Sunday 29 June 2014

Peak Oil Was Just Postponed - EIA Write-down Of Two-thirds Of US Shale Oil Explodes Fracking Myth.

  

  Jim Puplava has a very interesting discussion about Peak Oil on his Financial Sense this week.  You do not hear a lot in the mass media about the report on coming write-down by IEA of two-thirds of US shale oil reserves, but it is the really groundbreaking news exposing fracking hype and myth everybody should be worried about now. Peak Oil Is Back! You can find my own findings and how we are addressing this coming Peak Oil by building our International Lithium to make Electric Cars mass market possible one day below on the links. Please, enjoy: "Jim Puplava's Big Picture: Peak Oil - Delayed But Not Resolved":

"Jim’s first topic on the Big Picture this week is “Peak Oil – Delayed but Not Resolved”. Jim lays out the issue of Peak Oil in depth, and quotes studies that believe it could still arrive by the end of this decade. Jim also looks at the Shale Revolution in the US and discusses how long the shale story may delay the onset of Peak Oil. The next topic is “OPEC’s New Competition”. Jim looks at the geological and geopolitical constraints on OPEC and sees North America as a growing and viable competitor to OPEC’s energy dominance in the future. Jim Puplava."

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





  "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."

International Lithium: Tesla Goes Open Source, Ganfeng Lithium Goes for Vertical Integration.


"Ganfeng Lithium news is making rounds now in the industry circles and Resource Investing News has published an interesting article on the recent developments in the Lithium and Electric Cars space. Read more."

International Lithium: Ganfeng Lithium Acquisition of Lithium Battery Company To Build The Vertically Integrated Industry Chain.

  


NATO: Russian Spies Against "100% Safe Fracking", Two-thirds Of US Shale Oil "Could Be Stolen By Chinese Hackers."


 Now we can look at all these events in another light. Dr Nafeez Ahmed reports in The Guardian: "Write-down of two-thirds of US shale oil explodes fracking myth":
"Industry's over-inflated reserve estimates are unravelling, and with it the 'American dream' of oil independence
Next month, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will publish a new estimate of US shale deposits set to deal a death-blow to industry hype about a new golden era of US energy independence by fracking unconventional oil and gas.
EIA officials told the Los Angeles Times that previous estimates of recoverable oil in the Monterey shale reserves in California of about 15.4 billion barrels were vastly overstated. The revised estimate, they said, will slash this amount by 96% to a puny 600 million barrels of oil. The Guardian."
  I think that we all can appreciate much better the report by David Hughes at Post Carbon Institute "Drill, Baby, Drill" Can we talk now that fracking potentially has just only postponed The Peak Oil? Chris Nelder gave a very good interview on this subject in depth last year: "Peak Oil Isn't Dead".
     Have you checked you fuel Gas or Petrol receipts lately? If we have so much Oil from fracking why the prices are still so high? Even with the Global Economy still recovering at very tepid pace? What will happen when FED's QE will produce its miracle - "The Solid Growth"?


Saturday 28 June 2014

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


  
  Foxconn is not talking about the use of Tesla Motors patents or Apple being involved at this stage, but this is the kind of developments I am expecting to happen more and more after Elon Musk went Open Source with Electric Cars and opened Tesla patents to all. Foxconn is the largest contracts electronics maker in the world, including production of iPhones and iPads for Apple. I am not sure that we can certainly expect now that my dream -  the Electric iCar will be produced by Foxconn, but  they are the one who can make it.
  They can easily outsource the particular auto-making technology and develop Electric Car for the basic urban mobility targeting megalopolises in China and India. Foxconn's strength will be the existing low cost manufacturing base and very efficient management of the supply chain. I do not expect them to produce alone the competition to Tesla Model S, but another KANDI I can expect easily. And "The Big If" - if the Apple will be involved at some stage with its cash and marketing machine, than we can talk about Steve Jobs' dream in the making:

Lithium Drive: Steve Jobs’ Apple iCar dream - Mickey Drexler: "Steve’s dream before he died was to design an iCar.”


  Key to the success will be cheap, but reliable Lithium Battery with respectable range. LG Chem is very active in Asia now matching the Tesla's Gigafactory plans in their ambitions and we have the new players like Ganfeng Lithium with International Lithium coming into this promising market as well now. And here lies another twist to this story:
"Asked by the same shareholder about Hon Hai’s reported cooperation with U.S. electric car pioneer Tesla Motors Inc., Gou said he would not comment on any single client, adding only that Tesla is a good company and can help Hon Hai understand future trends in the car industry. TheChinaCap."
   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.

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





  "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."

International Lithium: Tesla Goes Open Source, Ganfeng Lithium Goes for Vertical Integration.


"Ganfeng Lithium news is making rounds now in the industry circles and Resource Investing News has published an interesting article on the recent developments in the Lithium and Electric Cars space. Read more."

International Lithium: Ganfeng Lithium Acquisition of Lithium Battery Company To Build The Vertically Integrated Industry Chain.

  


TheChinaGap:




Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., a Taiwanese assembler of Apple Inc.’s iPhones and iPads, said Wednesday it is planning to make electric cars priced with an extremely affordable price tag — under US$15,000.
“The electric cars made by us will be very affordable,” said Terry Gou, chairman of the world’s largest contract electronics maker, in response to a question during an annual shareholders’ meeting.
Unlike current models that run as much as NT$2 million (US$66,800), most of the electric cars developed by Hon Hai will be priced under US$15,000, Gou said. He declined to give details on the cars or indicate when they may be launched.
Asked by the same shareholder about Hon Hai’s reported cooperation with U.S. electric car pioneer Tesla Motors Inc., Gou said he would not comment on any single client, adding only that Tesla is a good company and can help Hon Hai understand future trends in the car industry.
“The development of new-energy vehicles is just beginning,” he noted. “When integrated with cloud computing, the Internet, smart traffic and smart cities in the future, people will be able to drive more easily and reduce car accidents more efficiently.”
“This kind of technology is due in the next 10 to 20 years, and our company will make huge investments in it,” Gou said.
Hon Hai, often referred to by its trade name of Foxconn Technology Group, is seeking to transform itself into a technology services company to meet consumer demand and generate business growth in the coming years.
In its annual report to shareholders, Hon Hai said it is evolving from its existing “Integration-Innovation-Design-Manufacturing” base into cloud services, wireless 4G-LTE networking services and the e-commerce sector.
By the time the fifth generation (5G) of telecommunications rolls around, the company will shift its focus to developing automation and artificial intelligence and combining hardware and software applications to improve human life, the annual report said.
Hon Hai shares fell 1.73 percent to close at NT$96.50 Wednesday in Taipei trading.
Publisher: CNA
Published: 26/06/2014
Source: The China Post"


Friday 27 June 2014

Even Golden Bubbles Are Made Of Bubbles: Bitcoin Vs. Gold - Some Thoughts And Infographic.

  

  Even Golden Bubbles Are Made Of Bubbles. I was following Bitcoin for a while ... and other 50 crypto-currencies. Once the amount of crypto-ideas about Gold 2.0 exceeded 60 - I have lost my interest. But the last Fall moment was truly historical: when Bitcoin has briefly touched parity with Gold. 



  I will leave you to your own studies on this subject, but will mention only one particular angle. Bitcoin was supposed to be the competition to FIAT currencies. Why there is such a "tolerance" from authorities in U.S. - compare to the "FED's 100 years War on Gold"? Maybe I know the answer, maybe you will find another one. Gold is finite and the Only Money accepted for thousand of years as such. It cannot be printed or created in any way apart from the very hard work to discover and recover it from the ground. Gold companies are mining the dust now compared to the 90s and new discoveries are few and far between. Bitcoin, on another side, can be manufactured at Will and there is the different opinions about the Control of this Will in Bitcoin case, but NSA will always provide you with the better substitute of Bitcoin at some point: NSAcoin. 


TNR Gold: Shotgun Gold Project - Why Do We Need New Gold Deposits?



  Some wise, but very dangerous men once said: "We will take the best out of Them, we will intrigue them by Enigma and Secret, we will make Them think that they are running the world ... but it will be Us who is really in charge." Do you see the historical parallels? "Brothers" are still in denial and Bitcoin "revolutionaries" are fighting the FED ... 

Chris Martenson: The Perfect Business Case - Exponential Money And Limited Resources Supply.




  I will encourage you to read the brilliant "Gold Price Relative To Monetary Base At All-Time Low":

"The newest edition of the annual In Gold We Trust report is out. This eight edition goes again to the heart of gold’s value and analyzes the yellow metal as a monetary asset rather than an industrial commodity. The In Gold We Trust 2014 report takes a sober look at the big picture in the monetary system and offers a holistic analysis of the gold sector. It is written by Ronald Stoeferle who is the managing partner of a global fund at Incrementum AG in Liechtenstein, based on the principles of the Austrian school of Economics. GoldSilverWorlds."



  If James Rickards is right with his "The Death Of Money", which I think is the case, than we are heading straight into the Currency Collapse at some point. The idea to test the substitutes to US Dollar and build up the opposition to the Only and True Money - Gold is very attractive. Problem is that the people with a lot of even FIAT money prefer Gold, only people with a lot of Debt are searching for Gold 2.0 - China buys Gold and encourages its citizens to do so. And as James Rickards has put it:



fans are always promoting "Gold v Bitcoin" debates. I've never seen a advocate do that.


Bitcoin vs. Gold



Thursday 26 June 2014

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





  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.



  Ganfeng’s transaction signifies confidence in ILC’s capabilities as ILC is currently one of the only publicly traded Canadian Corporations receiving funding from China after the collapse of the multi-million dollar CNOOC/Nexen deal. The Blackstairs Lithium project in Ireland is particularly momentous as a recent European Union study concluded that rare earth supply constraints could hamper clean energy efforts. Ireland has pledged to make the mining process more efficient as part of an approach to boost lithium production. Subsequent to the Blackstairs funding announcement, Jianguo Xu, Chinese Ambassador to Ireland, paid a courtesy call to Richard Bruton, Ireland’s Minister for Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, to discuss how to promote pragmatic and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.  



  Beyond the growing demand and investment from Chinese conglomerates, encouraging headlines have also come out of Argentina, which is home to ILC’s Lithium-Brine Project located within the famous Andes Lithium Triangle. The political tide appears to have made a turn for the better this year as governments in Argentina took positive steps towards modernizing public policy to encourage foreign investment. Not only was the national currency devalued to bring it closer to its real value but new economic systems to measure real impacts of inflation were implemented. The settlement with Spanish oil giant Repsol over the YPF nationalization is another indicator that change for the better is in the works. In addition, an unprecedented debt repayment deal was struck with the “Paris Club” of creditor nations, and Lumina Copper’s announcement that First Quantum Minerals has agreed to purchase the Taca Taca copper project for $470 million  should help to shore up lingering doubts about the direction  Argentina’s mining industry is headed. Taca Taca is approximately 70 kilometres from ILC’s Mariana project and any infrastructure built to facilitate production at Taca Taca will also benefit Mariana.



  ILCs goes beyond traditional mine development and is creating a business model that is focused on cooperation and growth. Ganfeng Lithium and ILC are jointly working on a vertical integration plan to develop both lithium projects and have just announced an exploration budget for 2014. With the REE demand growing and Tesla’s big Open Source move, this venture could not have occurred at a more opportune time.



About International Lithium Corp. 

  International Lithium Corp. is an exploration company with an outstanding portfolio of projects, strong management ownership, robust financial support and a strategic partner and keystone investor Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd., a leading China based lithium product manufacturer.

The Company's primary focus is the Mariana lithium-potash brine project, within the renowned South American "Lithium Belt" that is the host to the vast majority of global lithium resources, reserves and production. The 160 square kilometre Mariana project strategically encompasses an entire mineral rich evaporate basin that ranks as one of the more prospective salars or 'salt lakes" in the region.

Complementing the Company's lithium brine project are rare metals pegmatite properties in Canada and Ireland. These projects reported highly encouraging lithium mineralization in drill holes targeting pegmatites that are unexposed at surface (news releases dated April 3,2013 and June 25, 2013).

With the increasing demand for high tech rechargeable batteries used in vehicle propulsion technologies and portable electronics, lithium is paramount to tomorrow's "green-tech" economy. By positioning itself with solid development partners and acquiring high quality grass roots projects at an early stage of exploration, ILC aims to be the green tech resource explorer of choice for investors and build value for its shareholders.


  Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Statements in this press release other than purely historical information, historical estimates should not be relied upon, including statements relating to the Company's future plans and objectives or expected results, are forward-looking statements. News release contains certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company's business, including risks inherent in resource exploration and development. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.