The Global Lithium Podcast
By Joe Lowry
The Global Lithium Podcast Nov 01, 2020
Episode 186: Listener Questions
In this episode I give my current thoughts on price as well as discussing my past calls both good & bad. I explain how I believe China has taken control of the lithium price narrative and the spodumene market, why I think brine based lithium returns to the lithium pole position in the coming decade and then I answer listener questions on everything from Canada, to what I invest in, to Brazil's lithium future to solid state batteries potential impact on the lithium supply chain.
I likely repeat myself a few times given that tends to happen when I talk for 40 minutes without a script.
Episode 185: Cauchari
This episode includes three guests: Mac Whale of Cormark, Cole McGill of Stifel and Daniel Jimenez of iLi Markets.
I joined the group on a site visit to Minera Exar's Cauchari operation. Minera Exar is a JV between Lithium Argentina and Ganfeng located in Jujuy Province, Argentina.
We discuss what we saw and how each guest evaluates a project that is ramping up:
1) What were they key questions they wanted answered?
2) What was their overall impression of the project?
This episode is brought to you by Zelandez and Mississippi Lime.
Episode 184: Michael Dunne
Michael Dunne (@dunne_insights) on X/Twitter is the CEO of Dunne Insights a global intelligence & advisory service that provides insights on EVs, batteries, and charging with a particular emphasis on Asia.
Topics:
Son of a "car spy"
China's lead in EVs
The demise of Detroit in China
Can the west catch-up?
BYD - the early days
China's other EV suppliers
CATL's significance
Can the US be a meaningful battery supplier?
Toyota's hybrid strategy
Should China be allowed in the US market?
Advice for POTUS
BYD in Brazil
The Art (of EV) War
How China out negotiates competitors
Vin Fast in the US
Rapid fire
Episode 183: Singapore Sling
This episode is brought to you by Zelandez and Mississippi Lime. It is the audio of a presentation I gave in late March at the Future Facing Commodities Event in Singapore with some additional commentary. The presentation slides can be found at: www.globallithium.net/articles
Topics:
In the beginning there was North Carolina hard rock
Questions you should be asking about the lithium market
Where did 2023 "oversupply" come from?
China battery players influence on lithium price
Increasing capital intensity
The cost curve
Negative sentiment
Demand: all about batteries in 2024
Lithium price: a many splendored thing
Bottom "price" fishing
Supply
"Swing supply"
This cycle vs the last one
Do the work!
Episode 182: Jon Evans
Jon Evans (@jdevans4005 on X) is the CEO of Lithium Americas and one of the most influential leaders in the lithium industry.
Topics:
Building Thacker Pass – the largest lithium resource in North America
The team
The project timeline
Lessons from Cauchari
Lithium through a national security lens
GM as a partner
LFP in the US
Lessons from the DOE loan process
The importance of LAC’s Tech Center
Partnering with local stakeholders
The lithium market
Dealing with the anti mining crowd
Improving price discovery
Why Jon didn’t take the easier career path
Motivating the team in hard times
Rapid fire
Episode 181: Seth Goldstein
Seth Goldstein (@SethGMStar1 on X) is an Equity Strategist and Chair of the Electric Vehicle Committee at Morningstar. This is his third appearance on the podcast. Topics:
Defining a top pick at Morningstar
Why Seth believes the lithium stocks he follows are undervalued
Bullish on LAC and Thacker Pass
LAC’s DOE loan
Incentivizing a North America battery supply chain
Lithium Argentina’s impressive start-up at Cauchari
Seth’s candid thoughts on Albemarle & their price strategy
SQM & Arcadium
Arcadium’s long struggle with expansions
The global EV growth story
The politics of EVs in the US
BYD & Tesla
Lithium prices
CATL’s inventory “tells” & the impact on lithium demand
Lepidolite costs
ESS
Rapid fire
Episode 180: Andy Leyland
Andy Leyland (@andyleyland1 on X) is the founder of Supply Chain Insights (@insights_SC on X). Andy has deep experience in all aspects of the lithium ion battery supply chain.
Topics:
What Supply Chain Insights does
2023: the "rebalancing" year
The lepidolite spectrum
Lithium demand - still robust
The turnaround in ESS
Sodium ion batteries
Oversupply
Inventory levels
The future of conversion in China
Brine: "Argentina's race to lose"
Two ways of looking at price
Why is lithium forecasting so bad?
Getting info from China
Incentive prices
China's domestic lithium potential
ESG hypocrisy
Who actually paid $80/kg for lithium?
Do fixed price contracts make a comeback?
Recycling
The SCI price forecast
Rapid fire
Episode 179: Lithium 2024
A solo episode. What I see in 2024 off the top of my head. I recorded it but haven't listened to it yet.
Topics:
Woodmac and the damage done.
A couple WA ASX updates
Price - where to from here?
Why the press doesn't get lithium
DLE
The comeback of brine
A lot of shout outs
Episode 178: Blair Way
Blair Way is the CEO of Patriot Battery Metals (@Patriot_Battery on X aka Twitter) PMET on the TSXV, PMT on the ASX and PMETF on the OTC
Topics:
Humble beginnings in Quebec
The maiden resource
Drill program
The team
How big a resource?
The lake
Production timing
Realistic goals
Why scale matters
The “Brinsden” effect
Albemarle
Top 3 challenges
Will Patriot own Corvette at start-up?
Rapid fire
Episode 177: Year End Wrap
My guests are Chris Berry (@cberry1 on X) and Daniel Jimenez (@D_Jimenez_Sch on X). Both gentlemen are multi episode guests that bring a wealth of expertise to any lithium conversation.
We discuss the highlights and lowlights of a dramatic year in lithium and also look to the year ahead.
Episode 176: Patrick Howarth (Exxon)
Patrick Howarth leads the lithium effort within ExxonMobil’s Low Carbon Solutions Group. Exxon is currently drilling lithium brine wells in Arkansas with a plan to be in commercial production by 2027 using Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE). The company intends to become a major lithium producer by 2030. Exxon also developed the first lithium ion battery prototype in the 1970s.
Topics:
Exxon’s Low Carbon Solutions Group
Leveraging Exxon’s technology capabilities to decarbonize
Drilling for lithium vs oil & gas
The Smackover
DLE
Lithium “surprises”
Arkansas as a lithium province
Hard rock ambitions?
Supply & Demand
Price
The Team
“Lithium years”
Beyond Arkansas
A tribute to Dr Stanley Whittingham
Rapid fire
Episode 175: Ernie Ortiz
Ernie Ortiz is the CEO of Lithium Royalty Corp (@Lithium_Royalty on X).
Topics:
Ernie's backstory
The LRC business model
Primary vs secondary royalties
Building the portfolio
Why the focus on hard rock assets?
The team
The brand
Does market negativity create opportunity?
Price
Competition
ESG
The IRA
Improving lithium industry performance
Rapid fire
Episode 174: Update from Asia & Beyond
A solo episode where I discuss my recent trip to Korea & Japan, price & index worries, and offer a lithium history less.
Topics:
Korean worries about the IRA
Japan: the land of the "setting sun"?
How many legacy OEMs survive?
Price - what's next?
Concern about the usefulness of indexes
SQM
ALB
#ChrisGina
Argentina elections
Episode 173: Team Money of Mine (Part 2)
Part 2 with the Money of Mine podcast team: Matt Michael, Travis Ricciardo, and Jonas “JD” Dorling. The Money of Mine Podcast began in April of this year when Matt, Travis and JD quit their day jobs to begin building a “media empire.” I met them on a trip to Australia in September and was invited to be a guest on their show. I am now a regular listener.
You can access their daily content via YouTube and all major podcast platforms. On X (aka Twitter) @moneyofminepod
Topics:
Piedmont Lithium
Albemarle
Ioneer
The “Donald Trump” of Oz
North & South America “field trip”
Lithium or “midstream” chemicals?
Price bifurcation
Investing $5 million in ASX lithium stocks
Common mistakes made by retail investors
Podcast – lessons learned
Interacting with the fan base
Canaccord’s “Mr. October”
Rapid fire
Episode 172: Team Money of Mine (part 1)
My guests are the Money of Mine podcast team: Matt Michael, Travis Ricciardo and Jonas "JD" Dorling. The Money of Mine Podcast began in April of this year when Matt, Travis and JD quit their day jobs to begin building their "media empire".
I met them on a trip to Australia in September when they invited me to be a guest on their show – a link to that episode on YouTube is here.
You can get their daily content via YouTube and all major podcast platforms. On X, they are @moneyofminepod
Topics:
The Money of Mine origin story
The endgame
Liontown drama
Announcing: “Chrisgina”
Australia’s lithium future
SQM’s next moves
Wesfarmer’s future
Mineral Resources – where to from here?
The Aussie lithium diaspora
Albemarle
You will have to wait for part 2 for rapid fire
Other social media links
Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/2p9p4xpd - LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/kvszkse3 - Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/yck4vx9p Personal Twitter accounts you can follow too: - Matty: https://twitter.com/mattymikals - JD: https://twitter.com/JDmoneyofmine - Travis: https://twitter.com/TRAVmoneyofmine
Episode 171: Tu Le - Vol II
Tu Le is the Founder and Managing Director of Sino Auto Insights. He is also co-host of the China EVs & More Podcast. @SinoAutoInsight on X
Topics:
The UAW Strike
The future of the "Big 3" US automakers
Tesla's huge EV lead in the US
Modifying IRA rules
The long road to NA/EU battery competitiveness
The German auto retreat in China
EV = battery & software
The China EV market
The India EV market
China market misinformation
LFP in North America
Rapid fire
Episode 170: Iggy Tan
Iggy Tan is the Non-Executive Chairman of Lithium Universe (ASX: LU7) and the Managing Director of Altech Chemicals. He was formerly the CEO of Galaxy Lithium.
Topics:
The Backstory
At Greenbushes in the 1990s
Trying to make carbonate in Oz in the 1990s
Iggy’s time at Galaxy
Mt Cattlin and Zhangjiagang
China’s first “western” lithium plant
Building Galaxy’s lithium portfolio
Time away from lithium
Creating a “Lithium Universe”
The team
The business model for Canada
The industry’s biggest mistake
Design considerations
Iggy the author
Rapid fire
Episode 169: "Down Under"
A summary of my recent 12 day trip to Australia.
Episode 168: Tony Ottaviano
Tony Ottaviano is the CEO of Liontown resources. This episode was recorded at Liontown's offices in Perth, Australia the day after I visited their Kathleen Valley project.
Topics:
Building a culture
Alignment
The onboarding experience
Relationship with the Tjiwarl
The Dragonfly camp design
Using renewable energy
Empowerment
Documentation & control
Operational readiness
Supply contracts / customer visits
The Albemarle deal
Going downstream?
Price
Where to next?
Peak Australia LCE production
Rapid fire
Episode 167: Lithium Argentina
Lithium Americas will separate into two entities in the fourth quarter of 2023. LAC’s South American assets will become Lithium Argentina (@Lithium_ARG on X aka Twitter). I spent a few days with the team last week in Buenos Aires and Salta, Argentina.
Recording a podcast seemed like a natural thing to do. John Kanellitsas, Franco Mignacco, Ignacio Celorrio, Carlos Galli and Tom Benson joined me with a cameo appearance by Kelly O’Brien.
Topics:
The journey to becoming Argentina’s third lithium chemical producer
The importance of finding and retaining the right people
Combining cultures in the Minera Exar JV
The Lithium Americas separation
Politics in Argentina
The growing significance of lithium to Argentina
Why it is too soon for Argentina should focus on making batteries
Doing lithium “differently”
The 500,000 ton goal for Argentina
Leveraging talent from other industries
Bringing new technology to exploration
Pastos Grandes
Talent wars
“The Signal and the Noise”
The five year vision for Lithium Argentina
Episode 166: Listener Q&A
On this episode I enlist the help of Rene LeBlanc & Tara Berrie to help me answer listener questions that cover a broad cross section of interests from how to evaluate lithium projects to the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act to where price may be heading. Shout outs to Daniel Jimenez and Chris Berry.
Episode 165: Denis Geoffroy
Denis Geoffroy is the Chief Commercialization Officer at Nano One. Denis has spent a quarter of a century in the lithium ion battery space and was responsible for the only commercial North American LFP operation in Candiac, Quebec.
We discuss his journey in LFP and how Nano One’s “One Pot” technology will enable a resurgence of LFP production in North America.
Topics:
LFP – born in Texas and the early days in Quebec
LFP’s recent resurgence in the market
How China came to dominate the market
The current state of LFP supply
Nano One: “Changing How the World Makes Battery Materials”
LFP – the “mass market” EV cathode
The original “million mile” battery
Bringing LFP production back to North America
Nano One partnerships
Recycling LFP
Learning from cathode “OG” Dr Yuan Gao
Rapid fire
Episode 164: Chris Gale
Chris Gale is the founder and MD of Latin Resources.
www.latinresources.com.au / @LatinRes on Twitter
Topics:
Backstory – the long, winding road to lithium
Raising capital
Going to South America
How a lithium explorer survives
Why Brazil?
The long odds against explorers becoming producers
Upgrading the resource
Learning from Sigma’s experience
What is a tier 1 lithium deposit?
First steps in developing a project
The Team
The importance of getting a lithium legend on the BOD
Potential off-takers
Rapid fire
Rest in peace Dr John Goodenough
Episode 163: Tu Le
Tu Le is the founder & Managing Director of Sino Auto Insights (@SinoAutoInsight on Twitter) and a Co-Host of the China EVs & More Podcast.
Tu had significant experience with at Ford, GM and Apple before making his way to China and the EV world.
Topics:
China's current & future position in the global EV market
Average battery sizes
The return of EV incentives in China ?
EV price cuts
Tu Le: "BYD is what Tesla wants to be"
Why is GM's CEO saying they can't build a profitable EV in the $30-40K price range in this decade
China EV plans for North America
The coming consolidation of EV producers in China
Why legacy OEMs are on the decline in China
E-Mobility "smartification" & ACES
Why software leads the way in EV development
North American & EU decoupling from China - easier said than done
Changing the US driving mindset
E- Mobility growth in India
The critical metals angst of OEMs
Sodium Ion battery impact on EVs
ONE - Our Next Energy
The top five global EV/Mobility companies in 2030
Rapid Fire
Episode 162: Ron Mitchell
Ron Mitchell is the Managing Director of Global Lithium Resources (ASX GL1) and a veteran of the lithium industry with more than a decade of prior experience at Talison and Tianqi.
Topics:
Ron’s backstory
Early days doing business in China
Building relationships
Negotiating in China
How does the industry 10X supply?
Ron’s spodumene price “crystal ball”
Global Lithium Resources' two projects
Building the team at GL1
Partners
Offtake
Going downstream?
Doing mining differently
Geopolitics
A question for Ron from Tara Berrie
Rapid fire from me as well as Alex Cheeseman
Closing comments on China's "interesting" price narrative
Episode 161: John Worth
John Worth is the CEO and MD of geo40 a technology company based in New Zealand engaged in low carbon recovery of minerals from geothermal fluids. They currently produce colloidal silica at commercial scale from geothermal streams in New Zealand and are leveraging that technology to provide direct lithium extraction (DLE) to a variety of asset types containing low levels of lithium (50 ppm & up). After successfully piloting DLE technology they now plan to move to the demo level with a target of commercialization in North America by 2025 and later in other jurisdictions.
Topics:
- The need to add DLE to the lithium supply portfolio
- What makes a great DLE project
- Why it makes sense to pursue low ppm level lithium streams in North America
- Where DLE fits in on the cost curve
- Tailwinds from the "new normal" of lithium prices
- The need for multiple DLE players
- Why geo40 is leaving the Salton Sea to others
- My comments on what is happening in price
E160: 3 Listeners / Livent & Allkem
I speak with three podcast listeners who are also keen lithium investors - Nathan Wolyniec from Brisbane Australia; John McElroy, a Green Beret with more than 1,000 parachute jumps originally from Syracuse, NY and David Cebalo a retired investor from Indiana. We discuss what drew them to investing in lithium stocks, how they research companies and make decisions. I end the episode with some thoughts on the Livent - Allkem merger announced earlier this week.
Episode 159: Chile/Argentina/Price
There are two guests on this episode: Daniel Jimenez & David Guerrero. Both have been on the podcast multiple times.
You will get perspective on Chile's new lithium strategy/policy from both sides of the Andes. We also discuss the lithium price and lithium development in Argentina. We probe the possibility of changes to Argentina's royalty structure and ponder Argentina's ultimate lithium production potential with and without DLE. We also briefly discuss lithium activity in Bolivia.
If you want to hear more of my thoughts on the new policy in Chile, here is a link to an interview I did with a group in Chile is below:
Episode 158: The Lithium Decade
I presented "The Lithium Decade" in Singapore last week at the Future Facing Commodities conference. Select slides from the presentation will be available on the Global Lithium website.
Episode 157: Peter Hannah
Peter Hannah (@PHmetals on Twitter) is a senior manager at Fastmarkets. This is Peter's second appearance. His first appearance in June, 2022 was in the top ten of all episodes to date.
We discuss the current pricing situation: the volatility in China with spot price dropping vs rising contract prices elsewhere, supply and demand, the future of lepidolite, the perceived threat of sodium ion batteries and much more.
Episode 156: Daniel Jimenez
Daniel Jimenez is the MD of iLi Markets and a director of Galan Lithium. He has deep experience in lithium after spending almost three decades at SQM before starting his own firm. This is Daniel's fourth appearance on the podcast.
In this episode we have a detailed discussion on current and future supply by region in the face of unprecedented demand growth.
We discuss the currently volatile price situation in China, examine the reasons for it and try to put it in context with pricing in the markets outside of China.
Daniel can be found on twitter at @D_Jimenez_Sch
The iLi Markets website is ilimarkets.com
Episode 155: Jigar Shah
Jigar Shah (@JigarShahDC on Twitter) is the director of the Loan Programs Office at the Department of Energy. Mr. Shah was formerly the co-founder and President at Generate Capital, where he focused on helping entrepreneurs accelerate decarbonization solutions through the use of low-cost infrastructure-as-a service financing. Jigar also has the best laugh of any prior guest on the podcast and celebrated his two year anniversary at the DOE on March 3rd – the day we recorded.
Topics:
The mandate of the Loan Programs Office
The calculus of leaving the private sector for the DOE
The “alphabet soup” of government programs focused on the Energy Transition
The laziness of big companies
LPO loans – by invitation only
Inspiring action where action wouldn’t otherwise happen
Why Jigar can’t comment on a loan application to LAC for Thacker Pass
Downstream battery investment vs upstream
The contribution of recyclers
Jigar Shah – the “long term lithium bull”
“Friend-shoring” challenges
Tesla
What defines a “friend” of the US
Supply chain risk management
Rapid fire
Closing comments on the BMO conference and lithium price
Episode 154: Emilie Bodoin
Emilie Bodoin is the CEO of Pure Lithium.
Pure Lithium is on a mission to change the way batteries are made.
Topics:
The current state of lithium metal technology
Brine direct to lithium metal - the ultimate DLE?
Lithium ion batteries: a successful compromise
Making lithium metal batteries a reality
Mentors: Dr Donald Sadoway & Robert Friedland
The first big win
Building a team
Learning from mistakes
Scale and cost
Reality check
A "not so loaded' question
The DOE "disconnect"
Lithium Metal Iron Phosphate
Rapid Fire
My thoughts on recent happenings in the industry
Episode 153: LAC - GM, The Thacker Pass Decision, & "Patriot Games"
This is a solo episode where I discuss:
The recent General Motors investment in Lithium Americas
The Thacker Pass decision
Rumors regarding Mineral Resources interest in Patriot Battery Metals
Another round of bad lithium analysis from a large bank.
And a shout out to Seth Goldstein at Morningstar
Episode 152: Sigma Lithium - Ana Cabral
My guest is Ana Cabral the Co-CEO of Sigma Lithium
Sigma is in the process of starting up the most significant hard rock project in South America
Topics:
Commissioning and start-up
Sigma’s value proposition for the battery industry
Spodumene to lithium chemicals conversion ratios
Sustainability
The market for tailings
The team
Becoming a 100K MT LCE producer
Upstream disruption
Boarder adjustments
The “next guardian” of Sigma
Ana’s view on the past failures of miners
ESG
The upward moving cost curve
Price
The Inflation Reduction Act
Ana's respect for Pilbara & WA spodumene producers
My comments on the upcoming Thacker Pass decision
Thoughts (not advice) on lithium investments
Rapid fire
Episode 151: Lithium 2023 - "Great Expectations"
This short solo episode takes a look at the lithium year that just ended but more importantly what to expect in 2023.
Brought to you by brinefield services company Zelandez.
DYOR - the Global Lithium Podcast does not present ANY investment advice.
Episode 150: Chris Berry & Listener Questions
Chris Berry (@cberry1 on Twitter) is the founder of Mountain House Partners, a Washington DC based advisory firm. He is also a sought after commentator on the lithium ion battery metals space.
Nothing said on the podcast should be considered investment advice. DYOR - do your own research.
Topics in this episode:
The biggest lithium surprise of 2022
Price – where to from here?
The Inflation Reduction Act
Supply and demand
Canada, Argentina, and Brazil
Redwood Materials recent announcement
Recycling “black mass” at scale
DLE – when will it have an impact on supply?
Lepidolite – how much? how soon? quality?
An “essential question” for Chris from Simon Moores
The “Dragon Armor” LFP battery
Sodium Ion – much ado about nothing?
Battery pack size trends
The “paradox of green growth”
China – where to from here?
Does a “green premium” exist?
Lithium company valuations
Rapid fire
Episode 149: Peter Oliver
Peter Oliver has been one of the most influential people in the lithium industry over the past two decades. He spent 18 years at Talison – 12 years as CEO/Managing Director and later was a Non-Executive Director.
Peter guided Talison through the acquisition by Tianqi Lithium in 2013 and then served as an advisor to Tianqi when they sold 49% of Talison to Rockwood (now Albemarle) and later acquired 24% of SQM. He was a founding director of Tianqi Lithium Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tianqi that was established to build the first hydroxide conversion facility in Australia. Peter remained a director until June 2021.
Few have the breadth of experience and understanding of the global lithium markets. Peter has recently returned to the lithium world as a Non-Executive Director of Latin Resources.
Topics:
The history of Greenbushes and the transition from tantalum producer to dominant hard rock lithium mine.
The lithium industry before the lithium ion battery
China’s rise as a lithium chemical converter based on Greenbushes spodumene.
Competing with brine based lithium in China
Lithium industry structure and why it needs to evolve to supply the energy transition
The reason China continues to lead the world in lithium chemicals production
Lithium geopolitics
Developing talent
Lepidolite – why development has been limited and its potential in the future
Staying under the radar
Coming back to the industry / joining the Latin Resources board
The lithium opportunity in Brazil
Price
Rapid fire
Episode 148: Cam Henry & John Young
John Young is the Non-Executive Chairman of Green Technology Metals (ASX: GT1) and a Co-Founder of leading lithium producer Pilbara Minerals. Cam Henry is the Founder and CEO of Primero, an EPC company that serves many industries but stands alone as the leading company serving the hard rock lithium space. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Green Technology Metals.
In this episode we cover the current state of the hard rock universe from what is happening in Western Australia to developments in Canada, Brazil, and Africa.
After a macro discussion of the hard rock world we get into specifics of what attracted these two Aussie lithium pioneers to get involved with Green Technology Metals and why developing lithium in Canada will be critical to the future of battery supply chain development in North America and the EU.
We also discuss the GT1 partnership with Lithium Americas and why that is important to the future development of the company.
Towards the end of the podcast, Cam turns the tables and asks me some questions. We end with rapid fire.
Episode 147: JP Vargas
JP Vargas is the Managing Director of Galan Lithium
Topics:
Galan's Hombre Muerto West resource in Argentina
Permitting
The chloride strategy
The Team
The most significant project challenges
Relationship with the Catamarca Government
Rapid Fire
Episode 146: Lithium & Travel Update - Chile, Reno, Camino & Oz
This is a short episode with a focus on my recent trip to Chile as well as my time on the Camino in Portugal & Spain, a short visit to Reno and upcoming trip to Australia.
If you want to skip the brief comments on the Camino trek I recently completed, fast forward to minute three:
Mentions: Summit Nanotech, SQM, Albemarle, LAC, CORFO, Daniel Jimenez & iLi Markets
Episode 145: Henry Sanderson
Henry Sanderson (@hjesanderson on Twitter) is an author and executive editor at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. He was previously with the Financial Times. His recently published book Volt Rush is a must reader for anyone interested in EVs, critical metals and the energy transition.
Topics:
Henry’s reason for writing Volt Rush
The rags to riches stories of Chinese “clean energy barons” now billionaires
Avoiding the "oligarch syndrome"
What Xi Jinping wants
Jack Ma becomes a verb
A Wuling vs a Tesla - is EV penetration a meaningful metric?
EVs: “democratized” in China but not in the west?
The challenge of developing “China free” supply chains
Messy geopolitics
The Inflation Reduction Act
Do US OEMs have the right EV strategy?
The resurgence of LFP
Western Australia’s growing lithium influence
China’s raw material vulnerability
Africa’s future role in critical metals
The changing lithium landscape in South America
The future of China’s domestic lithium resources
Lithium in the UK?
Who are the “losers” in the race to go green?
Rapid fire
Episode 144: Austin Devaney
Episode 143: Listener Questions
In this episode I briefly speak about why I believe the "Big Banks" have, for the most part, gotten their recent price forecasts wrong.
The rest of the episode is answering listener questions:
Topics:
The Inflation Reduction Act
Permitting
DOE Loan Program
DLE
Canada's future in lithium
The EU vs North America in battery supply chain development
Companies mentioned: SQM, Albemarle, Ganfeng, Tianqi, Lithium Americas, Pilbara Minerals, Mineral Resources, Rio Tinto, Green Technology Metals, Tesla, Galan Lithium, Livent, Allkem, Wesfarmers, Frontier, Critical Elements, E3 and several more
Episode 142 Anand Sheth & Roland Chavasse
I interview the co-founders of the International Lithium Association (ILiA). Anand, known as “The Lithium Raj,” has deep lithium experience. Roland has experience running other major industry associations.
We start off discussing Anand’s experience as a lithium pioneer marketing spodumene from Australia (Greenbushes) before discussing the International Lithium Association’s reason for being.
Follow them on Twitter: @ILiA_lithium & Linked In
The ILiA website: https://lithium.org/
Topics:
The early days & growth of the lithium market in China
Building relationships & negotiating in China
The early days of Tianqi & Ganfeng.
The transition from spodumene use in glass & ceramics to chemical conversion
How China competed with low cost brine imports from South America
China’s rise in battery
Moving from Talison to Galaxy & later Pilbara Minerals
The thinking behind the creation of the International Lithium Association
Attracting the major lithium players as members
The Association’s areas of focus and challenges
Serving members & the general public
What does ILiA look like in 2027?
Rapid fire with the first "do over" in GLP history
Episode 141: Ken Brinsden
As CEO of Pilbara Minerals for over six and a half years Ken Brinsden (@KenBPilbara on Twitter) had a long list of accomplishments. We discuss the past, present, and future in this episode.
Topics:
Lithium: unreasonable expectations on an immature industry
The new price paradigm
The creation and future of the Battery Metals Exchange (BMX)
“Rearranging” margins in the supply chain
End user naivete
The significance of the Altura acquisition
The importance of the team
Newcomers with mid-stream production aspirations
Innovation in mining is inevitable
Why the future for Pilbara isn’t spodumene
Staying motivated
ESG
Lepidolite and the Goldman Sachs “Report”
Grooming a successor
What’s next?
Rapid fire
Episode 140: Mid Year Update / Listener Questions
This is a solo episode where I discuss learnings from recent travel to the Benchmark and Fastmarkets conferences, my visit to the new Lithium Americas Technical Development Center in Reno, thoughts on the "speed" of the DOE loan office and recent announcements by Ford and GM. The episode closes with a Q&A session where I take questions and rapid fire from a long time podcast listener.
Episode 139: Tony Ottaviano
Tony Ottaviano is the CEO of Liontown Resources and an experienced mining executive.
Topics:
The move from the “Big End of Town” to the world of lithium
The Kathleen Valley project
Going underground
Hiring criteria
The team
Building vs operating
The most significant challenges Tony faces
The offtake deals – Tesla, LG, and Ford
ESG
Core values
The market
Going downstream
Rapid fire
Episode 138: Peter Hannah
Peter Hannah is the Senior Price Development Manager at Fastmarkets and one of the best young commentators in the battery metals space.
We discuss:
Lithium supply and demand dynamics
The meaning and importance of the spot price Ponder when lithium will mature as an industry
Why supply will define demand over the next few years Discuss the future of hedging lithium
And why we agree $16/kg lithium carbonate won’t happen anytime soon
I close this episode with thoughts on recent analyst reports, Argentina’s latest move to secure fair export prices and BYD’s foray into Africa
Episode 137: David Guerrero
David Guerrero is currently an independent consultant and advisor with a long history in the Argentina lithium industry beginning with Lithium One before becoming the President of Galaxy Resources - Argentina. David is sought after by parties from around the world that draw on his deep knowledge when considering investments in South American lithium brine assets.
Topics:
The current state of the lithium industry in Argentina
Which new projects have the best chance of producing by 2025 & 2030
The most significant barriers to success for brine projects
Infrastructure challenges
The potential for export of “liquid spodumene” aka lithium chloride brine
The role of Federal and Provincial governments in the lithium industry
Argentina vs Chilean royalty policy
Lithium geopolitics
ESG
DLE
Rapid fire