manufacturer Volvo also announced recently that it would offer electric options on its entire vehicle fleet by 2019.

Further, multiple ‘gigafactories’ are under construction or in the approvals process in Europe. German vehicle manufacturer Daimler, for instance, is investing over $750-million in battery plant to service growing demand for its own fleet.

Plymouth MD Adrian Byass said on Tuesday the company believed the San Jose project would benefit greatly from the “accelerating and undeniable” changes witnessed in the lithium market.

“Every week brings a new and exponential change in demand driven by industry of legislative changes. The companies well placed in the supply chain will be those with quality, advanced projects. We believe San Jose is exactly what is required,” he said in a statement.

The San Jose project is expected to fulfil lithium input requirements for some of the ‘gigafactories’ in Europe.  Plymouth included a map in its statement on Tuesday, indicating that at least 13 factories are on the cards for Europe, six of which are already in construction.

Plymouth has defined a Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource of more than 1.3-million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent and is currently drilling at San Jose to expand the deposit.

The company has partnered with Spanish construction and engineering group Valoriza Minera and will submit a mining licence application for the project by late October. This document will cover the economic, engineering, environmental and social-impact parameters for developing the San Jose mining project and the production of battery-grade lithium carbonate. Tin will be produced as a byproduct.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

Showroom

Showroom image
Alcohol Breathalysers

Supplier & Distributor of the Widest Range of Accurate & Easy-to-Use Alcohol Breathalysers

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Condra Cranes
Condra Cranes

ISO-certified Condra manufactures overhead cranes, portal cranes, cantilever cranes and crane components: hoists, drives, end-carriages, brakes and...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
27th March 2024
Resources Watch
Resources Watch
27th March 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.134 0.225s - 90pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now