The Global Lithium Podcast

Tom Benson is the lead geologist at Lithium Americas Topics: What makes a viable lithium resource? Project time lines The world's top resources - #1 may surprise you Thacker Pass Projects, protests, and politics Being a good neighbor Sustainability Tom Benson’s version of the “Golden Rule” Great resources vs great projects Straight talk about sulfur Developing talent The “Lithium Lab” Environmental “imperialism” The battle for hearts and minds Rapid fire Tom can be found on Twitter @thomasrbenson

Dan Blondal, CEO & Alex Holmes, COO Topics: · M2CAM (metal to cathode active material) technology benefits · Latest developments in LFP cathode · Nano One’s LFP strategy outside China · Avoiding the “precursor problem” · The evolution of EV battery technology · Working with OEMs and mining companies · The future of battery supply chains in North America & Europe · Nano One’s differentiating technology · The cathode industry’s waste problem · Recycling and the “dirty little secret” of gigafactories · Partnerships with governments and industry · Nickel and manganese plays for Nano · Building the team · Battery geopolitics · Making improvements on the Asia battery model · New school supply chains · Rapid Fire Nano One on Twitter: @NanoOne_NANO

My brief remarks on the status of the lithium market followed by Q&A at the Panorama Minero "Lithium South America" event in Buenos Aires on September 29th, 2021. The Q&A begins at 12 minutes. The questions come from a variety of influential people in the world of lithium in South America. Below of is a list of the questions and the people asking them: 1- Daniel Jiménez, iLi Markets Your opinion on projects that plan to use DLE, not just in Argentina but also the US & Europe. 2- Miguel Soler: Secretaria de Minería e Hydrocarbons’ de Jujuy Based on your knowledge and the history of technology evolution during the 20th and present centuryy. How long you believe technologies demanding Lithium will stay with us? before they are replaced by others like Hydrogen and/or new developments ? 3- Flavia Royón, Secretaria de Minería y Energía de Salta What are the biggest threats you see, associated to the lithium industry development in LatAm in light of: the market dynamics, geopolitics, process technologies and the availability of other critical energy metals? 4- Teresita Regalado, Secretaria de Desarrollo Minero de Catamarca Thoughts on how to optimize Argentina's opportunity regarding the Lithium supply, taking into account its geographical location with respect to other sources of raw material located close(r) to where the highest industrial consumption is ? 5- José de Castro, COO de Integra Lithium Why, despite the fact CAPEX, OPEX, Water Footprint and Carbon Footprint are usually higher in most DLE processes than those in conventional evaporation, so many companies have been generating promises on “green and sustainable” processes, contrary to current productions and generating a bad feeling effect in public opinion? 6- Carlos Galli, Consultor/Especialista We discussed last year about the involvement of OEM (auto makers) in lithium production. Do you see any changes in their approach to try to secure lithium supply? What are your thoughts about this? 7- Alejandra Cardona, de la Cámara Minera de Salta y Mint Intelligence In the global context, the generation of clean energies is promoted as strategies to fight clámate change. Talingo care of the environment means more mining is needed. How did this impact lithium & other E-mobility related minerals supply projections on a global scale and how does Argentina position itself in this scenario? 8- Alejandro Colombo, Director Periodístico de Panorama Minero Are you expecting a bigger move from overseas Chinese companies through M&As? What response is expected from the United States and Europe to ensure a sustainable supply chain in the coming years? 9- Ignacio Celorrio, Presidente para Latinoamerica - Lithium Americas En: Which sources of financing for Li Projects will emerge, in addition to the current ones ? Also, which countries you believe have the biggest potential to take new projects into production ? 10- Asistente al seminario - Event attendee There is not much talk about Lithium Chloride and solid state batteries use lithium metal. What is the projection of possible Lithium Chloride producers?

The live portion of this 20 minute episode was recorded in the iconic London pub "The Dove" with Benchmark's Simon Moores, his buddy Shay, Standard Lithium CEO Robert Mintak and Standard's Chairman Robert Cross. Initially the meeting was just supposed to be lunch with Simon. When the party grew to five, it seemed like a great opportunity to pull out my IPhone and record an impromptu podcast. The "live" portion is more about people coming out of lockdown and returning to international travel than lithium. I also talk about others I met on my first international trip since March 2020. I was also fortunate to catch up with the management of Livista Energy and the CEO of Fastmarkets and some other companies I am not a liberty to discuss - yet. Shout-outs to Panorama Minero who host a favorite event of mine in Argentina, the good citizens of El Dorado, Arkansas and two locals specifically - you have to listen to find out the reason. Finally, you will hear about plans to get Simon a bit of "southern cultural training" when he travels to Arkansas.

Carlos Galli is a globally recognized expert in lithium brine technology. This is a wide ranging discussion on the lithium market in Argentina including what needs to happen from a policy perspective to fully leverage Argentina’s diverse portfolio of lithium containing salars. The importance of access to adequate quantities of fresh water for lithium projects and the great debate of how brine use should be considered in the water discussion. We review the top projects in some detail. LAC/Minera Exar, Orocobre (both Sal de Vida & Cauchari Expansion), Livent's expansion, Neolithium, POSCO, Eramet, Rincon, Lithica, Millennial, etc. Ganfeng's ambitious plans beyond Cauchari We also discuss Lake Resources and their recent commentary about their future Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) is another topic both as it relates to Argentina and other parts of the world. The discussion strays across the border on occasion as we bring Chile and Bolivia into the discussion.

My guest is Stephen Biggins the Managing Director of Core Lithium. Core is developing the Finniss Lithium Project in the Northern Territory of Australia near the capital city of Darwin.  We discuss: Their project: from metallurgy to process details and timing Relationships with two top level lithium producers – Ganfeng and Yahua Offtake details The project DFS Drilling to grow the reserve base The benefits of developing a project in the Northern Territory Lithium “fines” as a by product The market: entering the “perpetual lithium deficit” Becoming vertically integrated in the future Project execution challenges Building a team ESG Rapid fire

My guest is Dale Henderson, Chief Operating Officer, of Pilbara Minerals. Topics include: An operations update Acquiring and restarting Altura’s operations Increasing production to ~550K MT of spodumene concentrate by mid-2022 and more than a 1,000K MT by mid-decade The market and price outlook Financing Adopting new technology to reduce the operation’s carbon footprint Potential new products Company culture Lessons learned in the lean years Rapid fire Dale is on Twitter @henderson_dale  Pilbara Minerals is on Twitter and Instagram @PilbaraMinerals

Adam Panayi is the Managing Director of UK based EV and Battery consultancy Rho Motion. The key to understanding the future direction of the lithium industry is understanding the growth of EVs and batteries as well understanding the developments in cathode chemistry and solid state. Shout outs to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, Simon Moores and Roger Atkins. In a little less than an hour we cover: How Rho Motion collects and parses data aka “how the forecast sausage is made” GWH projections for 2025 and 2030 – the driver of lithium demand The methodology of predicting Gigafactory utilization Stated Gigafactory capacity vs effective capacity EV penetration by region ESS – taking what batteries it can get (for now) Gigafactory start-up reject rates (the dirty little secret of battery producers) Warranties Why after several EV “false starts” it is different this time Cathode chemistry projections Rapid fire

Guests: Standard Lithium’s CEO, Robert Mintak and COO, Dr. Andy Robinson. Topics include: Managing a project and building a team remotely during Covid Getting the process right: scale and quality data matters The benefits of a building a new plant within a larger, established chemical operation Seeking attention and support from the Biden administration Timing of commercialization Potential of lithium from the Smackover formation beyond El Dorado The coming lithium supply mismatch with demand The actions needed from OEMs and policymakers After "rapid fire" I close the episode with comments/advice for the Biden administration on battery raw material supply chain policy

Alexi Zawadzki is the President of North American Operations for Lithium Americas (LAC).  He is currently leading the effort to bring Thacker Pass into production by mid decade. In this episode we discuss the resource (type and size), the current status of the project including pilot plant operations, LAC's commitment to sustainable project development, innovative mining and reclamation techniques, planned use of renewable energy and desire to minimize the impact to the environment.  Thacker Pass will be the first world class lithium resource to be brought online in the US in this century.