China Mining: MMG To Begin Pre-extraction At Las Bambas Despite Copper Rout.

  This is how China operates, planing is going for decades and not just for the next Q filing, best projects are carefully chosen and taken out when the prices of commodities are depressed. Once the decision is made after very careful DD and consideration, projects will be moved forward step by step aiming at the supply of commodities for already existing demand in China. I know it first hand from our strategic partnership with Ganfeng Lithium. 

  When will we make another one on our Shotgun Gold project or Los Azules Copper Royalty - I cannot tell you, but we are working hard to make it. Why do they need them and why in Latin America, like Los Azules Copper of McEwen Mining? Please find a few links to build the big picture:

Real Economic Stimulus: China To Build $242bn High-speed Railway - Moscow To Beijing In 2 days.

Here comes the real economic stimulus from China. This enormous undertaking will provide jobs and will require massive amount of construction materials and metals for this infrastructure. Actually, China is talking about linking Singapore and U.S. Once even the shale oil will be gone, high-speed railways will allow the intercontinental travel in the future.

Commodities: China To Boost Investment In Latin America To $250 Billion Within Decade.

  "We can see how China is positioning itself on the global chessboard in order to preserve the stability and economic growth in these challenging times. After announcement of $1 Trillion infrastructure development plans now comes the very logical step to secure commodities supply from Latin America to implement these plans. Read more."

Metals: China Fast-Tracks $1 Trillion in Projects to Spur Growth.

  "Now we can put all China's world-wide acquisitions of the metal projects in the perspective. This huge stimulus plan for infrastructure development will need a secure supply of metals and China is already on the road to get it!Read more."

TNR Gold Los Azules Copper: Chinese M&A - Watch Out For Las Bambas Effect.

  "Frik Els provides a very good insight into the Chinese deal culture and mining M&A particularly. Las Bambas deal is not only the very good indicator of the turning mining cycle, but also provides guidance for the smaller companies in China to go on The Hunt For Copper and other commodities. You can witness this approach in our particular case of Strategic Commodities with International Lithium and Ganfeng Lithium as well. Read More."

Mining:

MMG to begin pre-extraction at Las Bambas despite copper rout

Cecilia Jamasmie | January 29, 2015

Construction of Las Bambas, capable of an output of more than 2 million tonnes in the first five years of its opening, was 80% complete at the end of 2014.

Copper weak prices, with the metal approaching a fresh five-year low early this week, have done nothing to discourage completion of MMG’s Las Bambas in Peru, one of the world's biggest mines of the red metal.

According BNamericas (in Spanish), construction of the US$7bn massive project, acquired from Glencore (LON:GLEN) in August 2014, is going strong and MMG expects production at Ferrobamba, one of the four deposits that make up the operation, to start early next year.

Glencore had to sell the project or other assets by September in order to win China's approval for its takeover of miner Xstrata in 2013, as Beijing feared the merged group would hold too much sway over global copper supply.

Construction of Las Bambas, capable of an output of more than 2 million tonnes in the first five years of its opening, was 80% complete at the end of 2014, and MMG expects that between $2.7 billion and $3.2 billion will have to be spent between August last year and when the first production of copper concentrate starts. Mining."

Real Economic Stimulus: China To Build $242bn High-speed Railway - Moscow To Beijing In 2 days.

  Here comes the real economic stimulus from China. This enormous undertaking will provide jobs and will require massive amount of construction materials and metals for this infrastructure. Actually, China is talking about linking Singapore and U.S. Once even the shale oil will be gone, high-speed railways will allow the intercontinental travel in the future.

Commodities: China To Boost Investment In Latin America To $250 Billion Within Decade.

  "We can see how China is positioning itself on the global chessboard in order to preserve the stability and economic growth in these challenging times. After announcement of $1 Trillion infrastructure development plans now comes the very logical step to secure commodities supply from Latin America to implement these plans. Read more."

Metals: China Fast-Tracks $1 Trillion in Projects to Spur Growth.

  

  "Now we can put all China's world-wide acquisitions of the metal projects in the perspective. This huge stimulus plan for infrastructure development will need a secure supply of metals and China is already on the road to get it! Read more."

TNR Gold Los Azules Copper: Chinese M&A - Watch Out For Las Bambas Effect.

  "Frik Els provides a very good insight into the Chinese deal culture and mining M&A particularly. Las Bambas deal is not only the very good indicator of the turning mining cycle, but also provides guidance for the smaller companies in China to go on The Hunt For Copper and other commodities. You can witness this approach in our particular case of Strategic Commodities with International Lithium and Ganfeng Lithium as well. Read More."

"China is going to build a $242 billion (1.5 trillion yuan) high-speed rail link between Beijing and Moscow. The line will cut the journey time from five to 'two days', say Chinese authorities.

The railway will be 7,000 kilometers long and go through Kazakhstan, reports Bloomberg citing Beijing’s city government on the social networking site Weibo, China’s alternative to Twitter. The railway will make travel easier between Europe and Asia, the statement said.

China is actively promoting its high-speed railway technology and sees Russia as an especially attractive market because of its strained relations with Western countries over Ukraine.

In October 2014 Russia and China signed a memorandum of understanding over a high-speed railway connection. Russian Railways then reported that its purpose was to plan for a high-speed Moscow - Beijing Eurasian transport corridor.

The project was more interesting because of the $400 billion deal signed in May for Russian gas giant Gazprom to build a pipeline and start gas supplies to China.

First Vice President of Russian Railways Alexander Misharin said in November that the plan would cost $60 billion to reach the Russian border and that the journey from Moscow to Beijing could be done within 30 hours. The fastest route currently takes at least 5 days.

Misharin expected construction would take from 8 to 10 years. He compared the new railway network to the Suez Canal “in terms of scale and significance.”

Electric Cars To The Rescue: China Pollution Levels Hit 20 Times Safe Limit.

The Guardian.

  China has escalated electric cars to the status of strategic industry and is building the supply chain of Strategic Commodities for the electric cars, mobile devices and alternative energy. LG Chem has announced its own Megafactory in China to produce 100,000 lithium batteries for electric cars per year.   International Lithium becomes the part of the vertically integrated lithium business in the huge market in China with its strategic partner Ganfeng Lithium. Read more."

International Lithium Presentation September 2014 from Kirill Klip

China Rolls Out Welcome Mat for Electric Cars: Ganfeng Lithium Partners with International Lithium in Argentina and Ireland.

The Guardian:

China pollution levels hit 20 times safe limit

Visibility dropped dramatically as small pollutant particles reached dangerous levels in northern China’s Hebei province 

Days of heavy smog shrouding swathes of northern China pushed pollution to more than 20 times safe levels on Friday, despite government promises to tackle environmental blight.

Visibility dropped dramatically as measures of small pollutant particles known as PM2.5, which can embed themselves deep in the lungs, reached more than 500 micrograms per cubic metre in parts of Hebei, a province bordering Beijing.

The World Health Organization’s guideline for maximum healthy exposure is 25.

In the capital, buildings were obscured by a thick haze, with PM2.5 levels in the city staying above 300 micrograms per cubic metre since Wednesday afternoon and authorities issuing an “orange” alert.

“It’s very worrying, the main worry is my health,” said a 28-year-old marketing worker surnamed Hu, carrying an anti-smog mask decorated with a pink pig’s nose as she walked in central Beijing. The Guardian."

Powered By Lithium: Formula E 2014. Round 1. Beijing. Race.

  The Lithium Technology is here, now we need to bring the prices down with volume to ignite the mass market for electric cars. It is not the coincidence that the first race starts in Beijing.

China Welcomes Electric Cars: Tesla Motors, China Unicom Plan 400 Charging Stations.

  

  "As I have discussed with you here before, Elon Musk is taking the largest auto-market in the world very seriously. Needless to say that this Supercharger Network will be the base for the mass market for electric cars in China. Now we are waiting for Tesla Model III coming out in 2017 with $35k price tag and 200 miles range. Tesla Gigafactory will make this development possible with better and cheaper lithium batteries. After establishing Tesla Motors brand in the luxury sector with Tesla model S and Tesla model X Elon Musk will move down the value chain into the mass market for electric cars.

  Foxconn plan for the $15k electric cars is the wild card here, it remains to be seen who will be involved in its implementation, but I can tell you my personal observations already now: Electric Cars are here to stay and they are taking over the largest auto-market in the world right now like the wild fire. If you are still looking for the next Apple: Elon Musk, Electric Cars and China could be pointing out to the Next Big Thing. Read More."

International Lithium Presentation May 2014 from Kirill Klip

China Rolls Out Welcome Mat for Electric Cars: Ganfeng Lithium Partners with International Lithium in Argentina and Ireland.

The Largest Ever Lithium Deal: Tesla Gigafactory, Smartphones And China's Race To Electric rEvolution.

  

  Now we have the major turning point for the Lithium Industry and further confirmation of the new mega trend in investing, which I have been discussing with you for a while here. Access to the secure supply of Strategic Commodities, which provide the material base for the new industrial revolution based on electric cars, will be more and more important. This Lithium race is only at its very beginning. Serious money and serious players are coming into the sector now. You can find my arguments on the links below.

Lithium Race: China Requires 30% of State Cars Use Alternative Energy.

 Beijing.

   As we have discussed here numerous times, China moves electric cars with its state-level plan into the strategic industry status. While West is still looking what is wrong with Tesla Motors and Tesla Model S Chinese companies are searching the globe and buying the best deposits of Lithium, Copper and REE. These will be the materials driving the next industrial rEvolution - electrification of our transportation systems.  High-speed railway network will solve the problem of mass transit in the future when Oil will be gone. China is building this network by thousands of miles per year and it is going to reach .... Singapore. Electric cars will solve the problem of mobility in the highly populated megalopolises.

  Elon Musk goes Open Source with electric cars now and Tesla Motors patents are available for all. It is not just charity, but rather carefully calculated move. And it is not the attempt to diminish our leader-in-chief altruistic incentives behind this move. Reality is that Elon Musk targets the Chinese market now with Tesla Model S and what is more important - with the new mass market model of electric car from Tesla Motors. It would be re-engineered in any case in China, but now if you can make that car cheap and in mass numbers, your strong partners in Asia will help Tesla Motors to fight counterfeit and people will not by the sub par quality.

  Can I put the name Foxconn again here? Read more."

Powered By Lithium: Will Foxconn Make The Electric iCar For Apple Priced Under $15,000?

International Lithium Corp. A Potential Source For Green Technology Minerals.

International Lithium Presentation May 2014 from Kirill Klip

  "Rare Earth elements or metals (REEs) are essential elements in clean-energy technologies. In recent years REEs have received plenty of coverage concurrent to growing environmental concerns.  The rare-earth topic is no longer obscure and discussions regarding future REE shortages are beginning to emerge in mainstream media. Today international governments and organizations are pushing efforts to develop solutions to the rising scarcity threat, one of the biggest being that only 1 percent of critical materials are currently being recycled (they are difficult to recover economically), and so the race to find viable sources for REEs is on.

  The Green Technology Industry is the largest end-user of REEs and is continually growing with the development of electric vehicles and green energy electrical generators; wind turbines and solar panels. According to the American Chemistry Society, Lithium is among these endangered metals. China, which controls 97% of global rare earth production, has made significant investments in securing their supply. One excellent example of this is the recent news from China based Ganfeng Lithium Corp. regarding their 15million yuan (US $2.4 million) investment into International Lithium’s Blackstairs Pegmatite project in Ireland and the Mariana Brine project in Argentina for the 2014 budget year.  Ganfeng Lithium Corp. is one of the largest lithium product suppliers in the world supplying ILC with both capital and expertise and providing the global green technology industry with a new potential source of lithium supply. Read more."

Powered by Lithium: Clean Electric Cars - Renewables to Get Most of $7.7 Trillion Power Investments

Who Will Make Enough Lithium Batteries For Electric rEvolution?

Lithium Catalyst: Hydrogen Dreams And Write-down Of Two-thirds Of US Shale Oil Explodes Fracking Myth.

No Danger From Magnetic Fields In Electric Cars As Their Sales Have Doubled Every Year For Three Years.

and why it all matters to you:

Peak Oil Is Back! - IEA Write-down Of Two-thirds Of US Shale Oil Explodes Fracking Myth.

Bloomberg:

Largest Lithium Deal Triggered by Smartphones and Teslas

Surging demand for high-performance batteries triggered the largest-ever deal for lithium, the lightweight metal that’s a key component of the power systems in smartphones, electric cars and cordless screwdrivers.

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) agreed yesterday to pay $6.2 billion in cash and stock for Princeton, New Jersey-based Rockwood Holdings Inc. (ROC), the biggest producer of lithium.

Consumption of lithium doubled in the decade through 2012, and is growing even faster now. Albemarle expects demand to increase as much as three times faster than the global economy, with consumers demanding more mobile devices and electric vehicles becoming more common.

“The growth of lithium, if you look at the proliferation of electronic materials, it’s powered by the lithium-ion battery,” Albemarle Chief Executive Officer Luke Kissam said in an interview. “And certainly automotive will be a big growth opportunity.” He expects a sharp increase in demand starting in about 2017.

Rockwood is the largest of four companies that control about 90 percent of the market for lithium, and they’re all bullish. Chile’s Soc. Quimica & Minera de Chile SA, known as SQM, expects demand to grow at 7 percent to 10 percent a year.

Batteries in cars and trucks will be one of the key drivers. Fully electric vehicles contain 44 pounds of lithium carbonate in their battery packs, compared with just one ounce in a notebook computer, Rockwood said in March.

Rapid adoption of electric vehicles may double lithium sales for batteries between 2013 and 2017, then double them again by the end of the decade. Bloomberg."

Beijing Angles For Mass Market For Electric Cars: 1,000 Fast Chargers, Wiring Mandate For Buildings.

  

Beijing Air Pollution.

  Stephen Edelstein reports from the ground on China's push into the 21st century. Electric Cars industry is one of the Strategic Industries in China and last party Plenum has a definite turn towards the Greener and more Sustainable Economy. Basically China has announced The War on Pollution.

  We at International Lithium are proud to be part of this noble course: to make mass market for Electric Cars reality and provide access to the freedom of personal mobility for the hundreds millions of people in Asia.

Strategic Partner, Ganfeng Lithium, Announces Initial Budget for Joint Ventures with International Lithium.

China people are sold mountain air.

LG Chem Megafactory Will Produce Lithium Batteries For More Than 100k EVs A Year In Nanjing.

  

  "LG Chem makes its move in China with its own Megafactory for Lithium Batteries in response to the Tesla Motors Gigafactory and its ambitious plans to ignite the Electric rEvolution. Now we can talk about the real prospects for the mass market for electric cars. Increased Volume in production of Lithium Batteries for Electric Cars will allow to reduce the prices per 1 kWN and increase the reliability and capacity of the batteries making "The Range Anxiety" another myth fading into the history. 

  Nissan Leaf has announced that new Lithium Battery for Nissan Leaf will cost $5,500 bringing the cost per 1 kWh to $270 in the new breakthrough for the Lithium Technology.Elon Musk is talking about Lithium Batteries to be produced at Gigafactory with 400 miles range for Tesla Model S and X and $35,000 price tag for Tesla model E with 200 miles range.

  Maybe now my dream for The Electric Apple iCar will not be so far fetched after all? For International Lithium this news is an another validation of our strategy of Vertical Integration with Ganfeng Lithium into the Lithium Battery Business in China.

Is Tesla, Apple and Foxconn A Match Made In Heaven To Make Electric Apple iCar Under $15k?

 "Everything new in this life was started with the simple question: Why Not? Can we start talking that Tesla, Apple and Foxconn Is A Match Made In Heaven To Make Electric Apple iCar Under $15k? Tesla and Apple have met after all discussing SOMETHING before. Whether it was Tesla Gigafactory for potential production of Lithium Polymer Batteries for iPhones and iPads or my beloved Apple iCar my "Chinese tea leaves" are not telling me at the moment, but these three companies have everything in the world to make the mass market for Electric Cars happen overnight: Apple with its Billions of Capital, iconic brand and marketing machine, Tesla Motors with Electric Cars Lithium Technology and Foxconn with its Low Cost Manufacturing Base for mass market production and entry into the world's largest auto-market in China.

Lithium Catalyst: Apple Electric iCar Coming From Tesla? ILC.v TNR.v AAPL TSLA

"It will not take much to ignite Lithium Bull again - just four words will do: China, Pollution, Tesla and Apple. We have written extensively about three of them before and now we can have the groundbreaking development with Apple thinking about joining the Electric Party. Sufiy."

  Before we all get very excited let's see where this story will land in the end and who are those clients of Foxconn they are not talking about now? We at International Lithium are working on development of our Lithium Projects to make these dreams and mass market for Electric Cars possible one day in the nearest future. It will be done by somebody, I am sure - now we have some names to talk about. Read more."

International Lithium Corp. A Potential Source For Green Technology Minerals.

International Lithium Presentation May 2014 from Kirill Klip

Green Car Reports:

Beijing Angles For More EVs: 1,000 Fast Chargers, Wiring Mandate For Buildings 

The Chinese government is working hard to encourage the mass adoption of electric cars, but those cars will never catch on if there's no place to charge them.

The city government in Beijing hopes to address that problem with a new mandate that will massively expand the charging infrastructure in the Chinese capital.

Under the plan, new residential communities will be required to install charging stations at 18 percent of parking spaces, while the city itself will oversee the installation of 1,000 DC fast-charging stations this year, according to a report by Want China Times (via Charged EVs). Green Car Report."

The Art Of War For Resources: How China Fooled The World ... And Will Do It Again - "Surprise PMI Rise"

  This weekend China came out with the surprise: PMI rose to the highest level in five months Reuters reports: "China Official PMI Hits Five-month High In May, Boding Well For Q2":

"(Reuters) - China's factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in five months in May due to rising new orders, official data showed on Sunday, reinforcing views that the world's second-largest economy is regaining momentum in the second quarter following Beijing's targeted measures to bolster growth. Reuters."

  The timing of the rebound is quite interesting: China has just announced the "Holy Grail Deal" worth 400 Billion with Russia on Gas and Oil and Minmetals has just bought Las Bambas Copper for 5.85 Billion in Peru. Copper has immediately celebrated the news with 1.2% rise on the day yesterday. Welcome the The Art Of War For Resources in the age of Currency Wars and The End Of Money.

TNR Gold Los Azules M&A: Copper Rises to 11-Week High on Optimism From U.S, China.

"Finally Dr Copper is waking up to the positive news from China that the end of the world will be postponed again.

"China continues its buying spree of copper assets all over the Globe: last month the huge Las Bambas copper project in Peru was bought by Minmetals Group for $5.85 B and now Guandong is bidding for PanAust. Reuters reports on the deal and you can notice how the activity in M&A by Chinese companies is picking up during the "soft market". It is the very important indication of the major bottom in the mining cycle: it is cheaper "to dig" for Copper and Gold on the Stock Exchanges now, when valuations of assets in the ground of listed companies are discounted by the depressed mining markets.  Read more."

Sufiy.:

How China Fooled The World ... And Will Do It Again.

  "This documentary brings the very important perspective to the China's economic miracle. We do agree that Collapse of China will be nothing less spectacular than its Rise, but will it ever happen? Nobody questions that the growth above 10% is unsustainable, but will anything "less amazing" like 7.0% -7.5% will Crash China? Western media would like us all to believe so. We are not convinced. Timing is very suspicious. West is desperate for another War, for anything to fight for ... with its last Empire attribute left - The Military Industrial Complex. Whether it is Syria, Ukraine or even China does not really matter. Whatever it takes to keep the party going.

  So far we can tell that China is laughing all the way to the bank with lower prices on all assets including Copper and Gold. Why pay more if you can pay less? Nobody knows for sure how the rebalancing in China will work and whether domestic growth will smoothly overtake the export driven economy. The only one thing we can tell for sure is that China implements the state-level plan to accumulate and secure the strategic supply of critical commodities like Lithium, Copper and Gold. Situation will be always more complex than any article or even this documentary can analyse, but Financial Wars will unlikely weaken China's Rising Power and West will have to deal with the very strong competition for the diminishing Supply of all crucial commodities.

  China is already busy weakening Yuan in order to stimulate export and next round of economic stimulus maybe just around the corner. We have to mention another very important thing here: in the West the stimulus goes to those who are closer to the FED, bubbles in equity markets are not making new infrastructure for future development. Appearing in the documentary of Henry Paulson is the very good reminder of it. In China, despite all unquestionable corruption and mistakes, economic stimulus normally means high speed railway systems and new roads and airports built all around the country."

Powered by Lithium: This New BYD Electric Car Is Demolishing The Competition In China ILC.v TNR.v LIT TSLA

Smog in China.

  Investors are still connecting the dots and far reaching implications of the Tesla Gigafactory for the Electric Cars, Solar and Wind power industries. The real players are taking steps already to secure the supply of the strategic commodities like Lithium for the ongoing Electric Revolution. China is literally chocking up with pollution in all major cities and government has announced dramatic shift towards the cleaner economy. Electric Cars will be the very important part of it.   We will have to learn the new names like Ganfeng Lithium - China has very quietly built the Lithium Industry over the last few years and now controls the very big part of the world-wide Lithium Materials market. Now these companies have grown up and searching the globe in order to built vertically integrated conglomerates with value chain from raw materials to the Lithium Batteries. International Lithium from Canada has built the portfolio of Lithium Projects spanning the globe from Canada to Ireland and Argentina and is moving forward with development in the partnership with Ganfeng Lithium. Do your own DD and enjoy the ride, hopefully in the Electric Car! Read more."