Post by
tiger6301 on Sep 24, 2020 8:30am
Tesla's Lithium Mining
Here are another two articles.
Tesla Says It Wants to Be a Lithium Miner. That Could Be a Problem for Extractor Stocks.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/lithium-mining-stocks-take-it-on-the-chin-tesla-extractor-batteries-51600875113
Tesla bets on mining with Nevada lithium claim
https://www.mining.com/tesla-bets-on-mining-business-with-lithium-claim/
Tesla can claim anything, but nothing is concrete. In the mining business, Grade and Size of the projects are the king, which means the cost per unit of production. In Tesla's case, NO one knows what type of project they have?, but CLAY, how far are they now? In the mining business, it typically takes 10 years from start to build a mine. LAC is the most advanced clay lithium project in NV, I know LAC at least 10 years since the Western Uranium days.
We all know Tesla is a great company in the EV business, but not necessary in the mining business. If they want to compete in the mining business, then let do it. They may have advantage in capital, but their projects may not be the best ones. By the end of day, it is the cost of lithium products.
I see the best way for Tesla to souce raw materials is to JV mining companies, rather than doing it themselves since they are NOT MINING EXPERTERS.
I say it will take Tesla at least 5 years to get their lithium product from their clay.
The market is just over reacted to its claim.
tiger
Comment by
JMark80 on Sep 24, 2020 8:59am
Would be interesting to know more about the geology of their deposit. They make extracting through artificial brine sound so easy!
Comment by
JMark80 on Sep 24, 2020 9:05am
If they do have water soluble clay (it's possible, some of Noram's deposit is water soluble), it would also be interesting to know more about production costs. Could spell trouble for the non hectorite acid leachable clays that are struggling to move forward. Acid plants are expensive!
Comment by
tiger6301 on Sep 24, 2020 10:21am
Hi Papino, Excellent article, thx. tiger