Overseas Lithium News This Week (6.3-6.6) [SMM Weekly Overseas New Energy News]

[Standard Lithium and Telescope Innovations Collaborate to Produce Next-Generation Solid-State Battery Materials]

Standard Lithium Ltd. announced that, as part of its collaboration with Telescope Innovations, it has successfully produced battery-grade lithium sulfide.

As previously mentioned, Standard Lithium has been working with its R&D partner, Telescope Innovations, to develop new and innovative conversion technologies for manufacturing next-generation battery materials. This new conversion process has now been successfully applied to convert lithium hydroxide, produced by Standard Lithium at its demonstration plant in southern Arkansas, into battery-grade lithium sulfide (Li(2)S). Samples of lithium sulfide have been shipped to solid-state battery companies in Asia and North America for ongoing testing and validation purposes.

Lithium sulfide is a critical raw material required for many next-generation solid-state battery chemistries. However, despite its importance in next-generation battery technologies, lithium sulfide can only be produced commercially in very small quantities and at very high costs. The technological collaboration between the two teams has resulted in a novel, low-temperature, patented process with the following advantages:

• Raw material flexibility – Both lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate are viable raw materials;

• Impurity tolerance – Allows the use of technical-grade raw materials;

• Lower processing temperature (<100 °C) – Reduces equipment complexity and operating costs; and

• Enhanced manufacturing safety – Avoids high-temperature conditions and associated thermal risks.

Source: juniorminingnetwork.com

[Bolivian Court Suspends Sino-Russian Lithium Deal]

It has been reported that Bolivia's plans to become a major lithium producer have hit a snag after a local court ordered the suspension of two major mining deals worth over $2 billion signed last year.

These contracts were signed in 2023 and 2024 with China's CBC consortium (which includes battery manufacturer CATL) and Uranium One Group, a subsidiary of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, respectively.

The deals were aimed at establishing direct lithium extraction (DLE) facilities at the Salar de Uyuni in southwestern Bolivia.This salt flat, which holds one of the world's largest lithium reserves, is part of a larger lithium triangle shared with Chile and Argentina.

Last week, a mixed court in the village of Colcha K, located in the Potosí region, issued the suspension order following legal complaints from indigenous groups who argued that the projects violated their environmental rights and were allowed to proceed without formal consultation.

Neither project has yet received legislative approval, but preliminary activities have already commenced on-site, which local groups claim were carried out without proper authorization or environmental assessments.

Bolivia's state-owned lithium company, Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB), holds a 51% stake in both enterprises. Omar Alarcon, the head of YLB, stated at a press conference last year that the proposed plant is expected to produce 35,000 mt of lithium carbonate annually.

According to the Argentine newspaper Infobae, the court ruling will prohibit YLB and the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energy from taking any administrative or operational steps related to the contract until the judicial process is concluded.

However, the Bolivian government insists that it has not yet officially received notification of the court ruling and maintains that the legislative process surrounding the contract will continue until official notification is received.

Source: mining.com

[Gabon Plans to Ban Manganese Ore Exports, Leading to a Decline in Eramet's Share Price]

Eramet's shares plummeted on Monday after Gabon announced a ban on the export of unrefined manganese starting from 2029, which could disrupt the production of large-scale export-oriented steel raw materials by the French mining group in this West African country.

The Gabon government announced the plan in a statement over the weekend, which comes as several African countries—including Guinea, with bauxite, Zimbabwe, with lithium, as well as Mali and Tanzania—are seeking to shift from raw material exports to local processing.

Global demand for manganese, used in steel production and increasingly in EV batteries, has been growing. Eramet is the majority shareholder of Comilog, a Gabon-based manganese mining company whose Moanda mine is the largest in the world.

In a statement, Eramet said it had taken note of the Gabon government's intention to ban the export of crude manganese starting from January 1, 2029, and would continue to cooperate with the authorities "in a spirit of constructive partnership and mutual respect."

The group added that it is committed to safeguarding the 10,460 Gabon jobs maintained by Comilog and Setrag, Comilog's railway transport unit.

Eramet's share price fell nearly 5.5% before recovering, ending the day down about 4% as of 0800 GMT.

President Brice Oligui Nguema, who overthrew former President Ali Bongo in a coup in 2023 and was elected last month, is seeking to revive Gabon's beleaguered economy.

This West African oil-exporting country holds some of the world's richest manganese deposits, primarily operated by Comilog and Chinese companies that export to China, Europe, and the US.

Comilog, in which Gabon holds a minority stake, processes some manganese locally but primarily exports ore.

In recent years, the Moanda mine and the Weda Bay nickel mine in Indonesia have driven Eramet's growth, while its historical nickel mining operations in New Caledonia have dried up due to losses and social unrest.

In Indonesia, where nickel ore exports were previously banned to develop the local industry, Eramet signed a memorandum of understanding with sovereign fund Danatama last week to explore potential investments in nickel processing.

Source: reuters.com

[Rio Tinto revises costs for Serbian lithium project]

Chad Blewitt, Managing Director of Rio Tinto's Jadar lithium mine, said on Wednesday that the company is revising the costs for its Serbian lithium project, which has been identified by the European Commission as one of 13 strategic new critical raw materials projects.

The project has been questioned by environmental groups and many Serbs on environmental grounds and sparked massive street protests in 2022, leading to the government revoking all of Rio Tinto's exploration licenses.The Constitutional Court overturned this decision last year and restored the licenses.

Rio Tinto is the only major mining company betting on lithium (used in EV batteries), accelerating its development pace through three new deals in the past six months: acquiring US-based Arcadium Lithium for $6.7 billion and two projects in Chile for over $1 billion.

The lithium market has slumped as a wave of new supply overwhelms weaker-than-expected demand for EV batteries. While demand forecasts for the metal are more optimistic over the next decade, it will take years to know whether this bet will pay off.

If implemented, Rio Tinto's Jadar project could meet 90% of Europe's current lithium demand. But protesters in Serbia have threatened to block highways and railways if the project proceeds.

"Whatever happens next will involve multiple stages of review and public consultation," Blewitt said. "It (the project) will place Serbia at the forefront of the green and digital revolution."

Source: reuters.com