The Global Lithium Podcast

Chris Reed, the CEO of Neometals (ASX: NMT), is my guest on episode 78. Chris was the mastermind behind the development of the Mt Marion mine. He wisely brought in two heavyweight partners - Ganfeng and Mineral Resources to ensure guaranteed offtake and timely construction / start-up. Mt Marion is the cornerstone of Ganfeng’s hard rock supply and the first strategic lithium asset in production for Mineral Resources. Chris timed Neometals’ very profitable exit from the project well and retained pro-rata future offtake rights. One of the most forward thinking minds in the lithium world, Chris plans to lead Neometals into the broader battery metals market via “urban mining” – recycling lithium batteries to supply high quality cobalt, nickel and lithium while helping the battery industry greatly lower their carbon footprint. We discuss the current oversupply of spodumene concentrate and where pricing needs to be for newly minted Western Australia mines to survive and then expand to meet the massive growth in lithium demand. Chris and I agree a tight lithium chemicals market and price spike are coming based on the lack of investment in new hard rock and brine capacity in recent years. We examine the two main process categories of recycling and how Neometals will again utilize world class partners to move quickly along the development curve. Chris deconstructs the economics of recycling and where battery metals from urban mining will fit on the various cost curves. The episode concludes by looking at Neometals plans for a lithium hydroxide plant in India with a strategic partner and then move to “rapid fire”. Along the way I add to my vocabulary of Aussie sayings with at least three new ones. The first person that can guess them and leaves me a note on globallithium.net/contact gets a Global Lithium hat. Chris and Neometals COO, Mike Tamlin were the guests on episode 3 “Wizards of Oz” which is still second most popular episode of all 77 prior podcasts based on downloads. As always - thanks to our sponsor Zelandez

Episode 77 of the Global Lithium Podcast: “Gradually then Suddenly”: is a conversation with Roger Atkins. Roger Atkins of electricvehiclesoutlook.com is one of the top EV voices on the planet with 30 years of auto industry experience. This conversation is not really about lithium, it is more about the demand drivers of lithium’s future. Anyone interested in batteries, electric mobility, energy storage or the future will benefit from this podcast. We discuss why OEMs really aren’t as motivated to transition to e-mobility as they like to “advertise”, why Tesla has an almost insurmountable lead in battery and EV technology and move on to the rivalry between Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and how the world will benefit from their growing competition. We ponder if Musk and Bezos are the new generation of “Robber Barons” with social media generated halos. Elon Musk’s admiration for Henry Ford is another topic. We wonder aloud if Elon would benefit from sharing ideas with Henry’s great grandson the current executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company. Roger explains why simple EV penetration metrics are essentially a meaningless form of what he calls “numerical alliteration”. We break down the e-mobility world by different types of vehicles and discuss how regional differences impact the development of the market. Some market segments are past the mass adoption “tipping point”, others are not. Along the way you will hear thoughts about the major battery chemistries and their relative merits. Roger asks me if I think ESS will be a bigger market than e-mobility, the answer may surprise you. The above, much more and rapid fire.

Alison Dai, the Commercial Director of Chengdu Chemphys, shares her journey from investment banking at JP Morgan Chase to the family lithium business. She discusses the current dynamics of the lithium market, predicting a shift from oversupply to shortage. Alison explores Chemphys' growth strategies and partnerships in international markets. The conversation delves into challenges in upgrading lithium quality and the rise of lithium reprocessors. She also analyzes trends in high nickel and LFP cathodes, providing insights into the future of lithium in the electric vehicle industry.

My guest for Episode 75 is Gene Morgan the CEO of brine field services provider Zelandez. Gene has an interesting story that starts in New Zealand, moves to oil fields in various parts of the world before an invitation to Bolivia led to both meeting his wife and, ultimately, a career change to lithium. We discuss the various services Zelandez provides to lithium explorers, developers and producers. Gene has a unique window on the lithium space interacting  with a wide array of current and future producers. Having started my career with an oil exploration and production company I have long believed that the lithium industry has a lot to learn from the much larger and technologically advanced oil business. If you want to know more about the future of brine production in South America, then this is episode is for you. The name Zelandez should be familiar to you since they have been a loyal sponsor of the Global Lithium Podcast since the early days.

Episode 74 “Forged in the Fire” features Ken Brinsden the CEO of Pilbara Minerals. Ken is one of my favorite all time guests. He is articulate and forthright in an industry known for opacity. We cover several topics in 40 minutes including: Pilbara’s recent refinancing, their improved lithium recoveries to the world class level, how Pilbara is dealing with the current challenging market conditions and preparing for the inevitable upturn. Ken gives his thoughts on the ability of the industry to respond to the anticipated steep growth in lithium demand in the coming decade and the opportunities a global lithium ion battery build out represent for the company. I ask Ken to comment on Pilbara’s partnership strategy, corporate culture and the growing importance of ESG considerations to those seeking to finance lithium projects. Ken’s office in Perth is about as far away from my home base in Charlotte as you can be. The normally reliable Zoom connection was stressed a few times but the majority of the episode is fine from a sound perspective. Thanks to our sponsor - Zelandez

This episode features Pavel Galchenko of Halmek Lithium. Most investors and many analysts following the lithium industry can’t name a Russian producer; however, Pavel is well known by major lithium companies because of the many industry partnerships Halmek has had for distribution, toll production and providing an outlet for low quality lithium carbonate that Halmek has learned to convert into high quality lithium hydroxide. Pavel and his partners at Halmek have made step by step progress from distributing FMC Lithium (Livent) product and US DOE stockpile hydroxide to building their own plant producing industrial grade hydroxide from sourced carbonate to now making battery quality and high purity hydroxide for local and international markets. At some point in time Halmek has also partnered with SQM, Albemarle and Toyota Tsusho/Orocobre. We discuss the history of the Russian lithium market, the difficulties producing high quality hydroxide and the many challenges entering the lithium battery supply chain. Pavel can be found on Twitter @PYasev. This episode was brought to you by Zelandez.

Episode 72 features Dave Buckley one of the few people on the planet to have extensive (more than two decades) experience processing brine and hard rock into carbonate and hydroxide for two major lithium companies followed by half a decade of consulting experience with projects around the world. In addition, Dave also has cathode processing experience. We cover brine and hard rock processing challenges, issues with expansions in the Atacama, recovery rates, the challenge of producing a higher percentage of battery quality material, DLE, the need for developing lithium talent, hydroxide shelf life and why the “direct” hard rock route to hydroxide is a misnomer. Dave and I grew both grew up in Western New York and although we didn’t meet until 1992 share a common bond in optimistically suffering through decades of football futility in Buffalo. Dave can be found on Linked In but keeps a very low social media profile.

This is a Q & A episode in two parts. The first part is an abbreviated version of my ‘Ask Me Anything” call with Daniel Graham, a podcast listener from Queenstown, New Zealand. We discuss why I still believe lithium is the best investment among battery raw materials, Tesla, range anxiety, the market for newly designed LFP batteries, lithium metal, ponder if DLE’s potential will be realized or if the industry will have to rely on existing technology for the foreseeable future. I give my thoughts on lithium projects on both sides of the Andes, the importance of project teams and I respond to a “personal question”. In Part II, I answer the question of why even major producers struggle making high percentages of battery quality material. I define the lithium “last mile” problem and answer specific questions about SQM and Standard Lithium. Finally, I discuss why the growth of LFP won’t make life easier for producers as far as quality is concerned. The podcast can be found on the Global Lithium website: www.globallithium.net, Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcast and other major podcast outlets. To ask a question, leave a comment or to submit your name for the next "Ask Me Anything" drawing, please go to www.globallithium.net/contact

My guests are Nano One's CEO, Dan Blondal and CTO, Dr. Stephen Campbell.   We discuss Nano One's recent announcement of a potential game changing process for manufacturing 811 NMC.   We cover the resurgence of LFP and developments by BYD and CATL that could enable LFP to compete with high nickel cathodes in EVs.  We do a deep dive into cathode technology and debunk some commonly held misconceptions.   Nano One's new cathode materials aim to make rechargeable lithium batteries safer and longer lasting. Their process technology can add value to any type of cathode and enables the use of lithium carbonate as the feedstock for high nickel cathodes. After listening you will understand much more about cathodes and why producing 811 NMC has been such a challenge. You will also understand why the lithium chemicals market is likely to be balanced between carbonate and hydroxide well into the future despite all the forecasts to the contrary.

This is a Q&A episode that is the result of an “Ask Me Anything” Zoom call with a very well prepared and insightful podcast listener. I am asked how meaningful tracking Gigafactories is when projecting demand.  We talk about the continued progress at Tesla and ponder whether “big money” that has recently shown interest in lithium will jump in or “pass”. I am asked if the quality issues at Orocobre “can be fixed?” and what I think about Piedmont. We move to the Atacama: is water really an issue? We discuss SQM’s continued disappointing performance and briefly wonder aloud if the new management at ALB will bring change. I am asked if investing in LAC long term is my “best idea”? What is discussed is very similar to what I do on an expert call.  Thanks to our sponsor Zelandez