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Released September 09, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--After slashing its spending target for the year, Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ:PLL) (Bessemer City, North Carolina) has now pulled its application for a loan from the U.S. government after reconsidering some of its operational plans.
Keith Phillips, the chief executive officer (CEO) at Piedmont Lithium, told the Reuters news agency there was no "sense of urgency at this stage" to proceed with an application through the Department of Energy's (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO).
"We would expect to submit a fresh application at a point in the future and we would look forward to working with (the DOE) when that time comes," he said.
Its North American Lithium (NAL) joint venture, controlled by Australian lithium supplier Sayona Mining Limited (Milton, Queensland), is the largest mine for spodumene, a crystalline mineral that is a commercially-important source of lithium.
Piedmont during the second quarter reported that it produced about 49,700 dry metric tons of spodumene concentrate at NAL, a 23% increase from first-quarter levels. Overproduction, particularly in China, along with only modest sales for electric vehicles, means lithium prices are down more than 80% from year-ago levels.
Joe Govreau, vice president of research for metals and minerals at Industrial Info, said there are about $89 billion worth of lithium mining and processing projects under construction globally, which will only contribute to the glut.
"I don't expect this to be relieved in the next couple of years unless something else drastic happens to demand," Govreau said.
Lithium helps power the batteries for everything from electric vehicles (EV) to cell phones. For electric vehicles, broad-based adoption has been less than expected due in part to sticker shock and range anxiety. Globally, EVs account for only about 1% of all the vehicles on the road.
And automakers are taking note. Japan's Nikkei business daily reported Friday that Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) (Toyota City, Japan) opted to cut its EV production by around 30% from current levels by 2026, favoring hybrid models instead.
Before pulling its LPO application, Piedmont scrapped plans for a lithium project in Tennessee that was designed for 30,000 tons of production. That project had already received $140 million in federal grant money and questions are circulating over the company's plans for another facility in North Carolina. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here to learn more about the Tennessee project.
Piedmont in its second quarter earnings report said the "prevailing market realities" prompted it to shift its Tennessee efforts to North Carolina. CEO Phillips added that the process for developing the Carolina project would be adjusted.
"We are progressing our development of Carolina Lithium on a conservative timeline, monitoring dynamic market conditions, and focusing on strategic partnerships and our funding strategy," he said in an Aug. 8 statement. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the North Carolina project.
Michael White, the company's chief financial officer, said earlier this year that spending would be slashed from around $57 million in 2023 to between $10 million and $14 million this year, largely in response to a market downturn.
Outside of U.S. projects, Canada claims about 2.5% of the world's known deposits of lithium. Most of its deposits are in Quebec, which hosts the NAL mine. Lithium compounds can be also pulled out of the oil and gas fields in Alberta.
Backed by investments totaling about $65 million, NAL started producing spodumene in March 2023. NAL delivered its first commercial shipment of about 20,500 metric tons of spodumene concentrate last August. Subscribers can click here for the NAL plant profile.
Canada, however, remains a net importer of lithium and lithium products, though it has exported some of its own reserves to France, the U.K. and other countries. Most of the nation's lithium products, meanwhile, went to the U.S.
The only U.S.-based mine currently producing lithium, owned by Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) (Charlotte, North Carolina), is in Silverpeak, Nevada. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed plant profile.
Subscribers can click here for all project reports mentioned in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Keith Phillips, the chief executive officer (CEO) at Piedmont Lithium, told the Reuters news agency there was no "sense of urgency at this stage" to proceed with an application through the Department of Energy's (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO).
"We would expect to submit a fresh application at a point in the future and we would look forward to working with (the DOE) when that time comes," he said.
Its North American Lithium (NAL) joint venture, controlled by Australian lithium supplier Sayona Mining Limited (Milton, Queensland), is the largest mine for spodumene, a crystalline mineral that is a commercially-important source of lithium.
Piedmont during the second quarter reported that it produced about 49,700 dry metric tons of spodumene concentrate at NAL, a 23% increase from first-quarter levels. Overproduction, particularly in China, along with only modest sales for electric vehicles, means lithium prices are down more than 80% from year-ago levels.
Joe Govreau, vice president of research for metals and minerals at Industrial Info, said there are about $89 billion worth of lithium mining and processing projects under construction globally, which will only contribute to the glut.
"I don't expect this to be relieved in the next couple of years unless something else drastic happens to demand," Govreau said.
Lithium helps power the batteries for everything from electric vehicles (EV) to cell phones. For electric vehicles, broad-based adoption has been less than expected due in part to sticker shock and range anxiety. Globally, EVs account for only about 1% of all the vehicles on the road.
And automakers are taking note. Japan's Nikkei business daily reported Friday that Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) (Toyota City, Japan) opted to cut its EV production by around 30% from current levels by 2026, favoring hybrid models instead.
Before pulling its LPO application, Piedmont scrapped plans for a lithium project in Tennessee that was designed for 30,000 tons of production. That project had already received $140 million in federal grant money and questions are circulating over the company's plans for another facility in North Carolina. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here to learn more about the Tennessee project.
Piedmont in its second quarter earnings report said the "prevailing market realities" prompted it to shift its Tennessee efforts to North Carolina. CEO Phillips added that the process for developing the Carolina project would be adjusted.
"We are progressing our development of Carolina Lithium on a conservative timeline, monitoring dynamic market conditions, and focusing on strategic partnerships and our funding strategy," he said in an Aug. 8 statement. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the North Carolina project.
Michael White, the company's chief financial officer, said earlier this year that spending would be slashed from around $57 million in 2023 to between $10 million and $14 million this year, largely in response to a market downturn.
Outside of U.S. projects, Canada claims about 2.5% of the world's known deposits of lithium. Most of its deposits are in Quebec, which hosts the NAL mine. Lithium compounds can be also pulled out of the oil and gas fields in Alberta.
Backed by investments totaling about $65 million, NAL started producing spodumene in March 2023. NAL delivered its first commercial shipment of about 20,500 metric tons of spodumene concentrate last August. Subscribers can click here for the NAL plant profile.
Canada, however, remains a net importer of lithium and lithium products, though it has exported some of its own reserves to France, the U.K. and other countries. Most of the nation's lithium products, meanwhile, went to the U.S.
The only U.S.-based mine currently producing lithium, owned by Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) (Charlotte, North Carolina), is in Silverpeak, Nevada. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed plant profile.
Subscribers can click here for all project reports mentioned in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
