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Released May 02, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ:PLL) (Bessemer City, North Carolina) said mining volumes from its North American operations set a record in March, showing the region is catching up in the race for the critical material.
Piedmont said it yielded 40,439 dry metric tons of spodumene concentrate in March, a new record for the company. It shipped some 15,000 tons of the material during the first quarter from its North American Lithium (NAL) project in Quebec.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Plant Database can learn more about NAL from a detailed plant profile.
Canada claims about 2.5% of the world's known deposits of lithium, a critical material used in the batteries that power everything from flashlights to electric vehicles (EV). Most of its deposits are in Quebec, though lithium compounds can be pulled out of the oil and gas fields in Alberta.
Canadian reserves are a drop in the bucket when compared to lithium-rich countries such as Australia, Bolivia and Chile, but the North American lithium sector is picking up. Piedmont said production at NAL increased by 18% relative to year-ago levels.
"NAL is the largest producing spodumene operation in North America, and as such, is a tremendously strategic asset," said Keith Phillips, the president and chief executive officer at Piedmont. "We are pleased to see production continue to set quarterly records and hopeful that NAL will hit steady-state production targets with the commissioning of the crushed ore dome."
Construction of the dome is "materially completed," the company said, and it should be commissioned at some point during the second quarter.
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.
Backed by investments totaling about $65 million, NAL started producing spodumene in March 2023 at its site in Quebec. NAL delivered its first commercial shipment of about 20,500 metric tons of spodumene concentrate in early August to a third party.
NAL, however, has moved in fits and starts that appear to be triggered by market events. NAL started operations in 2018, though work was suspended in 2019 after the price of lithium products collapsed. It was acquired in 2021 by Sayona Quebec, a joint venture between Australia's Sayona Mining Limited (Milton, Queensland) and Piedmont.
Outside of the Quebec operation, Piedmont, the minority partner in NAL, is seeking regulatory approval for a project in North Carolina, which would be an open-pit operation with a capacity of some 23 million tons per year. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report.
Another facility in Tennessee is already sanctioned and designed for 30,000 tons of production. Elsewhere in the U.S., Ioneer Limited (Sydney, New South Wales) is proposing a $640 million facility in Nevada that could yield more than 20,600 tons per year of lithium carbonate, which could yield enough lithium for 370,000 EV batteries. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Tennessee and Nevada projects.
The company already has offtake agreements with Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) (Toyota City, Japan) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) (Dearborn, Michigan) to support EV production.
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 from a detailed plant profile.
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) platform 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 more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Piedmont said it yielded 40,439 dry metric tons of spodumene concentrate in March, a new record for the company. It shipped some 15,000 tons of the material during the first quarter from its North American Lithium (NAL) project in Quebec.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Plant Database can learn more about NAL from a detailed plant profile.
Canada claims about 2.5% of the world's known deposits of lithium, a critical material used in the batteries that power everything from flashlights to electric vehicles (EV). Most of its deposits are in Quebec, though lithium compounds can be pulled out of the oil and gas fields in Alberta.
Canadian reserves are a drop in the bucket when compared to lithium-rich countries such as Australia, Bolivia and Chile, but the North American lithium sector is picking up. Piedmont said production at NAL increased by 18% relative to year-ago levels.
"NAL is the largest producing spodumene operation in North America, and as such, is a tremendously strategic asset," said Keith Phillips, the president and chief executive officer at Piedmont. "We are pleased to see production continue to set quarterly records and hopeful that NAL will hit steady-state production targets with the commissioning of the crushed ore dome."
Construction of the dome is "materially completed," the company said, and it should be commissioned at some point during the second quarter.
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.
Backed by investments totaling about $65 million, NAL started producing spodumene in March 2023 at its site in Quebec. NAL delivered its first commercial shipment of about 20,500 metric tons of spodumene concentrate in early August to a third party.
NAL, however, has moved in fits and starts that appear to be triggered by market events. NAL started operations in 2018, though work was suspended in 2019 after the price of lithium products collapsed. It was acquired in 2021 by Sayona Quebec, a joint venture between Australia's Sayona Mining Limited (Milton, Queensland) and Piedmont.
Outside of the Quebec operation, Piedmont, the minority partner in NAL, is seeking regulatory approval for a project in North Carolina, which would be an open-pit operation with a capacity of some 23 million tons per year. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report.
Another facility in Tennessee is already sanctioned and designed for 30,000 tons of production. Elsewhere in the U.S., Ioneer Limited (Sydney, New South Wales) is proposing a $640 million facility in Nevada that could yield more than 20,600 tons per year of lithium carbonate, which could yield enough lithium for 370,000 EV batteries. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Tennessee and Nevada projects.
The company already has offtake agreements with Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) (Toyota City, Japan) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) (Dearborn, Michigan) to support EV production.
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 from a detailed plant profile.
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) platform 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 more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
