US judge clears path for construction to begin at #3 largest lithium mine in the world

• A US district judge denies request for an emergency injunction to prohibit work at the largest known lithium deposit in the country
• Pilbara’s joint venture company, POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solution Co executes a US$460m debt facility with Korean government-owned banks
• Galan to start maiden diamond drilling at its Greenbushes South project shortly 

All your lithium news, Monday February 27. 

 

A US federal judge has denied a request for an emergency injunction to block construction at Lithium Americas’ (NYSE:LAC) Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada near the Oregon line following a legal battle with environmentalists and tribal leaders.

According to reports, opponents say the mine would destroy wildlife habitat and sacred cultural treasures, harm groundwater and pollute the air.

But US District Judge Miranda Du denied the opponents’ request Friday, paving the way for Lithium Americas to begin construction at North America’s largest lithium mine and the third largest lithium mine in the world as soon as possible.

Lithium Americas’ recently received a $650mn investment from General Motors for the development of Thacker Pass, which holds enough of the battery metal to build 1 million electric vehicles annually.

The deal marked the largest ever investment by an automaker in battery raw materials production.

Here’s how ASX lithium stocks are tracking:

An abysmal day for lithium stocks. Only 12 companies gained while another 71 fell.

 

Who’s got news out?

PILBARA MINERALS (ASX:PLS)

Pilbara’s joint venture company, POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solution Co has executed a KRW600 billion (US$460M) debt facility with Korean government-owned banks to fund the balance of the capital development and commissioning costs for its new 43ktpa Lithium Hydroxide Monohydrate Chemical Facility in Gwangyang, South Korea.

The loan agreement has been executed with The Korea Development Bank and The ExportImport Bank of Korea, and represents the remaining ~60% of the forecast funding required for the development of the Chemical Facility.

Re first 21,500tpa train is scheduled to begin commissioning from late 2023 and the second 21,500tpa train from the March 2024 Quarter.

Pilbara Minerals will be the sole supplier of spodumene concentrate (up to 315,000tpa) to the new Chemical Facility.

 

GALAN LITHIUM (ASX:GLN)

Galan is days away from starting maiden diamond drilling at its Greenbushes South project, 3km south of the giant Greenbushes lithium mine in WA.

It follows the company securing Program of Works approval for an initial campaign of 2,500m to test the first of several key targets. Drill pads are already built and ready with drilling scheduled to begin later this week.

 

CORE LITHIUM (ASX:CXO)

Core Lithium has produced first spodumene concentrate via its Dense Media Separation (DMS) plant at the Finnis lithium operation in the Northern Territory.

Since construction commenced in November 2021, Core has established mining operations, constructed water management infrastructure, and built and commissioned the crushing facility.

The maiden production of lithium concentrate will remain at Finniss until there are sufficient volumes to be transported to the Darwin Port for the first concentrate export shipment.

Future concentrate production from the mine is expected to occur by July 2023, with offtake secured by lithium industry leaders Ganfeng Lithium and Sichuan Yahua.

 

ARCADIA MINERALS (ASX:AM7)

Assays have been returned from the first two auger holes at the third pan within the Bitterwasser lithium clay project in Nambia.

AM7 says the results indicate similar lithium grades to that of the holes drilled at the Eden and Madube pans with hole MDDO1 returning up to 763ppm Li over a width of 1.6m and hole MDDO2 returning up to 603ppm Li over a width of 1.4m.

 

RED DIRT METALS (ASX:RDT) 

Exciting early shallow and wide initial intersections have been returned following exploration drilling into the M47 pegmatite at Red Dit’s Yinnetharra project in September 2022.

With more than 3,000 samples now with the lab, the results are expected to significantly add to the company’s geological understanding of the Project.

 

LITHIUM ENERGY (ASX:LEL)

Lithium Energy has largely completed the second and third holes in the initial 10 hole, 5,000m drilling programme at the Solaroz Lithium Brine Project in Argentina.

Drilling in both holes encountered significant intersections of highly conductive brines, as it did with the first hole in the programme and assays are now pending.

 

WESTAR RESOURCES (ASX:WSR)

Westar has completed a geological reconnaissance fieldwork program at the Olga Rocks Project in WA’s Yilgarn region, with rockchip assays indicating highly fractionated and fertile LCT-type pegmatites.

Results include up to 259ppm lithium with other minerals like caesium, tantalum, and rubidium.

The company says it is progressing to target definition and progressing permitting and approvals with the intention of completing a maiden drilling program in H1CY23.

 

CATALINA RESOURCES (ASX:CTN)

First assays from a maiden air core drilling program at the Dundas project has returned lanthanum grades up to 0.14% with coincident anomalous lithium geochemistry.

Lithium averaging 84 ppm over 44m to the end of hole (EOH) and 103 ppm over 28m to the end of hole were also intersected.

These results put the Dundas project on the path of a significant REE and lithium discovery in a highly prospective and very under explored location.

The post Eye on Lithium: US judge clears path for construction to begin at #3 largest lithium mine in the world appeared first on Stockhead.

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