Beleggen in Lithium

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ohnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)

Number Of Hedge Fund Holders: 37

Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) is an American Irish-domiciled multinational conglomerate that produces fire and HVAC equipment for buildings.

On August 5, the company announced that it has been awarded a $299 million grant by the United States Department of Energy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to build domestic manufacturing capacity for advanced Li-ion batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles.

At the beginning of December, Oppenheimer analyst Noah Kaye raised the firm’s price target on Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) to $76 from $68 and maintained an Outperform rating on the shares.

After meeting with CFO Olivier Leonetti at the company’s headquarters for an investor discussion that highlighted several potentially underappreciated elements of the story, the analyst stated that the company is executing significant organizational changes that could translate to sustainable outperformance on organic growth.

As per Insider Monkey’s Q3 2022 database, 37 hedge funds owned stakes in Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI), up from 33 in the preceding quarter.

These stakes are collectively valued at over $1.3 billion.

[nobody]

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB)

Number Of Hedge Fund Holders: 49

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) is a specialty chemicals manufacturing company based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

It operates through 3 divisions: lithium, bromine specialties and catalysts. As of 2020, Albemarle was the largest provider of lithium for electric vehicle batteries.

Earlier this November, RBC Capital analyst Arun Viswanathan raised the price target on Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) to $380 from $371 and maintained an Outperform rating on the shares after its Q3 earnings beat.

The analyst states that he remains favorable on the stock due to a tight lithium supply-demand. However, he also remains cautious on the potential for large price swings in the lithium spot market.

On November 2, Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) reported earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2022.

The company generated a revenue of $2.09 billion, an increase of 151.85% on a year-over-year, and reported earnings per share of $7.50, surpassing consensus estimates by $0.51.

At the close of Q3 2022, 49 hedge funds were long Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) and disclosed stakes worth $621.4 million in the company.

This is compared to 39 hedge funds in the previous quarter with stakes worth $600.6 million.

The hedge fund sentiment for the stock is positive. A

s of September 30, Millennium Management is the top investor in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) and has stakes worth $159.5 million in the company.

Here is what Carillon Tower Advisers had to say about Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) in its third-quarter 2022 investor letter:

“Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) is a global specialty chemicals company with leading positions in lithium, bromine, and refining catalysts.

The company’s shares outperformed meaningfully in the quarter, driven largely by robust demand for lithium used to manufacture electric vehicle batteries.

Albemarle is well-positioned for the accelerating adoption of electric vehicles and could benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act.”

[nobody]

Finnish technology improves lithium’s production efficiency

Finnish company Sensment announced the launching of a new technology that improves the production efficiency of lithium.

In a press release, the Oulu-based firm explained that, traditionally, battery metal manufacturers had to rely on batch sampling and laboratory analyses to control their processes but this is costly, labour intensive, and typically involves a delay of 4–10 hours.

In contrast, Sensmet’s technology, dubbed Micro-Discharge Optical Emission Spectroscopy (µDOES), is able to measure multiple metals, such as any battery metal and their impurities, in real time.

The solution is based on atomic emission spectroscopy. A micro-discharge or electric spark is created directly inside the aqueous sample, causing a microscopic volume of the fluid surrounding the spark to be flash-heated to 10,000 °C.

Molecular species in the micro-discharge are dissociated into atoms, which are excited to their respective higher electronic states. Upon returning to their ground state, these atoms release their excess energy by emitting light at their characteristic wavelengths. The µDOES, then, measures this atomic emission spectrum to derive a quantitative analysis of the metals contained in the sample.

According to Sensment, data from the system’s analyzer are displayed locally showing the concentrations and trends for each metal, and peak levels can be set for each element. Results are transferred digitally to users’ databases and/or the cloud.

“In hydrometallurgical processes that cannot be controlled by monitoring pH, direct measurements of dissolved metal concentrations are essential,” the brief states. “There are alternative methods of monitoring, but all of these have major limitations. For example, online XRF is unable to measure light elements such as lithium and sodium, and it is almost impossible to calibrate XRF for low concentration impurity measurements.”

In the view of the team at Sensmet, given the large sums of money involved in lithium production, the accurate dosing of precipitation chemicals is extremely important.

“For example, when sodium carbonate is added to a slurry containing beta spodumene under high temperature and pressure, lithium carbonate and analcime solids are formed. If insufficient sodium carbonate is dosed, some of the lithium will not react to form lithium carbonate, and unreacted lithium will be lost in the side product analcime sand,” the statement reads. “This is extremely undesirable because it represents a loss of revenue. Overdosing is also undesirable because it would result in a waste of process chemicals.”

In addition to lithium manufacturing, the technology is also suited for the ‘black mass’ recycling of battery metals. Strict online monitoring and control are implemented to reduce impurity levels and thereby prevent the cost and delay incurred by retreatment.

At Keliber’s site

Keliber, a subsidiary of Sibanye-Stillwater in Finland, ran a pilot-scale test program in 2022 to evaluate the µDOES analyzer in the continuous optimization of precipitation chemical dosing during lithium production.

Battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate was produced from spodumene concentrate treated by high-temperature conversion in a rotary kiln. A hydrometallurgical technology was developed to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate by soda pressure leaching. The pilot ran continuously at the demonstration plant for 400 hours and achieved a total lithium recovery rate of more than 88%.

Keliber tested the analytical performance of the µDOES analyzer for the continuous optimization of precipitation chemical dosing. Nearly 80 samples were drawn from the process and the sodium and lithium concentrations were analyzed in parallel using both the µDOES continuous analyzer and a laboratory ICP-OES. The results showed a correlation between the methods.

“Chemical dosing based on reliable real-time data brings stability to the process, which is very important because it avoids drift and optimizes both yield and quality while minimizing cost,” Sami Heikkinen, site manager at the Keliber lithium chemical plant, said in the release.

https://www.mining.com/finnish-technolo ... fficiency/

[nobody]

Tianqi Expands Lithium Empire With Deal to Buy Australian Miner

(Bloomberg) -- Tianqi Lithium Corp. has agreed to buy an Australian lithium explorer in a deal that could accelerate production of enough supply of the metal for around 10 million electric vehicles.

The A$136 million ($94 million) bid for Sydney-listed Essential Metals Ltd., made through Tianqi’s joint venture with local miner IGO Ltd., includes the Pioneer Dome project in Western Australia, an undeveloped mine with estimated total reserves of more than 100,000 tons of lithium.

While that’s small by the Chinese lithium giant’s standards, it comes as global carmakers are desperate for supply of the key battery metal as they scramble to meet ambitious EV production targets. The shortage has sent lithium prices and company valuations soaring over the past year, and Tianqi’s bid values Essential Metals at a 45% premium to its last closing price.

Shares of Essential Metals surged as much as 41% in early trading on Monday.

On the current timeline, the Pioneer Dome mine would probably not start producing lithium until the second half this decade. But Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia, the joint venture, has the capital and experience to speed that up, Essential Metals said.

The deal “provides an opportunity to accelerate lithium exploration to bring new resources to production,” said Matt Dusci, acting chief executive officer of IGO. The acquisition, backed by the Essential Metals board, will need shareholder approval.

Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia owns a majority stake in one of the biggest lithium mines in the world — Greenbushes, in Western Australia — and was the first operator to build a battery-grade lithium hydroxide refinery in Australia.

https://news.yahoo.com/tianqi-expands-l ... 23205.html

[nobody]

Biden backs Nevada lithium mine with $700 million loan offer

A Nevada lithium mine that would be only the second in the US is getting backing from the Biden administration as it seeks to boost the domestic supply of the critical mineral needed to make electric vehicle batteries.

The Energy Department issued a conditional commitment for up to $700 million for Ioneer Ltd.’s Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project, a prospective supplier to Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. that could produce enough lithium for 370,000 electric vehicles a year. Project partners include mining and metals processing group Sibanye Stillwater Ltd.

The funding, being made through the department’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, comes as the Biden administration seeks to create a domestic battery supply chain amid a broader goal of half of vehicles sold in the US by the end of the decade be emissions-free.

Demand for lithium, which also is used for grid storage and weapons, is projected to exceed current production by 2030. The US relies on international markets for the processing of most raw materials, according to the department.

“Developing a US supply chain for these materials is a national priority as the country works toward energy independence,” the department said in a statement. “A core focus within the strategy is increasing the availability of the critical materials that are essential components of the clean energy technologies necessary for reaching national climate and economic goals.”

While Asia currently dominates the lithium carbonate refining process, the Rhyolite Ridge deposit is one of two known sizeable lithium-boron deposits in the world, the Energy Department said.

Ioneer expects to get US approvals that will allow the company to start building the project next year with the aim to start producing lithium in 2026, according to the company. It still needs to get final approval from the US Interior Department because public lands near the site are home to the endangered wildflower Tiehm’s buckwheat.

The Energy Department said the company has invested $1.2 million on research to preserve the plant and has revised its mining plan to avoid direct impacts on the plant.

(By Ari Natter)

https://www.mining.com/web/biden-backs- ... oan-offer/

[nobody]

Argentina Lithium releases drill results that extend brine zone at Rincon West Project

Argentina Lithium CEO Niko Cacos joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share news the company has released drill results from work at the Rincon West Project in Salta Province, Argentina.

Cacos telling Proactive the positive results including a 153 m interval ranging from 329 to 393 mg/l lithium from the sixth diamond drill hole.

The new drilling results extend the zone of concentrated lithium brines towards the west and southwest from earlier drill intersections.

The company says a seventh exploration hole is in final steps to completion, with two additional holes planned.

[nobody]

Lithium Americas Soars After GM Invests $650 Million. The EV War Is Escalating.

Lithium is becoming a battleground for auto makers looking to win the electric-vehicle wars.

General Motors GM +7.83% (ticker: GM) announced Tuesday it was investing $650 million in Lithium Americas LAC +14.37% (LAC) to develop a lithium deposit in Nevada.

The mine, referred to as Thacker Pass, is projected to begin lithium production in the second half of 2026. GM’s investment will be split into two portions and is contingent on Lithium Americas meeting certain conditions.

The Thacker Pass investment should amount to all the lithium GM needs to meet its goal of selling 1 million electric vehicles in North America by mid-decade.

“Direct sourcing critical EV raw materials and components from suppliers in North America and free-trade-agreement countries helps make our supply chain more secure, helps us manage cell costs, and creates jobs,” said GM Chief Executive Mary Barra in a news release.

Along with supply security, local sourcing and processing of EV raw materials are important for all EV makers in another way. Purchase tax credits, passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, require local sourcing and processing of certain materials. The local requirement ratchets up over time.

Lithium Americas stock was up 14.8% at $25.24 on Tuesday. The S&P 500SPX +0.77% and Dow Jones Industrial AverageDJIA +0.44% rose 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively.

GM shares were up about 7.2% to $38.90. Along with the investment, GM also reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and gave financial guidance for 2023 that topped analysts’ estimates.

GM isn’t the only auto maker looking to secure lithium supplies. Tesla TSLA +3.44% (TSLA) has an agreement with Piedmont Lithium (PLL) for lithium sourced in North America. Tesla also has plans to build a lithium refining business in Texas.

Lithium ores get refined before being shipped to battery cathode makers. Cathodes are one side of a battery that facilitates the movement of electrical charge. The other side of a battery is called the anode. Cathode materials are purchased by battery makers and turned into rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

Most auto makers have joined forces with battery makers to build facilties close to where EVs are assembled. GM is building domestic battery capacity with partner LG Energy Solution (373220.Korea). Now auto makers are going further up the supply chain to ensure those battery plants have all the materials they need at prices they can afford.

https://www.barrons.com/articles/lithiu ... eid=yhoof2

[nobody]

Piedmont Lithium says booming lithium demand is electrifying

Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX:PLL) (NASDAQ:PLL) president and CEO Keith Phillips sits down with Proactive’s Elisha Newell during an investor roadshow in Australia.

Phillips recaps progress across the company’s global lithium portfolio and outlines a series of key agreements with fellow ASX-listers and EV giant Tesla.

The Piedmont CEO says there’s plenty more news in the pipeline as the company works to become a world-class US lithium business.

[nobody]

Sibanye-Stillwater gets key permit for Keliber lithium project

Sibanye-Stillwater (JSE: SSW, NYSE: SBSW) has received the environmental permit for its Keliber lithium mining and processing project in Finland.

According to the company, the approvals for the project’s Rapasaari mine and Paivaneva concentrator include the right to start operations despite the existence of any appeals.

Keliber is an advanced lithium project, located in Kaustinen and Kokkola, and it aims to be the first European producer of battery-grade lithium hydroxide from its own mined ore reserves.

Sibanye took control of Finnish battery chemicals maker Keliber last October when it raised its shareholding to 85%, after acquiring an initial stake in February.

The refinery “is preparing for the construction phase to start within the following weeks,” said Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman in a statement.

In November, the Sibanye board approved €588 million ($634.2 million) in spending that will start with the construction of a lithium hydroxide refinery in Finland’s Kokkola industrial park, from where the company plans to feed into the European battery sector.

Apart from Keliber, Sibanye is partnering with Ioneer Ltd to jointly develop the Rhyolite Ridge lithium project in the United States.

(With files from Reuters)

https://www.mining.com/sibanye-stillwat ... m-project/

[nobody]

African nations united to keep their Lithium wealth from exploitation

New reports indicate that African countries rich in lithium, such as Zimbabwe and Namibia, are attempting to create processing and refining companies to capture a larger share of the profits generated by worldwide demand for the battery material Lithium.

As the auto industry shifts towards electric vehicles (EVs) - spurred by proposed bans on fossil-fuel cars beginning at the end of the decade - lithium prices and demand for lithium battery have soared.

The supply chain is dominated by China, the world's top lithium refiner and producer, but Western governments and foreign firms are attempting to disrupt this and see Africa's lithium reserves as an opportunity.

African countries, for their part, are keen to retain more of the value of their resources than in the past, which entails not just mining them but also processing them before export, a process known economically as beneficiation.

"We are saying to ourselves, if you have got the minerals that everybody wants now, you need to make sure that at least you probably mine those minerals differently and not in the usual manner," Namibia's mines minister Tom Alweendo told Reuters in an interview at the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town. "We are going to insist that all lithium mined within the country has to be processed in the country,"