Projects in the Pipeline: Advancing lithium projects and expansions Room for two or twelve new players by 2020?

• Localización: Industrial Minerals, ISSN 0019-8544, Nº. 544, 2013
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Having received and accepted a proposal from Rockwood Holdings to acquire Talison Lithium for an all-cash deal at C$6.50 per share (worth C$724m) on 22 August 2012, [Talison]'s board announced on 6 December 2012 that a sweetened proposal from Chengdu Tianqi Industry Group was superior to Rockwood's and recommended its acceptance. [Tianqi]'s initial 19 November C$7.15 per share proposal to acquire the balance of Talison shares it did not already own (85.1%) was improved to C$7.50, valuing the company at C$848m, representing a 15% premium over Rockwood's proposal and 77% above Talison's last closing price (C$4.24 per share) prior to announcement of Rockwood's proposal. By declaring its bid final, a counter bid from Rockwood was virtually ruled out and their agreement with Talison was terminated on 12 December 2012. Anyone else? Together, six post-PEA spodumene projects (Canada Lithium, Nemaska Lithium, Critical Elements, Reed Resources, Altura Mining, Tianqi Lithium) theoretically add 1,054,000 tpa concentrates capacity to Talison's and Galaxy's combined 877,000 tpa (127,000 tpa LCE) on stream 2012/13. The probability that this planned volume realisation is unlikely to occur in the timelines originally indicated is evident. And, to this, in early 2013, may be added Galaxy's James Bay Cyr project, when a FS report is expected, Glen Eagle Resources'Authier project and Rock Tech Lithium's Georgia Lake project, with their PEA's, and later 2013 when Global Strategic Metals FS report is scheduled.

    Mid-2012 Nemaska Lithium tore up its January 2011 PEA and abandoned a June 2012 DFS for its Whabouchi, James Bay 202,000 tpa concentrates project in Quebec. Market studies and patented electrolytic process technology for producing LiOH direct from spodumene persuaded Nemaska to change direction. A new PEA was announced October 2012 for the chemical plant based on feasibility study level data for the Whabouchi mine and 213,000 tpa spodumene concentrates plant. The $454m chemical plant, to be constructed southwest of Montreal on a 12.2 hectares site in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, is for battery-grade LiOH (20,700 tpa) and Li 2 CO 3 (10,000 tpa) with flexibility to produce up to 27,000 tpa LiOH and 4,000 tpa Li 2 CO 3 according to demand. A full feasibility study is expected in January 2013.