MINEX Forum

Tag: European Lithium Market

  • European Lithium poised to become key player in production on the continent

    European Lithium poised to become key player in production on the continent

    European Lithium Ltd  is gaining traction in the lithium and rare earth sectors in its namesake target market, says Martin Place Securities, with a series of strategic initiatives placing it on a growth trajectory.

    The key drivers of this growth include the company’s Wolfsberg Lithium Project, a diverse portfolio that spans across Europe, and a listing on the Nasdaq.

    The company’s market capitalisation, as of January 30, stands at A$117 million.

    Revaluation due

    In its appraisal, Martin Place Securities suggests that the company’s stock is currently trading below its see-through asset backing of around A$0.80, indicating room for a substantial market revaluation.

    The report sets a value target of A$0.58 per share for European Lithium Ltd by the end of 2025.

    Martin Place Securities sees European Lithium as uniquely positioned to play a significant role in the European Union’s clean energy transition, especially with the EU’s target to phase in electric vehicles by 2035.

    The company’s diversified portfolio, strategic partnerships and involvement in critical mineral projects such as the Wolfsberg Lithium Project and the Tanbreez REE deposit, place it at the forefront of an industry poised for growth.

    Nasdaq milestone

    European Lithium’s flagship asset, the Wolfsberg lithium spodumene mining project, is slated for a Nasdaq listing, which is expected to impart a fully diluted value of A$0.61 per share, considerably enhancing the company’s market presence.

    The project, situated in Austria with a production capacity of 8.8ktpa LHM, is poised to become the first European Union producer of battery-grade lithium.

    A March 2023 definitive feasibility study (DFS) pointed to a net present value (NPV) of US$1,504 million, bolstered by high lithium hydroxide (LiOH) prices.

    “Wolfsberg would be one of the first operating lithium mines in Europe where EU regulations for the energy transition call for growing a major lithium industry to assist in the phasing in of electric vehicles there by 2035,” the report said.

    “BMW, recognising the need for security of supply, has entered into an offtake agreement with a US$15 million prepayment for all of the Wolfsberg Zone 1 output for its own battery manufacturing centre in Germany.”

    The company also has plans to access the largest lithium resource in Ukraine, which is also potentially one of Europe’s largest hard rock lithium resources.

    The report suggests that, following a resolution to the conflict in that country, an EU-Ukraine strategic partnership on critical raw materials could sponsor this development of the Shevchenkivske and Dobra deposits.

    Growth prospects in Austria and Ukraine

    The company is actively exploring additional lithium resource projects in Austria and is advancing towards acquiring significant lithium deposits in Ukraine.

    These ventures represent a strategic expansion and diversification of the company’s lithium asset portfolio.

    The lithium sector is showing signs of bottoming out, indicating a potential upswing that could benefit European Lithium’s strategic investments and market position.

    World’s largest REE deposit

    Along with its lithium exposure, European Lithium Ltd (ASX:EUR, OTCQB:EULIF) holds a 7.5% stake in the Tanbreez deposit in Greenland, touted as the world’s largest rare earth element (REE) deposit.

    The involvement in the Tanbreez REE deposit underscores European Lithium’s commitment to diversifying its portfolio in the critical minerals sector, aligning well with global trends and demands.

    This investment could yield a pass-through value potential of more than A$0.20 per European Lithium share, further enhancing the company’s asset base.

    The company is likely to target a Nasdaq listing for Tanbreez in 2025 to fund its development.

  • Swiss-Canadian lithium project in Bosnia to supply Mercedes, despite community opposition and ESG risks

    Swiss-Canadian lithium project in Bosnia to supply Mercedes, despite community opposition and ESG risks

    Swiss mining company Arcor and Canadian company Rock Tech have signed a partnership agreement that will include the distribution of lithium from Lopare in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and according to their claims supply Mercedes. Despite fierce local opposition. 

    “Lithium carbonate will be mined in an environmentally and socially responsible way at Arkor’s mine in Lopare, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and then Roc Tech will convert it into lithium hydroxide ‘Made in Germany’,” they announced, Klix.ba reported.

    Rock Tech is also building its first facility in Germany to produce lithium hydroxide for the battery and automotive industries from 2026. Among other things, the company has already signed sales contracts with the Mercedes-Benz group.

    In an exploration phase that has been ongoing since 2018, Arkor has confirmed deposits of lithium carbonate as well as boron, potassium and magnesium sulfate in a mine near Lopare. As Nicolas Trend, head of the Board of Directors of Arcor points out, the site is unique in the world in terms of its size and geological structure.

    Estimates are that in the Lopare area there are deposits of 1,5 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent, 14 million tons of boron, 35 million tons of potassium and 94 million tons of magnesium sulfate.

    Local municipality community and public are against any mining exploration so it remains to be seen how the Swiss and Canadian developers plan to overcome this situation with fierce opposition from local citizens and start further project activities. Also remains the question on how will Mercedes shareholders react on supplier ESG issues on project location. 

  • Weardale Lithium launches public consultation on test scale lithium extraction plant

    Weardale Lithium launches public consultation on test scale lithium extraction plant

    Weardale Lithium is holding a community consultation event ahead of seeking planning permission to build a lithium extraction pilot plant.

    The company has been trialling the effectiveness of multiple direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies to extract lithium from geothermal groundwater in Weardale, County Durham.

    The test scale facility would be located on the brownfield, former cement works at Eastgate, near Stanhope. It would involve groundwater being taken from existing high-specification wells to be transported via pipelines, negating the need for regular tanker movements on minor roads.

    Lithium is a critical raw material for electric vehicle batteries, but no commercial lithium production or refining currently takes place in the UK or Europe. Lithium produced and refined in the UK offers cost advantages, supply assurances and an environmental premium over foreign suppliers.

    The development of a pilot processing plant next to the wells ensures Weardale and the surrounding areas will receive the maximum economic benefit by ensuring processing is carried out on site.

    Initially, it is estimated the scheme will create 20 to 50 on site jobs plus additional employment within the local construction sector and supply chains.

    Scaling up to eventual commercial production could produce approximately 10,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year, creating around 125 jobs and generating an estimated £1bn of gross economic value for the region.

    Extraction from geothermal brines via DLE processes has been assessed by third parties to be more sustainable than alternative lithium sources. It is a low-impact, low-carbon and low-water usage method of extracting lithium from brines which Weardale Lithium intend to augment using renewable energy sources.

    The application site comprises four main parts:

    Two existing groundwater abstraction wells, south of the River Wear

    A new buried pipeline taking water from the wells to an existing gantry over the river.

    Pipeline gantry across the River Wear using the former conveyor bridge which previously took limestone from Eastgate Quarry to the former cement works. The pipelines will range from 75mm to 150mm in diameter.

    Construction of a pilot lithium processing plant on the former cement works site.

    The planning application is accompanied by comprehensive ecological, noise, air quality, highways, landscape, heritage, groundwater, surface water and flood risk assessments. For the first 12 months of the site’s operation, a Field Trials Stage will be conducted alongside the construction of the pilot plant.

    Stewart Dickson, CEO of Weardale Lithium, said: “Engaging with our neighbours, supporters and stakeholders is a key part of delivering a project that will generate both jobs and economic prosperity in the area whilst securing the supply of domestic lithium, which is of strategic importance to the UK’s net zero strategy.

    “We are keen to share our proposals with the community and look forward to welcoming visitors to the exhibition. We hope our application will gain their support and that the initial investment in lithium extraction can act as a catalyst to both grow the extraction process and attract other green technology operations to Weardale.”

     

  • Lithium in Serbia, then and now

    Lithium in Serbia, then and now

    Serbia is unique in the world because over 294,907 people (data from the Internet as of October 18th, 2023) deal with lithium and know everything about mining and obtaining lithium. According to data from 2021, 7,606 papers on lithium-ion batteries (the area of ​​greatest interest when it comes to lithium) were published in the world that year. If the average number of authors on each paper is five, this means that around 38,000 people worldwide deal with lithium. And in Serbia, eight times more people deal with lithium, that is, every 23rd resident of Serbia knows everything about the technology of mining and obtaining lithium.

    Although they acquired their knowledge about lithium from self-proclaimed lithium experts, it did not prevent them from considering themselves experts. (This is a worrying fact that shows how many people in Serbia believe inaccurate and wrong information from social networks.) Serbia still remembers how much damage the group and the party of self-proclaimed experts caused to Serbia. It was enough to consider yourself an expert and become a member of the expert party.

    Since two years ago, a group of self-proclaimed social network experts has emerged who know everything about the technology of mining and obtaining lithium. Some of these self-proclaimed “experts” have become known to the public as lithium “experts” even though they have never dealt with lithium, nor do they have any published work on lithium. The damage that these self-proclaimed experts will cause to Serbia will be calculated later.

    It all started in 2004, when the then Government of Serbia granted a permit for exploratory drilling to a multinational company. It goes without saying that whoever gets the right to exploratory drilling also gets the right to exploitation, if the results are positive. Lithium used to be, in 2004, the most harmless element of the periodic table, at least that’s what some of today’s “experts” advised the government. And also the most useful because in further contracting, according to the unwritten law on incorporation, it could be very useful for contractors from Serbia.

    When large deals are contracted, commissions are also large. Since their opportunity for contracting failed because someone else got the opportunity to mediate in contracting very large jobs, those same former advocates of lithium exploitation became the biggest opponents of that job, with the slogan “to stop everything”. Should others take a commission for the work they contracted first. They decided that they should pledge to postpone that work, until they have the opportunity to accomplish this great work.

    Our great “experts” for lithium need the citizens of Serbia, those who are not among the 294,907 “experts” for lithium, to explain how lithium, from the most harmless and most useful element of the periodic table in 2004, became the most dangerous and harmful element of the periodic table in 2020‒2021. Not even the “scientific” assembly at SAN gave an answer to this question. Anyone who has followed the literature on this subject knows that there have been no revolutionary discoveries in lithium chemistry (apart from advances in battery manufacturing). So the commission made lithium the most dangerous element.

    The Government of Serbia made the mistake of believing the stories of “experts”. The government (ministries of mining and energy, science and environmental protection) should have appointed a working group consisting of people from universities and institutes of various profiles (mining-geological, hydrological, agricultural, then chemists, physicochemists, technologists, machinists, biologists, etc. .), which would propose to the government a decision on this project based on all the existing documents or on the basis of some more that would be done, and on the basis of scientific literature and world experiences in this area.

  • Portuguese prime minister resigns amid lithium corruption allegations

    Portuguese prime minister resigns amid lithium corruption allegations

    Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa has resigned amid investigations into possible crimes of corruption in government relating to lithium and hydrogen projects. Prosecutors have detained his chief of staff as part of the investigation.

    Costa announced his resignation on television, stating: “Today I was surprised by the information, officially confirmed by the public prosecutor’s office, that a criminal process has already been or will be initiated against me. Obviously, I am fully available to collaborate with the justice system in whatever is necessary to uncover the truth. However, it is my understanding that the dignity of the function of prime minister is not compatible with the suspicion of any criminal act, which is why I obviously presented my resignation.”

    The outgoing prime minister added that he has a “clear conscience” and will not run for the fourth time in the early elections that the Portuguese president will likely call.

    President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa must now decide whether to allow Costa’s Socialists to form a new government with their majority in parliament or to dissolve parliament and call an election.

    Prosecutors are currently investigating alleged graft and influence peddling in the Barroso and Montalegre lithium mine concessions in northern Portugal and a project for a hydrogen plant in Sines port. On Tuesday, five people were detained as part of the investigation.

    The prosecutor’s office said: “At stake may be… facts capable of constituting crimes of malfeasance, active and passive corruption of politicians and influence peddling.

  • Portugal activists urge suspension of lithium projects after PM quits

    Portugal activists urge suspension of lithium projects after PM quits

    Antonio Costa resigned on Tuesday, hours after prosecutors detained five people, including his chief of staff, and named two formal suspects close to him in an investigation into lithium mining and hydrogen projects.

    Costa’s possible role is also being investigated by the Supreme Court of Justice after prosecutors said they had become aware the suspects allegedly used his name and authority to “unblock procedures” related to the deals. He has denied wrongdoing and said his conscience is clear.

    With more than 60,000 metric tons of known lithium reserves, Portugal is Europe’s biggest lithium producer, but its miners sell almost exclusively to the ceramics industry.

    They are now preparing to produce the higher-grade lithium used in electric cars and electronic appliances, as Europe seeks to develop its own strategic energy resources to reduce dependence on suppliers like China.

    Environment agency APA earlier this year gave environmental approvals for local company Lusorecursos to extract battery-grade lithium and for London-based Savannah Resources to develop four open-pit mines. Both projects are in northern Portugal.

    Lusorecursos did not reply to a request for comment. Savannah said in a statement it was cooperating with the authorities who visited some of its locations, but that neither the company nor anyone one its staff was a target of the investigation.

    Lithium projects have faced strong opposition from local residents and environmentalists. They say the processes lacked transparency and have repeatedly warned of the “dangerous promiscuity” between decision-makers and mining companies.

    They have also been demanding stronger regulation.

    In a joint statement, eight anti-mining groups said the current situation was proof their concerns were legitimate, namely because APA President Nuno Lacasta was named a suspect along with Infrastructure Minister Joao Galamba, who previously served as energy secretary.

    “Lithium mining projects in Portugal must be immediately cancelled to not allow territories and populations to be affected based on corrupt and unclear processes,” the groups said.

    Exploration rights

    They accused APA of working in the interest of mining companies and said the government had “created a network of business opportunities to benefit very few (people)”.

    APA did not reply to a Reuters request for comment about the criticism. It confirmed on Tuesday that its offices had been searched as part of the investigation, but has made no further comment. Galamba’s ministry has not responded to requests for comment.

    In 2019, Portugal’s government came under fire from lawmakers for signing a contract giving exploration rights for lithium mining to Lusorecursos when the company was only three days old.

    The UDCB movement, which is campaigning against mining expansion in the Barroso region, where Savannah Resources wants to develop its project, said in a separate statement that the environmental approvals given by APA should be reviewed.

    Catarina Scarrott, from the UDCB, told Reuters the movement had been denied access by APA to environmental documents related to the project in Barroso. APA did not immediately to a request for comment on this accusation.

    “The consequences of things going wrong are very serious,” Scarrott said, referring to the potential environmental impact of the mines, which according to UDCB include water contamination and threats to the region’s fauna.

    UDCB said the “suspension of any licensing, prospecting or exploration licences is imperative until criminal responsibilities can be properly ascertained”.

  • Fierce community opposition to copper, lithium projects threatens energy transition

    Fierce community opposition to copper, lithium projects threatens energy transition

    While nothing new, resource nationalism has ignited high-profile disputes in recent weeks, with First Quantum’s struggles in Panama and lithium miners’ in Portugal the two most radical examples.

    Panama’s ratification of a deal with the Canadian miner allowing it to operate its flagship Cobre Panama copper mine for the next 20 years, triggered violent protests that brought Panama’s capital city almost to a halt. It also scared away investors, forced authorities into a chaotic retreat, wiped out about $6.5 billion of value for shareholders of the company, and led to a nationwide ban on new mines.

    Throughout the controversy, and as the market waits to see if the Supreme Court will kill the agreement, the mine has continued to operate.

    Portuguese anti-mining groups are asking the government to halt and reassess all lithium projects, following allegations of corruption that led Prime Minister Antonio Costa to resign on Tuesday.

    Costa handed in his notice just hours after prosecutors detained his chief of staff in a probe into alleged corruption in his administration’s handling of lithium mine concessions near Portugal’s northern border with Spain. The investigation is also looking into permits granted for a green hydrogen plant and data centre in the town of Sines, about 100km south of Lisbon.

    Portuguese Environment agency APA earlier this year gave environmental approvals for local company Lusorecursos to extract battery-grade lithium and for Savannah Resources to develop four open-pit mines. Both projects are in northern Portugal.

    Savanna, which has hired investment bank Barclays and financial consultancy Barrenjoey to find partners for its Barroso lithium project, said it was cooperating with the authorities. It noted, however, that neither the company nor anyone one of its staff is a target of the investigation.

    Lusorecursos, which plans to start construction in the northern Montalegre in early 2025 and kick off lithium production in late 2027, did not reply to a request for comment.

    The challenges faced by miners in Panama and Portugal, two relatively investor-friendly nations, provide a cautionary tale for foreign investors on the vulnerability of mining projects to public hostility and resource nationalism.

    The developments come only five months after Chile announced a new public-private model for its lithium industry, which will see the state having a majority interest in all new contracts.

    They also cast doubt on plans to invest billions of dollars in the decades to extract copper, lithium and other critical minerals needed for the world to transition away from fossil fuels.

  • Portugal’s Barroso lithium mine project faces villagers’ ire

    Portugal’s Barroso lithium mine project faces villagers’ ire

    The lithium would be used for electric car batteries and is described by the mining company as critical for Europe’s transition to green energy.

    Portugal’s lithium reserves are considered central to Europe’s increasing demand for electric cars, but the villagers say it doesn’t justify ruining their way of life.

    “It would destroy everything,” says Aida Fernandes, as she looks across the valley where four opencast pits would border the village of Covas do Barroso in northern Portugal.

    Aida, like generations before her, farms cattle in this lush, unspoilt region which has UN Food and Agricultural Heritage status for its landscape and farming traditions.

    She deftly manoeuvres a tractor-load of brushwood which she’s spent the afternoon cutting from common land owned jointly by the community. Next she spreads the springy branches across the floor of the barn for bedding for her cattle.

    Common land is key to a dispute over plans for a new opencast mine – the Barroso Lithium Project – which would produce enough lithium for 500,000 electric car batteries a year over its 14-year operational life.

    But three quarters of the mine depends on accessing lithium deposits found in rocks on common land in the area, with the majority owned by the village.

    Aida is president of the Baldios – or common land association – which has rejected international mining company Savannah Resource’s financial offer to lease the land currently used for forestry and pasture.

    The European Union is keen to reduce its dependence on mines in China, Africa and South America for lithium and other raw materials needed for the green energy transition.

    The Barroso mine could be one of the first large-scale mines to supply battery grade lithium within Europe and in May Portugal’s Environment Agency gave Savannah Resources, which is based in London, the conditional go-ahead.

    They had revised their original proposals and agreed to changes such as not taking water from the local river. They must also build a new road to avoid the villages and fill in the opencast pits when mining there is finished.

    But opposition is still strong and Aida says that at the meetings they’ve had, “There isn’t anyone who’s in favour.” She says that in spite of the changes, “this is not good for us or for the environment” and they will fight on.

    If an agreement isn’t reached the Portuguese government could expropriate the land.

    Savannah also wants to buy private land from people like Maria Loureiro, who farms at the other end of the village. She grows olive trees and has cows which trot past us with bells jingling around their necks.

    “We’re not for sale, we don’t want to sell,” she tells me. She resents the offers of compensation and royalties for the area. “If I sold my land, what would I do?” she asks. She would also lose access to pasture on the common land if the mine went ahead.

    This is echoed by Fernando Queiroga, mayor of the municipality of Boticas, which includes the village of Covas do Barroso. He says that even if people are compensated for the duration of the mine they “will never go back to producing agricultural products again because in the meantime they’ll leave or they’ll just give up farming”.

    He’s finalising a legal challenge to the conditional approval of the project. “If the national courts don’t give us our answer, we’ll appeal to the European Court,” he says.

    The parish council of Covas do Barroso and the common land association have also lodged their own legal cases in an attempt to block the project.

    Dale Ferguson, the Australian interim CEO of Savannah Resources, says they’ve “listened to the community” and have made changes but concedes that “there always is some level of impact”.

    He believes the mine is “really critical for the energy transition for Europe”. He admits though, that with legal challenges, “the courts will make those ultimate decisions but we respect everybody’s rights and everybody’s opinions”.

    Portugal’s Secretary of State for Energy and Climate, Ana Fontoura Gouveia, is backing the Barroso mine and further exploitation of lithium in Portugal. She says the mine will bring new jobs and funding through royalties to the area. The legal action, she claims, is simply part of the democratic process.

    But does she see this as a test case for the rest of Portugal and Europe? “I see it as a best practice case and we are keen to show that you can do mining in Europe in the 21st Century with the highest standards and to the benefits of local populations,” she says.

    The rest of Europe will be watching the outcome closely, as pressure grows across the continent to open new mines for raw materials needed for the green transport and energy of the future.

  • Eramet rues timid European banks, sees lithium plant costing $1.5 billion

    Eramet rues timid European banks, sees lithium plant costing $1.5 billion

    Eramet aims to start producing lithium in Argentina in the second quarter of next year under the first phase of its joint venture with steel giant Tsingshan, part of Eramet’s shift towards minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries.
    If the partners proceed with a second stage of the project, for which a decision is due by the end of this year, total investment is expected to reach about $1.5 billion, Eramet CEO Christel Bories told Reuters.

    This is lower than a $1.7 billion projection given by Tsingshan. It would double the estimated $735 million cost of the project’s first phase.

    Eramet will share costs with Tsingshan. It will also raise $400 million in a deal with miner Glencore to market lithium from the project’s first stage.

    Bories said Chinese investors are typically keen on mining projects internationally, but European banks are held back by onerous ESG requirements.

    “The worst is Europe. Banks ask thousands of pages of questions on ESG and due diligence,” she said in an interview before the LME Week gathering of the global metals industry.

    “We have no problem providing the evidence … but at the end of the day the whole process can take 18 months.”

    The European Union, which unveiled its Critical Raw Materials Act in March to try to secure supplies of critical raw materials for electric vehicles including lithium, cobalt and nickel, has urged European financiers to provide more funding to mineral suppliers.

    Eramet has previously criticised Europe for being slow to develop supply chains for critical minerals, saying that encouraged it to turn to Tsingshan first as a partner for a nickel mine in Indonesia and then to co-develop its lithium deposit in Argentina.

    The partners plan to reach output of 24,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent annually under the first phase of their Argentine project, with the potential second stage seeking to raise production to 75,000 tons.

    Eramet is also studying a plan with German chemical group BASF to produce battery-grade nickel and cobalt from ore extracted at Eramet’s Indonesian mine.

    The French group has pushed back a deadline for a decision to next year, with Bories saying it needed more time to find the right approach to meet Western standards.

  • Ukraine, despite possessing considerable lithium deposits, has come close to missing out on the lithium rush

    Ukraine, despite possessing considerable lithium deposits, has come close to missing out on the lithium rush

    Ukraine possesses 1% of the world’s lithium reserves, a key component in battery production. In 2022, lithium prices surged to record levels of $80,000 per tonne, only to drop by half in 2023. In Ukraine, two companies are getting close to lithium mining, though years and hundreds of millions of dollars in investments separate them from the first tonne sold. What are entrepreneurs counting on?

    “Ukraine has the largest lithium reserves in Europe, as well as significant deposits of other minerals,” wrote Yulia Svyrydenko, the First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, on Facebook during the London URC summit.

    Lithium is a vital component in the production of batteries for smartphones and electric vehicles. In 2022, electric car production increased by 55% to 10.5 million units, according to the consulting firm EV volumes.

    The electric car boom is driving the lithium market upwards. Lithium production is expected to increase sevenfold from 2021 to 2030, according to BloombergNEF. However, the price peak in the market likely occurred in 2022. As of July 2023, the price per ton of lithium carbonate had fallen to $40,000, half of the peak price in November 2022, according to Trading Economics. Nevertheless, current prices remain significantly higher than in previous years.

    According to the U.S. Geological Survey, 70% of global enriched lithium production comes from Australia and Chile.

    “Ukraine’s lithium reserves are sufficient to supply batteries for almost 20 million electric vehicles,” says Roman Opimakh, the head of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine. According to him, Ukraine’s lithium ore reserves account for 1% of the world’s total or one-third of Europe’s reserves. “Exact volumes are classified as ‘secret,’” he adds.

    However, no one in Ukraine has yet mined lithium. Who in Ukraine has a chance to benefit from the lithium fever, which could end within the next 10 years?

    Challenges of Ukrainian lithium In 2017, “Ukrlitidobycha,” owned by Sergei Tabalov, the son of Kirovograd businessman and former MP Alexander Tabalov, acquired a license for the development of the Polohivsky deposit in the Kirovograd region for UAH 119 million. “I was able to convince other family members that this was a promising idea,” says Sergei Tabalov.

    There are four lithium ore deposits explored in Ukraine. Two are in the Kirovograd region – Polohivsky and the Dobro site. Another two are located in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia – the Shevchenkivsky and Krutaya Balka deposits in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions.

    The last centralized assessment of Ukrainian deposits was carried out in the 1980s, says Yegor Perelygin, a member of the Board of the United Mining and Chemical Company. In Soviet times, exploration of these deposits was not thorough, as lithium was only used for glass production and had little demand, says Mikhail Zhernov, the executive director of the Australian company European Lithium.

    Lack of accurate data is not the only problem with lithium mining in Ukraine. Not all Ukrainian lithium can be used for battery production because the ore is poorer than in Australia or Chile, says Zhernov.

    From 2017 to 2023, “Ukrlitidobycha,” according to Tabalov, invested $20 million in the exploration of the Polohivsky deposit. The deposit’s reserves are 75 million tonnes, but the company still doesn’t have exact data on how much enriched lithium carbonate, used for batteries, can be produced from this ore. “The share of lithium is sufficient,” Tabalov assures.

    Currently, “Ukrlitidobycha” is at the Prefeasibility Study stage. Tabalov is assisted by consultants from Finland, South Africa, Brazil, the UK, and Australia.

    The final project for the development of the deposit is planned to be prepared in 2024. “Ukrlitidobycha” is in negotiations with several potential investors, which it does not disclose. By the beginning of 2025, “Ukrlitidobycha” plans to attract $700 million, half of which will go to the construction of a mine and processing plant (GOK), while the rest will be allocated to a plant for the production of enriched lithium carbonate.

    According to “Ukrlitidobycha’s” plans, the plant will be able to produce 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year and will be located in one of the EU countries. “Potential investors insist that the plant can only be in Europe, even after the war,” says Denis Aleshin, the Director of Strategic Development at “Ukrlitidobycha.”

    Since 2019, Mikhail Zhernov of European Lithium has been trying to start lithium mining in Ukraine. His company MillStone&Co had a license for the Shevchenkivsky deposit and wanted to obtain another license for the Dobro site. However, the court revoked the company’s first special permit, and Roman Opimakh, the head of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil, denied the second permit due to rule changes, according to the specialized publication Nadra.info.

    However, Zhernov is not giving up. In 2021, he acquired a stake in the Australian company European Lithium, which mines lithium in Austria and has an ore processing plant. According to Zhernov’s plan, the Australian company should help defend the right to the Dobro site in Ukrainian courts.

    “We are ready to invest $10-15 million in exploration,” says Zhernov, “and build a processing plant if the reserves are confirmed at more than 12.88 million tonnes.”

    Time is not on the side of Zhernov and Tabalov. In 10 years, demand and prices for lithium will decline, predicts Alexey Falkovich, the Director of the Geological Service Company. “Technologies for battery production without using lithium are developing rapidly,” Falkovich says.

    Zhernov predicts the end of the lithium era in 15 years. Graphene, for example, could replace lithium.