Last Week (2.2-2.6) Overseas Lithium News [SMM New Energy Overseas Weekly News]

[West Africa's First Lithium Mine Awaits Approval, Ghana Seeks Better Deal]

Experts stated that Ghana hopes to benefit from the lithium resource race, but its reliance on miners' revenue and expertise weakens its ability to negotiate favorable terms.

After civil society groups urged Ghanaian lawmakers to take more measures to ensure the project benefits the nation and supports green development, Ghana's legislators are weighing whether to approve one of Africa's largest lithium mines.

Ghana granted Australian miner Atlantic Lithium a lease to develop the country's first lithium mine, aiming to capitalize on the silver metal boom driven by EVs, as the metal is used in EV batteries and other clean technology products.

However, in December, while the agreement awaited parliamentary approval, Ghanaian activists and analysts warned that the terms might disadvantage the West African nation as it seeks to benefit from the battery minerals race, prompting the government to subsequently withdraw the agreement.

Source: https://www.climatechangenews.com/

[Zimbabwe's Lithium Exports Transform as Local Processing Infrastructure Develops]

Zimbabwe's lithium sector infrastructure development model shows that systematic capacity building is being achieved through substantial capital investment. Huayou Cobalt's processing facility investment reached $400 million, with a target annual capacity of 50,000 to 60,000 mt, expected to be commissioned in early 2026. Similarly, Zhongkuang Group's Bikita operation involves a $500 million investment in processing infrastructure, but the commissioning time remains pending final technical debugging stages.

These investments reflect a strategy of deploying processing technology, focusing on developing sulphate production capacity rather than the traditional concentrate export model. Technical infrastructure specifications include advanced chemical treatment systems capable of converting spodumene concentrates into battery-grade lithium compounds through controlled precipitation and purification processes. Furthermore, these advancements align with the region's broader critical minerals strategic initiatives.

Source: https://discoveryalert.com.au/

[Causes of Lithium Metal Battery Failure and the Key Role of Mechanical Mechanisms]

With the rapid development of emerging applications such as EVs, grid-level ESS, and electric aviation, demand for high-capacity energy storage is accelerating. Lithium metal is considered an ideal anode material due to its extremely high theoretical capacity and low electrochemical potential. However, during repeated charge-discharge cycles, lithium is prone to uneven deposition, forming dendrites, inert "dead lithium," and unstable interface layers. These phenomena can trigger safety hazards, reduce efficiency, and shorten battery lifespan. Traditional approaches focusing solely on electrolyte chemistry or electrochemical kinetics have proven insufficient. Given these challenges, it is necessary to conduct in-depth research on regulating the electro-chemo-mechanical coupling processes of lithium metal anodes.

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Kunming University of Technology, and the Wallenberg Wood Science Center published relevant perspectives in *eScience* in December 2025. The study provides a comprehensive comment on lithium metal anode behavior by modeling the lithium deposition/stripping process as an electro-chemo-mechanical coupling process. The work covers liquid and solid-state battery systems, systematically analyzing how electrochemical reactions, mechanical stress, and interfacial chemistry collectively determine lithium's morphology, stability, and failure mechanisms. The research indicates that lithium metal deposition begins with ion desolvation and nucleation, followed by a growth process significantly influenced by current density, overpotential, temperature, pressure, and substrate properties. Low overpotential and controlled current density favor lateral growth of lithium, forming dense moss-like structures that are more reversible during cycling. In contrast, high overpotential promotes vertical growth and dendrite formation.

Source: https://www.newswise.com/

[India's Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling and Second-Life Application Facilities Are Revolutionizing the Energy Storage Landscape]

India's emerging infrastructure for lithium-ion battery recycling and second-life application facilities represents a strategic integration of environmental needs, resource security, and economic opportunities in the world's fastest-growing clean energy market. This breakthrough in battery recycling addresses the dual challenge of managing increasing battery waste while maximizing material value through systematic recycling and reuse processes.

Industrial facilities with integrated recycling and second-life application capabilities are becoming key components of sustainable energy supply chains. Furthermore, these operations are creating unprecedented demand for advanced energy storage systems, fundamentally reshaping how the industry approaches the management of retired batteries.

Source: https://discoveryalert.com.au/

[Sigma Lithium Resumes Mining Operations at Mine No. 1, On-Site Employee Count Exceeds 600]

Global lithium producer Sigma Lithium announced the successful resumption of mining operations at its Mine No. 1 located in Brazil's Jequitinhonha Valley region. The company focuses on supplying responsibly sourced raw materials for the new generation of EV batteries. The restart proceeded as planned, marking a significant operational milestone following the comprehensive restructuring completed in Q4 2025.

The resumption of mining activities signifies the completion of a full overhaul of Sigma Lithium's mining business, which was entirely guided and managed by the company's internal technical leadership team. During the restructuring process, close coordination was maintained with specialized subcontractors responsible for providing critical equipment services such as drilling and blasting, and a local workforce composed of drivers and heavy machinery operators was established. Currently, there are over 600 active employees on site, underscoring the scale of operations and the company's commitment to regional employment.

The core objectives of the restructuring were to enhance safety standards and improve overall operational efficiency. Concurrently, Sigma Lithium focused on significantly expanding its earthmoving capacity to meet the growing processing demands of its Grota do Cirilo industrial plant. By deploying a larger fleet of off-road mining equipment, the company increased its earthmoving capacity to three times the original level, ensuring a consistent and stable supply of ore to support production increase targets. The restructuring plan was partially funded by the commercial success of the high-purity, low-grade lithium oxide fine powder produced by Sigma Lithium at its Green Technology Industrial Park, which is managed using a dry stacking process. Sales of these fine powders have begun to generate substantial gross revenue. Based on recent actual transaction prices and year-end available inventory levels, the potential revenue from fine powder sales is equivalent to the production value of several months of high-grade lithium concentrate output.

In addition to the aforementioned revenue, Sigma Lithium continues to receive financial support from its global client base and financing partners. These stakeholders have provided working capital credit facilities and contract guarantees linked to future production, reducing the company's reliance on third-party external financing.

Source: https://www.chemanalyst.com/

[Rose West Canada Drilling Program Aims to Expand Lithium Resources]

The lithium-bearing pegmatite systems in the Eeyou Istchee region exhibit characteristic structural controls, which fundamentally influence resource distribution and exploration target delineation strategies. These northwest-trending geological corridors establish a predictable framework for pegmatite emplacement, wherein the tonalitic host rocks provide a favorable chemical environment for lithium enrichment and crystallization processes.

At the Rose West project area, the 10,000-meter drilling program targets pegmatite systems within a surveyed area of 450 meters by 370 meters, with thickness variations ranging from 10 to 40 meters. Structural interpretations indicate a 100-meter displacement pattern in the eastern segment of the pegmatite body, reflecting regional tectonic events that affected the resource geometry throughout the corridor.

The composition of the tonalitic host rocks is crucial for creating geochemical conditions favorable for lithium mineralization. These igneous compositions provide the necessary chemical gradients that promote pegmatite melt differentiation and subsequent spodumene crystallization. The subhorizontal pegmatite geometry, combined with the documented offset patterns, provides an exploration advantage by establishing predictable structural correlations that guide a systematic drilling approach.

Source: https://discoveryalert.com.au/