An Australian company on track to become Europe’s
first lithium producer said China’s appetite for the material, which is key to
the renewable-energy transition, has created a clear runway for further
expansion in the continent.
“A lot of supply is going into China, and China’s own
needs are growing,” Critical Metals Corp. Executive Chairman Tony Sage said in
a Bloomberg Television interview from Perth on Wednesday. The Asian nation’s
domination of the market means “there are another four or five players in
Europe also hoping to get into production” and “we are going to be the first,”
he said.
Sage was speaking a day after the unit of Australian miner
European Lithium Ltd. agreed to go public on Nasdaq through a merger with
blank-check company Sizzle Acquisition Corp. The combined entity — Critical
Metals — will own European Lithium’s project in Wolfsberg, Austria.
Critical Metals is attempting to cash in on soaring
demand for lithium, with prices soaring this year as global demand for the key
battery ingredient booms while supply remains constrained. The US has urged
allies to diversify supply due to concerns over China’s domination of refining and
production capacity for key materials including lithium, rare earths and
cobalt.
“Look at rare earths — when China needs them for
themselves, they stop the exports,” Sage said. “That’s why Europe makes lithium
a critical mineral, for the purpose is to break that sort of reliance on China
to produce the concentrate for the batteries.”
Critical Metals was eying other lithium deposits in
Europe for potential expansion, Sage said. At this stage, he didn’t see any big
projects adding enough output to halt steep price rises for the material, he
said.
Chile’s constitutional assembly voted down plans in
May to nationalize mining rights for lithium. Still, the prospect — along with
environmental concerns about brine extraction — may subdue a rush for supply
from that region, Sage said.
European Lithium in August announced an agreement
with BMW AG to supply battery-grade lithium hydroxide. The firm hopes to add
consumers including electric-vehicle and battery manufacturers in the region,
and expects Wolfsberg to supply approximately 10,500 metric tons of lithium
concentrate annually by 2025.
Source: Mining.com