The Global Lithium Podcast

In this episode I briefly speak about why I believe the "Big Banks" have, for the most part, gotten their recent price forecasts wrong. The rest of the episode is answering listener questions: Topics: The Inflation Reduction Act Permitting  DOE Loan Program DLE Canada's future in lithium The EU vs North America in battery supply chain development Companies mentioned: SQM, Albemarle, Ganfeng, Tianqi, Lithium Americas, Pilbara Minerals, Mineral Resources, Rio Tinto, Green Technology Metals, Tesla, Galan Lithium, Livent, Allkem, Wesfarmers, Frontier, Critical Elements, E3 and several more

I interview the co-founders of the International Lithium Association (ILiA). Anand, known as “The Lithium Raj,” has deep lithium experience. Roland has experience running other major industry associations. We start off discussing Anand’s experience as a lithium pioneer marketing spodumene from Australia (Greenbushes) before discussing the International Lithium Association’s reason for being. Follow them on Twitter: @ILiA_lithium & Linked In The ILiA website:  https://lithium.org/ Topics: The early days & growth of the lithium market in China Building relationships & negotiating in China The early days of Tianqi & Ganfeng. The transition from spodumene use in glass & ceramics to chemical conversion How China competed with low cost brine imports from South America China’s rise in battery Moving from Talison to Galaxy & later Pilbara Minerals The thinking behind the creation of the International Lithium Association Attracting the major lithium players as members The Association’s areas of focus and challenges Serving members & the general public What does ILiA look like in 2027? Rapid fire with the first "do over" in GLP history

As CEO of Pilbara Minerals for over six and a half years Ken Brinsden (@KenBPilbara on Twitter) had a long list of accomplishments. We discuss the past, present, and future in this episode. Topics: Lithium: unreasonable expectations on an immature industry The new price paradigm The creation and future of the Battery Metals Exchange (BMX) “Rearranging” margins in the supply chain End user naivete The significance of the Altura acquisition The importance of the team Newcomers with mid-stream production aspirations Innovation in mining is inevitable Why the future for Pilbara isn’t spodumene Staying motivated ESG Lepidolite and the Goldman Sachs “Report” Grooming a successor What’s next? Rapid fire

This is a solo episode where I discuss learnings from recent travel to the Benchmark and Fastmarkets conferences, my visit to the new Lithium Americas Technical Development Center in Reno, thoughts on the "speed" of the DOE loan office and recent announcements by Ford and GM. The episode closes with a Q&A session where I take questions and rapid fire from a long time podcast listener.

Tony Ottaviano is the CEO of Liontown Resources and an experienced mining executive. Topics: The move from the “Big End of Town” to the world of lithium The Kathleen Valley project Going underground Hiring criteria The team Building vs operating The most significant challenges Tony faces The offtake deals – Tesla, LG, and Ford ESG Core values The market Going downstream Rapid fire

Peter Hannah is the Senior Price Development Manager at Fastmarkets and one of the best young commentators in the battery metals space.  We discuss:  Lithium supply and demand dynamics  The meaning and importance of the spot price Ponder when lithium will mature as an industry  Why supply will define demand over the next few years Discuss the future of hedging lithium  And why we agree $16/kg lithium carbonate won’t happen anytime soon  I close this episode with thoughts on recent analyst reports, Argentina’s latest move to secure fair export prices and BYD’s foray into Africa

David Guerrero is currently an independent consultant and advisor with a long history in the Argentina lithium industry beginning with Lithium One before becoming the President of Galaxy Resources - Argentina. David is sought after by parties from around the world that draw on his deep knowledge when considering investments in South American lithium brine assets. Topics: The current state of the lithium industry in Argentina Which new projects have the best chance of producing by 2025 & 2030 The most significant barriers to success for brine projects Infrastructure challenges The potential for export of “liquid spodumene” aka lithium chloride brine The role of Federal and Provincial governments in the lithium industry Argentina vs Chilean royalty policy Lithium geopolitics ESG DLE Rapid fire

My Q&A session with a WeChat Group featuring some of the brightest young minds in the lithium/battery/EV ecosystem. Topics: The Rise and Future of Ganfeng Global Supply Chain Issues BYD & CATL's Future Outside of China Tesla's Lithium Positioning The Lithium Decade Why Didn't Western Lithium Companies Prepare for the EV Boom? Do Any Legacy OEMs have a Meaningful Lithium Strategy? The Best Barometer of Lithium Price Chile's Lithium Future How Much Influence will China have in Argentina's Lithium Future? DLE Geopolitics and the Battery Space  

Rene LeBlanc is the Chief Technical Officer at Lithium Americas. Rene has also worked for Tesla and FMC Lithium (now Livent). Topics: How much lithium is needed in the production of a lithium ion battery pack? Update on Cauchari Ramping up a greenfield lithium project Cycle times Seasonality in brine production Update on Thacker Pass LAC's new Technical Center in Reno DLE  Price  ESG Cauchari's water use vs currently used DLE Talent acquisition  Rapid fire

My guests from Rio Tinto are Marnie Finlayson, MD of Battery Materials, and Grant Donald, GM of Strategic Marketing, Minerals. Topics: RT’s battery materials strategy Being a leader in the green economy Producing lithium from mine waste in California The Rincon project in Argentina The battle for lithium talent Supporting local communities Development timelines Keeping up with technological change RT’s view of the market going forward RT’s thoughts on where their lithium will go The status of the Jadar project in Serbia Price Being a leading force in the energy transition How does RT’s battery business look in five years? Rapid Fire In my closing remarks I discuss Elon Musk’s tweet about getting in to lithium production. Lithium remains Elon and Tesla’s Achilles’ heel