NetworkNewsWire Editorial Coverage:
Today’s world is moving at a faster pace than ever, and China’s
recent announcement that it is setting a deadline for automakers to
end sales of fossil-fueled vehicles and shift to electric vehicles
is fueling much of the race. China isn’t alone in seeking a seismic
change from its dependence on the internal combustion engine and
its contribution to greenhouse gases and climate change. Several
other countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany and France,
have made similar statements that voice a desire to move toward
using vehicles powered by alternative fuels such as lithium-ion
batteries (http://nnw.fm/qeU4H). For companies like MGX Minerals,
Inc. (CSE: XMG) (FKT: 1MG) (OTCQB: MGXMF) (MGXMF
Profile), Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Sociedad Quimica y Minera
S.A. (NYSE: SQM), Nemaska Lithium, Inc. (TSX: NMX) (OTCQX: NMKEF)
and Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB), this global drive to utilize
cleaner, more renewable technology means investing in the “white
gold” of lithium.
As the world’s largest car market, China’s decision to require
one out of every five cars sold in that country to run on
alternative fuel by 2025 is forcing automakers to step up
production of electric cars or risk being left behind with the
proverbial empty bag. According to an article in the New York
Times, China buys more General Motors-branded cars than Americans
do. In fact, even for Tesla, which makes luxury electric sedans,
China has become the company’s second-largest market (http://nnw.fm/3QboO). Other major markets for lithium
– including glass, ceramics, lubricating grease and metallurgy –
are also expected to post moderate gains as lithium continues to be
needed in these segments of the economy.
Producers of processed lithium – the key element for batteries
used in electric vehicles and modern consumer devices such as cell
phones and laptop computers – are keen to provide enough lithium to
satisfy even the most demanding customer. Global forecasts for
electronic vehicle sales are expected to reach more than 3 million
units by 2021 and just over 14 million units in 2025, according to
analysts at global financial firm UBS (http://nnw.fm/Non1L). Accordingly, the demand for
lithium is strong, Grand View Research stated in a recent report,
noting that the global lithium-ion battery market is projected to
soar to $93.1 billion by 2025. Current market forces mean lithium
investments and projects in the pipeline need to ramp up quickly to
serve the world’s aggressive appetite for this cleaner energy
source.
MGX
Minerals (CSE: XMG) (FKT: 1MG) (OTCQB: MGXMF), which
controls a significant interest in lithium, magnesium and silicon
assets that offer streamlined development timelines and low capital
expenditures, is directly in line to grow with the booming EV
market. MGX Minerals and its engineering partner, PurLucid
Treatment Solutions, have developed a patent-pending, low-energy
design process to extract valuable minerals like lithium from the
abundant, highly mineralized brine wastewater produced each year by
oil and gas companies. This proprietary, petrolithium process
rapidly concentrates lithium and other minerals from
lithium-bearing brine in hours, compared to traditional solar
evaporation, which takes 18-24 months and requires hundreds of
acres of land.
As announced earlier this week (http://nnw.fm/rO5xN), MGX and PurLucid took another
step toward commercialization of their rapid lithium extraction
system with the removal of “very high levels of magnesium” at the
PurLucid facility in Calgary, Alberta. The pre-treatment removed
all of the 76,000 mg/L of magnesium from lithium brine bulk
samples, reducing the post-treatment concentration to less than 1
mg/L.
“The recent optimization focused on addressing complex brines
with very high magnesium levels as well as extraction to a common
marketable form of magnesium compound. … The ratio of magnesium to
lithium has long been a major issue in traditional lithium brine
extraction and high magnesium has often been prohibitive in the
traditional extraction of lithium from brine using solar
evaporation / conventional processing as well as selective lithium
extraction technologies due to the similarity of molecular
properties of lithium and magnesium ions. … The extraction
technology continues to rely on previously developed low energy,
low cost nanofiltration and is currently covered under patent and
patent pending applications,” MGX Minerals stated in the press
release.
As MGX Minerals continues to develop its advanced water
purification technology, the company is also solving the problem of
what to do with the 800 billion gallons of wastewater created
annually as petroleum is extracted from the earth. The company’s
petrolithium process eliminates the need to inject this
contaminated wastewater back into the ground, preventing drinking
water contamination and possible earthquakes. Instead, as MGX
Minerals recovers concentrated lithium and other valuable minerals
from the unavoidable wastewater, it leaves a remarkable product
behind – clean water. The recent addition of several key oil and
gas mining and technology industry veterans to the company’s
management team continues to solidify MGX’s aggressive plan to fuel
tomorrow’s energy economy today.
For Tesla (TSLA), a sustainable energy company
that produces electric vehicles, solar panels and solar roofs, the
lithium-ion battery is an essential component of its business
strategy and one the company isn’t leaving to chance (http://nnw.fm/J235c). Tesla’s $5 billion Nevada
gigafactory began mass producing lithium-ion battery cells to use
in powering the company’s electric vehicles earlier this year. The
company aims to build 500,000 electric vehicles by 2018, and CEO
Elon Musk has announced his intention to build several more
gigafactories to meet the company’s established need for a stable
supply of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Morgan Stanley
analysts predict that by 2050, over 80 percent of 132 million new
auto sales will be electric vehicles (http://nnw.fm/Ar1s0).
One of the world’s top lithium producers, Chile’s
Sociedad Quimica Y Minera (SQM) plans to expand its
lithium carbonate capacity to 63,000 metric tons (compared to the
45,000 tons currently produced per year). The specialty chemical
company has significant operations in lithium, iodine (for X-ray
contrast media) and specialty potassium fertilizers. Chinese
private equity firm GSR Capital is reportedly exploring buying a
substantial stake in SQM, which would line up with China’s attempts
to secure a continuous supply of this vital raw material (http://nnw.fm/3HkiL).
Canadian-based Nemaska Lithium (TSX: NMX) is an
exploration stage lithium mining company that intends to supply
lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate to the lithium battery
industry. The company, whose stated vision is to facilitate “access
to green energy through our products and processes for the benefit
of humanity,” expects to accomplish this goal through development
of one of the world’s richest spodumene hard rock lithium deposits.
Nemaska Lithium is pursuing patent protection for a proprietary
production process, which it hopes to achieve in multiple global
jurisdictions (http://nnw.fm/0AlbI).
Global specialty chemical company Albemarle
(ALB), with operations in lithium, bromine and oil
refining catalysts, recently announced that it has developed an
innovative technology to increase total lithium production at a
Chilean facility. Once current expansion projects are completed and
producing at capacity at the site, the company plans to build and
start-up additional lithium carbonate capacity in Chile in the
early 2020s (http://nnw.fm/3GiX1).
The driving economic force behind the development of lithium is
undeniably a growing desire on behalf of consumers and governments
alike to move away from vehicles that pollute the atmosphere toward
greener, more efficient hybrid and electric vehicles, the obvious
need for better energy storage systems and an insatiable thirst for
a variety of high-drain portable electronics. These industries
continue to march forward with no slowing in sight, making the
lithium market one of the fastest growing commodity markets in the
world. This rare metal, found in continental brines, hard rock
minerals and clay in various parts of the world, owes its media
hype to good old-fashioned science. Lithium’s excellent
electrochemical potential, catalytic characteristics and light
weight make it an excellent resource for various commercial and
industrial sectors.
Given the fact that lithium-ion batteries are the energy cells
of choice for electric vehicles, smart grid electricity and
everyone’s favorite mobile electronic device, the global lithium
market will continue to offer numerous opportunities for investors
as lithium production ramps up throughout the world. Lithium’s
allure as a silver-white soft metal, the lightest metal in the
periodic table, can’t be overstated when it comes to the stunning
number of possible industry applications. Electric cars and buses,
cell phones and laptop computers, renewable batteries and energy
storage, medical devices and products – they’re all seen as part of
the green revolution powered by lithium.
For more information on MGX Minerals, please
visit: MGX Minerals,
Inc. (CSE: XMG) (FKT: 1MG) (OTCQB: MGXMF).
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