The Global Lithium Podcast

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

Topics:  The Benchmark vision & business model  Limiting factors to the growth of the “lithium ion economy”  The “great battery raw material disconnect”   The LME nickel fiasco  Is President Biden invoking the Defense Production Act significant?  Tesla compared with legacy OEMs  The emerging US Battery Supply chain compared with the EU – rhetoric vs reality  Vertical Integration in the battery/EV space  Why the lithium shortage is understated – the battery scrap conundrum  Where is Benchmark in five years?  The impact of geopolitics on the lithium ion battery world  Rapid Fire

A solo episode covering the following topics: Lithium prices - why SQM, Albemarle and Livent have very different prices per kg The price of lithium stocks   The false narrative of Chinese lithium dominance Is GM the "Don Quixote" of the EV world? Energy Secretary Granholm playing politics in West Virginia Lithium training for media types Geothermal lithium - not ready for prime time?

Seth Goldstein is an analyst at Morningstar - an industry leader providing independent research and analysis on a global basis. In his role at Morningstar, Seth covers Tesla, Albemarle, SQM, Livent and Lithium Americas. Topics: The EV market from a regional perspective An update on Tesla’s new plants in Texas and Germany Lithium supply and demand - how long will the shortage last? Was Albemarle’s new lithium demand estimate for 2030 a meaningless theoretical exercise? Why lithium is different than other resource markets The Mineral Resources / Albemarle lithium JV - who has the upper hand in WA? Livent: Too little, too late with a flawed strategy? Or a strong niche player? Cathode – which “flavor” wins? SQM – will they outperform Albemarle on price again in this market cycle? Will SQM finally meet one of their volume predictions? The “Spot” vs contract pricing gap – how much? For how long? How will OEMs adjust their strategy to lithium limitations in this decade? Seth’s thoughts on Lithium Americas – Cauchari and Thacker Pass Product qualification in a market shortage Rapid Fire

Chris Reed is the CEO of Neometals Topics include: First lithium success – the development of Mt Marion and a profitable exit Battery recycling plans – Europe, North America, Asia Feedstock – scrap & end of life batteries, timing EVs “dirty little secret” – minimizing the current five years it takes the average EV to recoup the carbon footprint deficit with ICEs The contribution recycling can make to lithium supply by 2030 and 2040 “Peak Spodumene”: What total LCE volume? When? Electrolytic Lithium aka “Eli”– the process and potential Changing the cost curve Neometals upcoming London Listing Supply and demand imbalance Doomsday scenarios Rapid fire