The Global Lithium Podcast

Episode 90: Sigma Lithium - Ana Cabral-Gardner & Calvyn Gardner Sigma is developing a brownfield hard rock project in Brazil with a focus on “green mining” and ESG considerations.   Topics include: The three main considerations in developing Sigma’s resource ESG Sigma’s competitive position vs Australian Hard Rock producers Partnerships and Sigma’s plan for downstream lithium chemical participation The “social license” challenges for mining projects based on recent events in Brazil Why “green premiums” are not built into project financial estimates Life Cycle Assessment audits Covid challenges Lithium “hippies” plus 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

Episode 82 features Marco Romero, CEO of Euro Manganese. We discuss the manganese market especially as it relates to lithium batteries and then take a deep dive into the company’s project in the Czech Republic. In a separate segment of this podcast you will also hear my candid thoughts on Piedmont Lithium’s supply contract with Tesla and SQM’s recent ESG announcement and 2020 sales/production guidance. The Euro Manganese Project entails re-processing a significant manganese deposit hosted in historic mine tailings, strategically located in the heart of Europe, approximately 90km east of Prague. EMN's goal is to become a leading, competitive and environmentally superior supplier of Ultra-High-Purity Manganese Products, serving both the lithium-ion battery industry, as well as producers of specialty steel and aluminum alloys.

The is part 2 of my 100th episode with highlights from some of my favorite episodes and guests.  Jon Evans - Lithium Americas Li Liangbin and Wang Xiaoshen - Ganfeng Eduardo Bitran - CORFO Ken Brinsden - Pilbara Minerals Dr Yuan Gao - ex CEO of Pulead Dan Blondal and Dr Stephen Campbell - Nano One The Lowry family

This is a two part episode. The first 20 minutes is episode 81 "Elon Musk: 40 Shades of Battery Grade" a Q&A with questions that resulted from my recent appearance on TC's Chartcast - episode 46. I discussed lithium industry basics with an audience more familiar with EVs than lithum chemicals. I got a few dozen questions after that episode and answer several of them here. Afterwards, I include episode 80 with my comments on Tesla's Battery Day. This episode was originally posted on my website: globallithium.net but so the Anchor catalog is complete I am including it here.

Alison Dai is the Commercial Director of Chengdu Chemphys, a specialty producer of high purity lithium chemicals. Although less well known than Chinese major producers Ganfeng and Tianqi, Chemphys was active selling high quality lithium chemicals to the difficult to penetrate Japanese and Korean markets long before their larger rivals. Alison was born in China, raised in Western Australia and left an investment banking career with JP Morgan Chase to return to Chengdu and become involved in the family lithium business. We discuss the current state of the lithium market and ponder when the the oversupply situation will turn to shortage. I ask Alison about Chemphys plans for both expansion and utilizing partnerships to grow in the international market. We explore the rise of lithium reprocessors, the challenge of upgrading industrial quality lithium to battery quality and opportunities for Chemphys to help brine producers implement direct lithium extraction. Alison gives her thoughts on the rise of high nickel cathodes and the recent resurgence of LFP cathode. And, of course, we close with rapid fire.

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.

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 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

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

Mac Whale is back for another discussion of the lithium world, how he looks at markets, the impact of Covid 19 and how that has changed his analysis of future EV/lithium demand.  Mac discusses lack of investment in new lithium projects and how that will likely result in a future run-up in prices that may exceed the price spike of 2015-2016. I close the episode with my thoughts on why there was a very noticeable increase in the price of many lithium stocks in the last week and caution lithium investors not to fall into the trap of short term thinking. I also do a shout out to my daughter Cailin who shares a birthday (June 5th) with the late Breonna Taylor and was inspired to raise more than $10,000 in her memory to promote social change via BLM charities .

Recorded as part of Benchmark's #EVFest, this was the first live edition of the podcast that is now being released as three separate podcast episodes. The first installment is with Robert Mintak, the CEO of Standard Lithium and Andy Robinson the COO. We discuss their unique lithium project which leverages the brine output and infrastructure of the bromine operation of their partner Lanxess. A pilot operation with unique technology has recently started operating bringing a chance for the small town of El Dorado, Arkansas to have a significant position in the "new energy" economy on the one hundred year anniversary of the first major oil strike in that part of Arkansas which ultimately helped create the wealth of the Hunt family of oil, silver and Super Bowl fame. Listen and enjoy.

Dr. Rene LeBlanc is my guest for Episode 65. Rene is a PhD Chemical Engineer with extensive experience in the lithium/battery space. After a decade with Livent/FMC Lithium, Dr. LeBlanc moved on to Tesla where one of his responsibilities was evaluating potential lithium suppliers on a global basis. After a couple years at Tesla, Rene moved back to the lithium world where he now serves as Chief Technical Officer of Lithium Americas. In his current role, Rene brings his technical acumen to bear on LAC’s two world class lithium projects – Cauchari in Argentina and Thacker Pass in Nevada. I worked with Rene for several years. I consider Rene the world’s foremost technical expert in the production of lithium hydroxide as well as one of the most knowledgeable people on planet with respect to resource development whether it be brine, hard rock or sedimentary assets. We discuss the key criteria for lithium resource  evaluation, quality metrics, qualification protocols for  suppliers, reprocessing, the trade-offs of using various cathodes, future demand expectations for carbonate and hydroxide and more. It is my privilege to count some of the world’s greatest experts in lithium, cathode and battery as personal friends. Rene is certainly in that group.

The is a special double episode with one of the best minds in the lithium/cathode/battery arena – Dr Yuan Gao. I have been proud to call Yuan my friend for nearly a quarter of a century. In today’s episode we discuss new safety regulations for the China EV market that will take effect in January. The new rules will likely have an impact on cathode/battery pack choices in China – perhaps for several years. You will learn the details. The new content is about 30 minutes – as a bonus I have included episode 43 which was recorded in Santiago, Chile in June, 2019. Even if you listened last year, you will likely learn something new listening again. For new listeners, I absolutely recommend E43. I edited out first few minutes so it begins with questions rather than the lengthy intro.

In today's episode we hear how people from Australia to the US & Canada to Bolivia and the UK are coping with the global "lockdown" or "shelter in place" orders. Some names like Chris Berry aka "the voice of reason" and Alexi Zawadzki aka "the biggest feet in lithium" are well known to Global Lithium Podcast listeners. Other names such as Gene Morgan (Zelandez), Big Ben Ash (Benchmark), Alex Rubin (Bisley & Co) and Stu Crow (Lake Resources) a little less so.   The second half of the podcast is more traditional. I do two  brief interviews. The first with my daughter, Erin and her husband Joe. They live in New York, the epicenter of the virus in the US and are making the best of it. Due to a bandwidth issue and Zoom freezing for a few seconds there is a brief bit of "dead air".  The second interview is with my younger daughter Cailin who lives Los Angeles. Cailin is holding up well - working from her small apartment. I ask my daughters the same rapid fire question. The answers are strangely similar. The podcast closes with a brief and positive message from my former driver and current friend Philip Wu. According to Philip, the situation in Shanghai is quite normal now. Philip's advice to us is stay inside and wait it out.

This episode features five guests - each gives his unique perspective regarding how the Corona Virus is impacting where they live. We hear from podcast newcomer Alex Cheeseman of Altura Mining and four podcast veterans - Benchmark's Simon Moores, Mac Whale from Cormark, Daniel Jimenez and David Guerrero aka "the Last Samurai of Brine". In addition to the guest's commentary I provide some thoughts on the market and why I think those projecting large supply increases over the next 24 months have it wrong. In addition to this podcast I was also on the S&P Global Platts Battery Metals podcast which you can find here:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/battery-metals-podcast/id1418058093 

Recorded on 2/29 in Tokyo. I discuss the recent LFP buzz after people learned that both BYD and Tesla plan to use a newly designed LFP battery which will have much higher energy density.  I also discuss the impact of the Coronavirus on the lithium world, supply chains, etc. My early 2020 demand forecast will have to be redone based on the impact of the virus. I am celebrating the 20th anniversary of moving my family to Japan today and talk a little bit about that.