Friday 31 July 2015

Lithium Race: Europe Leads Electric Car Sales With China Rising Very Fast After North America.


  

  Zahary Shahan has published very interesting statistics on EV sales world-wide. Europe now is leading the world, but China is rising very fast chasing North America. China is solidly on track to take the position number one in the world by EBV sales next year or, maybe, even this one. 


Lithium Race: Electric Car Sales In France Hit Record High 3,384 In June.



  InsideEVs reports the very impressive numbers of EV sales from France. Electric cars are coming in numbers on our streets now and they will be the best advertisement of these new things to come in the future. We need more and better electric cars and Tesla Model X will make the trick with mass market to follow with GM Bolt, Tesla Model 3 and Nissan Leaf with the extended range. All these developments are supporting the dramatic increase in lithium demand coming in the next ten years and Joe Lowry numbers can be very conservative after all!


Joe Lowry: Global Lithium Demand To Rise 150% In The Next Ten Years.




  

  Joe Lowry provides a very sobering outlook for the lithium supply side for the next ten years. He estimates that demand will rise 150% from 160k T of LCE to over 400k T per year - I can even call it conservative in case if electric cars really will take off in the next few years. China is rapidly growing into the world largest market for electric cars matching its biggest auto-market size and state "War on Pollution". Chinese companies are controlling now 75% of lithium hydroxide production. Where all this lithium will come from? Joe is pointing out to the problems in the lithium sector with unproven technologies and junior miners without access to the capital to develop new projects. This is where International Lithium is standing out on its own. Ganfeng Lithium finances our J/V project developments in Ireland and Argentina and we have access to the latest technology from this leading lithium materials producer from China. Now our bulk sample from Mariana project in Argentina is being analysed for the potential lithium and fertiliser products by Ganfeng in China at its R&D facilities.


Dump The Pump: Warren Buffett And Elon Musk To Spark A Lithium Boom.

  

  
  I find it quite symbolic that Oil Price has published this article by James Stafford. Our lithium story is getting on the investors' radar screens, the process is slow and masqueraded by the carnage in commodity sector. People and companies who are building their portfolios cannot imaging more opportune time: Elon Musk and Warren Buffett are making the broad market appeal for electric cars and solar energy, but lithium market itself is still full of smoke and mirrors. And now just wait for the official confirmation from Apple about electric iCar to spark all electric cars market and hedge funds start fishing upstream all supply chain. This is where Lithium comes into play as the strategic commodity, where security of supply is the most important now. The disparity in commodity and technology valuations creates great opportunities for those who can think long-term and cherry pick the best assets at the rock bottom valuations. Where to go: always do your DD and follow the smart money from industry insiders. I will provide links for your research and share all publicly available information about International Lithium and our strategic partner Ganfeng Lithium. Please do not hesitate to contact myself on any of the social media platforms or at International Lithium. We are here to make this rEVolution happen. Dump The Pump. Read more.





CleanTechnica:


July 25th, 2015 by  
Originally published on EV Obsession.
EU vs NA vs CH EV Sales JuneFollowing sales reports on June US electric car salesEurope electric car sales, and China electric car sales, I thought it would be interesting to compare the powerhouses (and throw Canada on top of the US to make it “North America” since it’s all basically one economic region). So, below is a chart and table comparing (and also adding up these regions).
The general take-home point, I think, is that Europe is now leading the world (driven largely by the large markets of NorwayFrancethe UKthe Netherlands, and Germany), with about 25,000 more electric car sales in the first half of 2015 than North America and about 34,000 more than China. The June story is similar on a smaller scale, with Europe showing about 6,000 more electric car sales than each China and North America.
Of course, there are many relative factors you could use here to make the comparisons more interesting: per capita sales, % of total car sales, per GDP sales, etc. But I’ll leave that for another day… maybe.
Economic PowerhouseJune 2015YTD 2015
North America9,74353,420
China10,01644,406
Europe16,00678,388
Total35,765176,214
 
 
Keep up to date with all the hottest clean tech news by subscribing to our (free) cleantech newsletter, or keep an eye on sector-specific news by getting our (also free) solar energy newsletterelectric vehicle newsletter, or wind energy newsletter."

Lithium Race: Electric Car Sales In France Hit Record High 3,384 In June.




  InsideEVs reports the very impressive numbers of EV sales from France. Electric cars are coming in numbers on our streets now and they will be the best advertisement of these new things to come in the future. We need more and better electric cars and Tesla Model X will make the trick with mass market to follow with GM Bolt, Tesla Model 3 and Nissan Leaf with the extended range. All these developments are supporting the dramatic increase in lithium demand coming in the next ten years and Joe Lowry numbers can be very conservative after all!


Joe Lowry: Global Lithium Demand To Rise 150% In The Next Ten Years.




  

  Joe Lowry provides a very sobering outlook for the lithium supply side for the next ten years. He estimates that demand will rise 150% from 160k T of LCE to over 400k T per year - I can even call it conservative in case if electric cars really will take off in the next few years. China is rapidly growing into the world largest market for electric cars matching its biggest auto-market size and state "War on Pollution". Chinese companies are controlling now 75% of lithium hydroxide production. Where all this lithium will come from? Joe is pointing out to the problems in the lithium sector with unproven technologies and junior miners without access to the capital to develop new projects. This is where International Lithium is standing out on its own. Ganfeng Lithium finances our J/V project developments in Ireland and Argentina and we have access to the latest technology from this leading lithium materials producer from China. Now our bulk sample from Mariana project in Argentina is being analysed for the potential lithium and fertiliser products by Ganfeng in China at its R&D facilities.


Dump The Pump: Warren Buffett And Elon Musk To Spark A Lithium Boom.

  

  
  I find it quite symbolic that Oil Price has published this article by James Stafford. Our lithium story is getting on the investors' radar screens, the process is slow and masqueraded by the carnage in commodity sector. People and companies who are building their portfolios cannot imaging more opportune time: Elon Musk and Warren Buffett are making the broad market appeal for electric cars and solar energy, but lithium market itself is still full of smoke and mirrors. And now just wait for the official confirmation from Apple about electric iCar to spark all electric cars market and hedge funds start fishing upstream all supply chain. This is where Lithium comes into play as the strategic commodity, where security of supply is the most important now. The disparity in commodity and technology valuations creates great opportunities for those who can think long-term and cherry pick the best assets at the rock bottom valuations. Where to go: always do your DD and follow the smart money from industry insiders. I will provide links for your research and share all publicly available information about International Lithium and our strategic partner Ganfeng Lithium. Please do not hesitate to contact myself on any of the social media platforms or at International Lithium. We are here to make this rEVolution happen. Dump The Pump. Read more.






InsideEVs:

Electric Car Sales In France Hit Record High 3,384 In June.

"France has reason to be happy for awhile as new plug-in electric car registrations reached an all-time high at 3,384 last month.
The result consists of 2,336 passenger BEVs (up 77% year-over-year), 450 delivery BEVs (down 14%), and 598 passenger PHEVs.
Both BEV and PHEV passenger cars reached record sales in June taking over 1.0% and 0.3% of the market, respectively. Electric commercial vehicles took some 1.1% of all LCVs.
Growth of sales is reinforced by superbonus on top of the €6,300 incentive (total up to €10,000 in case of BEVs).
Market was lead by Renault ZOE (any surprise?), which by the way achieved its own new sales record of 1,482 registrations.
More insights on sales can be found in these splendid info graphics: …"

Thursday 30 July 2015

Joe Lowry: Global Lithium Demand To Rise 150% In The Next Ten Years.




  

  Joe Lowry provides a very sobering outlook for the lithium supply side for the next ten years. He estimates that demand will rise 150% from 160k T of LCE to over 400k T per year - I can even call it conservative in case if electric cars really will take off in the next few years. China is rapidly growing into the world largest market for electric cars matching its biggest auto-market size and state "War on Pollution". Chinese companies are controlling now 75% of lithium hydroxide production. Where all this lithium will come from? Joe is pointing out to the problems in the lithium sector with unproven technologies and junior miners without access to the capital to develop new projects. This is where International Lithium is standing out on its own. Ganfeng Lithium finances our J/V project developments in Ireland and Argentina and we have access to the latest technology from this leading lithium materials producer from China. Now our bulk sample from Mariana project in Argentina is being analysed for the potential lithium and fertiliser products by Ganfeng in China at its R&D facilities.


Dump The Pump: Warren Buffett And Elon Musk To Spark A Lithium Boom.

  

  
  I find it quite symbolic that Oil Price has published this article by James Stafford. Our lithium story is getting on the investors' radar screens, the process is slow and masqueraded by the carnage in commodity sector. People and companies who are building their portfolios cannot imaging more opportune time: Elon Musk and Warren Buffett are making the broad market appeal for electric cars and solar energy, but lithium market itself is still full of smoke and mirrors. And now just wait for the official confirmation from Apple about electric iCar to spark all electric cars market and hedge funds start fishing upstream all supply chain. This is where Lithium comes into play as the strategic commodity, where security of supply is the most important now. The disparity in commodity and technology valuations creates great opportunities for those who can think long-term and cherry pick the best assets at the rock bottom valuations. Where to go: always do your DD and follow the smart money from industry insiders. I will provide links for your research and share all publicly available information about International Lithium and our strategic partner Ganfeng Lithium. Please do not hesitate to contact myself on any of the social media platforms or at International Lithium. We are here to make this rEVolution happen. Dump The Pump. Read more.


Latest Views of Tesla’s Massive Gigafactory And Lithium Demand Picture.

  


  Now we can better appreciate the scale of this construction. Tesla Gigafactory will be the tipping point for the lithium battery production and will drive prices lower to the magic $100 per kWh, when mass market for electric cars with Tesla Model 3 will be started. This is just the first one for Tesla and other Megafactories are coming being built by Foxconn, LG Chem, Boston Power, BYD and A123. Where lithium will come from? Tesla is supplied with lithium cells from Panasonic now, Panasonic is already buying lithium from Ganfeng Lithium. International Lithium is building the supply chain for lithium with Ganfeng Lithium in Ireland and Argentina, where Ganfeng finances our J/V projects. You can find more research on Lithium supply and demand below. Read more.


International Lithium and Ganfeng: China’s Lithium Battery Market to Quadruple to $8.7 Billion in 2025.






  This is where we are going: International Lithium is building the supply chain for Ganfeng Lithium and is part of this vertically integrated lithium battery business in China. Ganfeng Lithium finances J/V projects with International Lithium in Ireland and Argentina and we have the very encouraging news coming out. Western Lithium has taken out Lithium Americas with Cauchari lithium brine project and as you can see on the map below we have just a very few Salars left without ownership by major lithium player. Read more.






Joe Lowry:

Global Lithium Supply and Demand - the Next Ten Years



Between one and two billion dollars of investment will be required to keep lithium supply in a marginal balance with demand growth over the next ten years.
Below is one scenario which is less aggressive than many on the demand side and allows for approximately a doubling of supply in Chile, a new brine resource in South America outside of Chile and more than a doubling of capacity in China. These capacity adds are far from certain. The only certainty is that these projections are not exactly correct; however I am willing to bet they are close.
Only the blue portion of the bars (capacity in Chile) can be considered world class. Tier 2 brine (mostly in Argentina) is significantly higher cost than world class. Tier 3 brine and spodumene have a similar cost structure which is more than double world class brine for lithium carbonate.
Fortunately lithium is not a major cost driver in most applications so the growth of high cost capacity will not limit demand - only overall lithium profits. Lithium prices are on the rise and the upward trend is likely to continue based on tight supply and high cost capacity additions. Albemarle/Rockwood and SQM are well positioned to grow their upstream lithium margins in the coming decade.
A plethora of junior mining companies talk about using new technology to convert either mediocre brines, spodumene or hectorite clays to lithium products at a low cost - don't bet on it. They have been talking for years.
Simbol Material's project to produce lithium from the geothermal brines used to produce electricity in Southern California seemed to hold great promise but investors continue to "kick the tires" rather than put up the capital required to test the innovative process technology.
Over the past ten years Chinese investors, who require lower rates of return than their western counterparts, have kept lithium supply in balance with demand by building several conversion facilities; however the supply of spodumene from Australia that feeds these plants has limits.
Unfortunately China's domestic spodumene and brine resources are high cost. Nevertheless, look for Tianqi, Ganfeng and Sichuan Yahua to continue to find creative ways to meet the rapidly growing demand in China likely with investments outside the country.
Emerging large consumers of lithium such as Tesla seems to be believe if "they create the demand, the lithium will come" but that belief seems risky at best.


Wednesday 29 July 2015

Dump The Pump: Warren Buffett And Elon Musk To Spark A Lithium Boom.

  

  
  I find it quite symbolic that Oil Price has published this article by James Stafford. Our lithium story is getting on the investors' radar screens, the process is slow and masqueraded by the carnage in commodity sector. People and companies who are building their portfolios cannot imaging more opportune time: Elon Musk and Warren Buffett are making the broad market appeal for electric cars and solar energy, but lithium market itself is still full of smoke and mirrors. And now just wait for the official confirmation from Apple about electric iCar to spark all electric cars market and hedge funds start fishing upstream all supply chain. This is where Lithium comes into play as the strategic commodity, where security of supply is the most important now. The disparity in commodity and technology valuations creates great opportunities for those who can think long-term and cherry pick the best assets at the rock bottom valuations. Where to go: always do your DD and follow the smart money from industry insiders. I will provide links for your research and share all publicly available information about International Lithium and our strategic partner Ganfeng Lithium. Please do not hesitate to contact myself on any of the social media platforms or at International Lithium. We are here to make this rEVolution happen. Dump The Pump.



Mr Li Chairman of Ganfeng Lithium and Mr Klip President of International Lithium.





International Lithium and Ganfeng: China’s Lithium Battery Market to Quadruple to $8.7 Billion in 2025.







  This is where we are going: International Lithium is building the supply chain for Ganfeng Lithium and is part of this vertically integrated lithium battery business in China. Ganfeng Lithium finances J/V projects with International Lithium in Ireland and Argentina and we have the very encouraging news coming out. Western Lithium has taken out Lithium Americas with Cauchari lithium brine project and as you can see on the map below we have just a very few Salars left without ownership by major lithium player. Read more.






Oil Price:

Warren Buffett And Elon Musk To Spark A Lithium Boom



By James Stafford

The age of electrification across the transportation sector, the solar panel revolution, and Tesla’s battery gigafactory are igniting a battle for the cheapest battery. That will transform lithium into a boom-time mineral and the hottest commodity on the energy investor’s radar.
It has been easy to take lithium for granted. This wonder mineral is the backbone of our everyday lives, popping up in everything from the glass in our windows to our mountains of electronics.
And while investors have long appreciated the steady rise in demand for this preferred mineral, the number of new applications continues to multiply. Smart phones, tablets, laptops, and other consumer electronics demand more lithium. But the largest driver for future lithium use will be in electric vehicles and home batteries for solar panels. That has lithium on the verge a boom for which supply can no longer be taken for granted.
Not since the shale boom have we seen a market transformation of such significance. Lithium has long been used for a variety of mundane purposes, and while the variety is spectacular—with applications in everything from glass, ceramics and greases to a line-up of industrial process—it has flown under the radar for most investors.
Supply has always largely managed to keep pace with steadily rising demand for lithium, and while the mineral is slated for growth with or without the ‘battery explosion’, Tesla’s gigafactory will spark a phenomenal spike in demand that will be no less exciting than the shale boom.
Not only will battery gigafactories change an already attractive lithium demand picture, but the suppliers themselves will change, making way for newer entrants—with more foresight and better technology--that will provide some of the best investment opportunities in the sector.
The lithium story cannot be told without first telling the Tesla story. Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) is developing a cheaper line of electric cars for release later this decade, and to achieve this it is constructing a $5-billion gigafactory to build 500,000 electric cars with the objective of lowering the cost of batteries by at least 30 percent.
Moreover, around one-quarter of the plant’s capacity may be for Tesla’s stationary storage business, which also sells backup batteries for homes, businesses and utilities—all fueled by lithium.
According to Tesla’s brainchild, Elon Musk, demand for stationary storage batteries has skyrocketed to the point that an expansion of the gigafactory may have to be considered before it is even built.
Musk is eyeing a “complete transformation of the entire energy infrastructure of the world to completely sustainable zero carbon,” and what he’s talking about here is lithium-battery production on a mind-blowing scale. Tesla is planning to produce more lithium-ion batteries in this factory than in the entire global marketplace combined. 
Lithium—the lightest and most versatile of the metals—is the backbone of this exploding battery market. Lithium is already a key part of our everyday lives, but as batteries become the rule of the day in a new global energy picture, demand for lithium is soaring—and we are only at the beginning of this curve.
Battery manufacturers across the board are moving to lithium because it has the highest electric output per unit weight. And nowhere will this demand soar more than with the production of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles used by everyone from Toyota (NYSE:TM), Honda (NYSE:HMC), Nissan (NYSE:NSANY), Renault (EPA:RNO), and Mitsubishi (NYSE:MSBHY), to Ford (NYSE:F), Chevrolet and GM (NYSE:GM). And of course Tesla Motors. Without lithium, there will be no gigafactory. In fact, this factory alone will need 15,000 tons of lithium carbonate a year just to get started.
We are on the edge of a profound competition over batteries as Tesla drives down lithium-ion battery production costs, lowers the benchmark and increases cost competition. The response will be new entrants to this market, and competing battery gigafactories.
Tesla’s competitors will make this one of the biggest battles of the century—a battle the entirely depends on lithium supply. Tesla’s biggest rival will likely be Build Your Dreams (BYD), the Chinese automaker backed by Warren Buffet. Already, BYD is building electric buses on American soil and has global gigafactory ambitions. By the end of the year, according to Reuters, BYD should have 10 GWh of battery production capacity, which it expects to increase to 34 GWh by 2020 with a new factory in Brazil—about the same capacity as Tesla’s.
Other Tesla rivals rushing to the battery production scene will be iPhone manufacturer Foxconn and LG Chem, which is already one of the top three battery makers. Samsung is also hot on the trail, having just acquired Magna’s battery production division.
According to Credit Suisse, the lithium industry is “poised for significant volume growth,” which could lead to shortages of supply. As a result producers of lithium are set to enjoy significant earnings throughout the decade. 
Even before Tesla’s gigafactory – and its rivals – entered the picture, global lithium consumption had doubled in the decade before 2012, driven largely by its use in lithium-ion batteries for cell phones and power tools. Then electric cars hit the scene in earnest, further boosting demand for lithium, while Tesla’s gigafactory is expected to use up as much as 17 percent of the existing lithium supply, according to Fortune magazine, citing Goldman Sachs.
For investors who are just catching on to the lithium battery revolution, the best way to play the game is to look past the traditional lithium producers. In this boom scenario, investors will be looking at companies with the lowest market caps, solid management and highly prospective deposits.
Currently, lithium is not traded as a commodity; rather, it is managed through a kind of oligopoly situation where there are three or four major suppliers globally and they have rather successfully managed supply and demand for lithium over the past decades. Because of this, everything is priced on a contract basis.
“The problem is that these three or four major suppliers have been responsible for supply and demand but they are not going to be able to meet new demand for lithium,” Dr. Andy Robinson, a Ph.D. in Geochemistry and the COO of Pure Energy Minerals (OTMKTS:HMGLF), told Oilprice.com.
As Robinson points out, however, not all lithium is equal. It’s sold in different types for different prices. For instance, lithium carbonate sells for around $6,000 per ton and is used to make some of the materials for new battery technology. However, many of the new battery technologies—particularly those used by Tesla—use lithium hydroxide as the starting material, which trades at around $2,000 more per ton than lithium carbonate.
And lithium found in salty water, or brines, is by far the most cost effective. According to Dr. Robinson, “brine is the best way to produce lithium because it’s so cheap, as nature has done all the hard work in rendering the lithium into a form that is easy to extract from the ground. All you have to do is drill a few wells and pump the liquid brine.”
Furthermore, there are only a few places in the world where lithium is present at high enough concentrations in these salty brines and the most famous is in the Atacama Desert, in the “Lithium Triangle” of Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. Supply here is threatened by corruption and politics, making it difficult to capitalize on burgeoning demand.
When Tesla’s gigafactory comes online, everyone will be looking for cost-effective lithium sources closer to home, which brings us full circle to the state of Nevada, where Pure Energy Minerals has the only potential future brine resource in North America. The only other brine resources are located in China, are much smaller and are controlled by Chinese companies.
Lithium is increasingly the tech of choice for battery banks across the board, and when Tesla’s gigafactory is producing batteries one year from now, the winners in this emerging battery boom will be those behind the lithium, and those following the brine.
By James Stafford of Oilprice.com"

Tuesday 28 July 2015

Frank Holmes: Gold Due For Rally As Negative Sentiment Reigns.



"Gold prices were trying to benefit Monday from a sharp sell-off in the Chinese equities overnight. China’s stock market saw the biggest one-day drop in eight years, as the Shanghai composite index closed 8.5% lower Monday. “There is so much manipulation, someone is front-running or trying to manipulate the price against an already building short position – now it appears to be a crowded trade of excessive shorting in gold and we are due for a rally ,” says Frank Holmes, CEO at U.S. Global Investors. “It appears there are two things that happened last week- someone knew that the Flash PMI out of China was going to be negative and they hit the market a week ago and it seemed to be synchronized,” he says. During Asian trading hours last week, investors dumped more than $500 million worth of bullion in New York in a matter of seconds, with selling occurring almost simultaneously on Chinese markets, Holmes explains. “The sheer scale of order flow across both the Shanghai Gold Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange, where combined volume on Monday surpassed the notional equivalent of 250 tons, led many market trackers to speculate that Chinese hedge funds were behind the move,” Holmes says. The selling pressure in China is coming amid concerns the Chinese government will not continue its recent efforts to prop up Chinese share prices, including forcing sellers to the sidelines and limiting trading in some shares. Holmes adds we could see a gold rally as early as this week. “All this talk about rates going to rise is bizarre because ten-year government bonds are making a new low, lower than a year ago and lower than two years ago - I don’t see anything for them to go higher with,” he says ahead of this week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, which begins Tuesday morning and ends with the release of its monetary policy statement Wednesday afternoon. Tune in now for more comments from U.S. Global Investors' CEO Frank Holmes. Kitco News, July 27, 2015."

And the big picture:

TTIP, TTP And NWO Vs China And Gold - Cutting To The Chase Of Geopolitical Sleepwalking With Velina Tchakarova.

  


  It can be heavy for Sunday morning, but I will throw few more here: AIIB, China with SDR and OECD. GMOs have produced great audience for the evening talk shows and FB time line, but some bright people are still connecting the dots. I will put my angle on this brilliant piece from Velina Tchakarova. Why China buys Gold and what is really happening with the world now? If it is a newly found FED printed prosperity than why do we have constant wars from Ukraine to Syria, ISIS, Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan - just to name a few? I guess it is the same old War For Resources, hopefully it will stay Cold and Currency Wars are just part of this master plan. NWO is coming, but maybe it will not be the same as hoped by some and these people are very angry and loosing their cool over it - welcome to the new brave world, which is just trying to get off The Oil Needle.


Tony Seba: Clean Disruption - 100% Electric Cars And 100% Solar Energy By 2030.



FED's Mission Impossible: "Gold Is Dead And Nobody Loves It Any More."





  Some Central Bankers in the world were popping champagne last week on the FED's Mission Accomplished and "the total meltdown of Gold". Some other Central Banks were just buying more of it. Who will be right - nobody knows for sure, but I like the sentiment. Hedge Funds are Net Short Gold for the first time, "China has announced much lower reserves than expected" and I personally tired even to think about the "barbaric relict" which is going to zero.  Before I make my best trade shorting Gold into the dust I would like to throw some charts and links for Lithium induced meditation.
  First chart above actually shows a wash out capitulation and Buy signal on Volume and Candles, all indicators are positive for reversal. Dan Popescu @PopescuCo has published few very interesting charts below and HedgehogTrader @HedgehogTrader has exceeded his monthly limits of tweets about the yellow metal on Friday. In case if rumours about Gold's Death are exaggerated, TNR Gold's "Vault" is still secured in Alaska and guarded by bears waiting for its time to come.


ZH: US Mint Sells Most Physical Gold In Two Years On Same Day Gold Price Hits Five Year Low.