Last Week (1.26-1.30) Overseas Lithium News [SMM New Energy Overseas Weekly News]

[MaxVolt Enters Lithium Battery Recycling Sector with ReEarth Division]

MaxVolt ReEarth aims to create an integrated lithium battery recycling solution, covering the entire battery life cycle treatment process. This solution includes standardized disassembly or crushing of end-of-life batteries to achieve second-life application.

MaxVolt Energy, a global lithium battery producer and clean energy solutions provider, recently entered India's growing lithium battery recycling market by establishing a subsidiary, "MaxVolt ReEarth." MaxVolt stated in its announcement that this move aligns with its vision of building a sustainable, independent, and integrated ecosystem to promote the popularization of electric vehicles and energy solutions in the country. This initiative has sparked increasing interest and strategic moves from existing enterprises and traditional companies in the recycling sector, as they finally see a market that is both feasible and continuously growing.

The integrated lithium battery recycling solution developed by MaxVolt ReEarth spans the entire battery treatment chain, covering standardized disassembly or crushing of end-of-life batteries for second-life application, followed by black mass production and the extraction of other valuable minerals. This closed-loop system ensures that battery resources are maximally retained within the value chain, reinforcing the circular economy principles of reuse, recycling, and regeneration.

Source: www.saurenergy.com

[Bolivia's Lithium Extraction Faces Complex Brine Chemistry Challenges]

The global shift toward electric mobility has triggered unprecedented demand for lithium-ion batteries, fundamentally altering how countries develop their mineral resources. Against this backdrop, countries with substantial lithium reserves face increasing pressure to convert geological endowments into industrial capacity. This challenge extends beyond mining to encompass technological processes, regulatory frameworks, and structures of international cooperation, which collectively determine whether underground resources can be transformed into production capacity that meets market demands.

Complex brine chemistry presents unique technical hurdles that traditional salt flat extraction methods struggle to overcome efficiently. High Mg/Li ratios, excessive impurity content, and stringent processing requirements create economic bottlenecks, creating a gap between resource potential and commercial feasibility. For investors, policymakers, and industry participants assessing long-term supply security in the global battery materials sector, understanding these technical dynamics has become crucial. Bolivia's lithium extraction projects epitomize these challenges—vast reserves coexist with complex technical and regulatory hurdles.

Source: discoveryalert.com.au

[MinRes Lithium Production Surges 18%, Exceeding Expectations]

Australia's hard-rock lithium mining industry demonstrates how exceptional operations, combined with recovering commodity prices, can create opportunities for sustainable production expansion. Western Australia's Lithium Triangle has become a critical link in the global battery materials supply chain, with producers achieving over 70% beneficiation recovery rates while navigating price volatility and capital allocation decisions amid market transitions.

The convergence of technological processing improvements, strategic partnership formations, and balance sheet optimizations provides a framework for understanding how Australia's lithium sector expanded capacity under favorable market conditions. This operational expansion was realized through systematic ore processing efficiency gains, maintenance of cost structures, and capital deployment strategies that prioritized both growth and financial stability.

Australian lithium producers increasingly leveraged equity partnerships with downstream Asian manufacturers to secure both growth capital and demand certainty. The partnership between Mineral Resources and POSCO exemplifies this strategy—the South Korean steel producer acquired a 30% stake in the Wodgina and Mt Marion projects for $765 million. This deal structure injected substantial capital into the Australian projects while retaining operational control and ensuring access to Asia's battery materials supply chain. These partnerships signify an evolution from traditional offtake agreements toward integrated supply chain relationships. Asian partners gained direct exposure to hard-rock lithium production assets, while Australian operators secured funding for expansion without ceding operational control or strategic decision-making authority.

Source: discoveryalert.com.au

[India to Announce Lithium, Nickel Processing Incentives, Sources Say]

India plans to soon offer incentives to enterprises setting up lithium and nickel processing plants to help boost production and meet growing demand for critical minerals, according to two sources and a government presentation reviewed by Reuters.

India is seeking to accelerate its energy transition and cut emissions by promoting clean energy initiatives such as EVs, but it lacks the technology to process critical minerals, a capacity primarily dominated by China.

Nickel and lithium are crucial for India's EV supply chain, especially for batteries, as New Delhi aims for EV penetration rates of 30% for cars and 80% for two-wheelers by 2030, up from the current rates of 4% and 6%, respectively.

The incentive scheme proposes a 15% capital subsidy, subject to a cap, on eligible investments in lithium and nickel processing projects that commence on or after April 1, 2026, according to the presentation.

One source described the 15% capital subsidy as "realistic."

The Indian Ministry of Mines, which is responsible for the proposal, did not respond to an email from Reuters seeking comment. According to the presentation, under this plan, the incentives will last for five years, with the incentive cap for lithium processing plants set at 40% of annual net sales turnover, and 25% for nickel processing plants. To qualify for the incentives, lithium processing plants must have a minimum capacity of 30,000 mt, while nickel plants require at least 50,000 mt.

Source:

[Important Announcement from Sigma Lithium]

Sigma Lithium, a leading sustainable global lithium producer headquartered in Brazil (TSXV: SGML; Nasdaq: SGML; B3: S2GM34), announced the sale of 100,000 mt of high-purity lithium concentrate at market price (linked to the SMM index, with an adjusted net price of $140 per mt, corresponding to 1% lithium oxide content), which is higher than previous sales. This revenue is defined as a "green return" to shareholders, stemming from the cutting-edge environmental technology employed at the company's green tech plant (dry-stacked tailings, 100% water reuse, zero toxic chemicals, 100% renewable energy).

The company confirmed that its mine restart plan (reactivation of equipment/personnel contractors) is on schedule for completion in January 2026, as initially disclosed on January 13, 2026; this work sustains approximately 19,000 direct/indirect jobs in Brazil's Jequitinhonha Valley region and aligns with the Brazilian government's labor and economic objectives.

Sigma Lithium strongly refuted the "fake news" in recent inaccurate media reports, which mischaracterized a routine administrative investigation by the Labor Ministry into its scrap storage area as an "operational ban" and falsely questioned the safety of the scrap storage. The Labor Ministry investigation, initiated in mid-December 2025, stemmed from a routine health and safety inspection (which confirmed the company's operational record of over two years without lost-time incidents) and is considered a non-material event with no impact on the company's operations or restart plan.

Source: sigmalithiumcorp.com