(Image Provided by Global Battery Metals)
Global Battery Metals has confirmed lithium mineralization across all project areas explored to date at its Leinster Lithium Project and reports hitting multiple pegmatite intercepts in the first phase of its maiden drill program (now underway).
Ireland may not be top-of-mind with lithium investors, but Global Battery Metals Ltd. (TSXV:GBML, OTC:REZZF, Forum) and its active exploration for lithium mineralization (spodumene pegmatites) in the Leinster Massif in southeast Ireland, is helping to shift this perception as program momentum continues to build.
Located in the counties of Wicklow and South Carlow, Ireland, the Leinster Lithium Project comprises 16 prospecting license areas (total area covering 525 square kilometres of primary target structures) southwest of Dublin, adjacent to the Ganfeng Lithium / International Lithium Corporation Blackstairs Lithium Project.
Global Battery Metals is making headway with the first phase of drilling at its Knockeen Prospect – a recently discovered and never-before-drilled area. Just six months ago, the company conducted a detailed sampling program at the Knockeen and Carriglead spodumene occurrences, reporting assay results of 66 rock samples released by ALS Laboratories and returning Li2O% lithium contents ranging up to 3.75% Li2O / 17,410 ppm Li. Soon after, GBML also announced the potential discovery of up to six LCT pegmatite dykes in the area. Fast-forward to today, and the company is actively drilling and transporting pegmatite core samples to ALS for analysis and to confirm lithium mineralization.
Early, active drilling
In May, the company began its inaugural drilling campaign at the Leinster Lithium Project, which has been approved for up to 10 drill holes. On June 7, Global Battery Metals announced San update, reporting multiple pegmatite intercepts were intersected in initial drill holes and that core samples were in transit to ALS Laboratories for analysis. The company also explained that successive holes would target different parts of the anomalous deep overburden geochemistry grid.
Global Battery Metals CEO Michael Murphy explained, “So far, our initial drill holes have delivered very promising pegmatite intercepts that excite the on-site teams. While there’s still more work to accomplish, we are making good progress hitting close-to-surface pegmatite intercepts and processing core for analysis. We will continue to follow what we are finding and optimize our drill plans accordingly.”
The global lithium market and the EU lithium demand
This year is expected to see over a million tons LCE of lithium mined for the first time, according to Benchmark Source. By 2030 this number will need to increase to 2.8 million tons, with almost all of this demand growth driven by the need for lithium-ion batteries. Benchmark’s analysis shows that the expansion of the global lithium industry will need $51B of investment. To put the scale of the lithium challenge into context, more lithium will be needed in 2030 than was mined between 2015 and 2022, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast.
In line with this and considering the Leinster Lithium Project geography, lithium-ion battery demand in Europe is expected to increase by 40.1 per cent during the forecast period of 2020 to 2025 as electric vehicle sales at a global scale also increase. Europe is also currently the second largest importer of lithium — falling just behind China at number one — accounting for 21 per cent of the global market. However, lithium within the continent is currently experiencing a shortage supply despite its transition towards electric vehicles.
According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, EU plans to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035 mean demand for lithium is set to surge fivefold by 2030 to 550,000 tons per year — more than double the 200,000 tons the region will be able to produce.
Across Europe, there are a few larger-scale lithium projects under development, but progress at many of these sites has been slowed by legislative, environmental and / or financial challenges.
In Ireland, however, Global Battery Metals and the Leinster Lithium Project team (including Aurum Exploration Services and its Principal and EuroGeol Vaughan Williams M.Sc. P.Geo.) have been coordinating with government officials and local community members from the project onset. The drill program has received all necessary government approvals through the Geoscience Regulation Office (GSRO), a division within the Government Department of the Environment, Communications & Climate Change, which covers all aspects of environmental best practice procedures. Subsequently, all exploration undertaken by Global Battery Metals is governed under the framework of both Irish and EU legislation that has been implemented to ensure that the environment is protected during exploratory work.
The Global Battery Metals advantage
As the company ramps up its Leinster Lithium Project in Ireland, Global Battery Metals has the potential to emerge as a game changer at a time when European demand for lithium continues to climb.
“The need to identify viable sources of domestic European lithium across geopolitically friendly jurisdictions continues to drive commercial interest among key European industry participants,” Murphy previously said. “In its Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), the EU has put a number of goals forward to help secure lithium and other materials deemed essential to meeting Europe’s future electrification and sustainability transition targets. We believe the Leinster Project will be a future contributor in this regard.”
With advancing shifts in the automotive sector, coupled with Europe’s expressed commitments to becoming carbon free, Global Battery Metals is well positioned to capitalize on European needs to identify and secure its own domestic lithium supply. In this regard, Southeast Ireland could very well emerge as Europe’s next Lithium district, with Global Battery Metals helping to lead this charge.
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