A new lithium fund on the NYSE has the ticker LIT.
The ticker for the Global X exchange-traded lithium fund (LIT in USA) is the same as the one Salares Lithium (TSX: V.LIT, Stock Forum) has in its Canada listing. Salares has a fresh price of $1.25 Canadian a share in value if a proposed merger with Talison Lithium down under proceeds as expected. The merger was unveiled several days ago.
“Interesting timing on our merger (with Australia’s Talison) as I see the first-ever lithium ETF is getting launched for the specific reasons that there is no pure play to get lithium production exposure,” CEO Todd Hilditch at Salares tells me.
“Until we complete the transaction, we will be part of the only pure play lithium production publicly-listed company that exists,” says Todd, whose company is a lithium wanna-be producer from brine in Chile.
I give Todd Hilditch credit. In March he told me this: Some 72% of the world's lithium production comes from brine producers due to the economics/cheaper production. Lithium’s price has about tripled in the past 10 years. As Ticker Trax subscribers know, some junior producers’ shares have risen 600 to 1,100% since I first profiled them about 16 months ago. These include Western Lithium (TSX: V.WLC, Stock Forum), active in Nevada; and Canada Lithium (TSX: T.CLQ, Stock Forum) (active in Quebec).
Todd Hilditch gave me a lithium lesson earlier this year. The 100% ownership model, he said, “is going to become a bigger issue as juniors push forward that have partial ownership and they then want to go into production. Our brine based lithium space is more akin to oil than any other mining. In the oil sector you cannot go and stick a straw by directional drilling to suck out from under a current owner. So 50% of each barrel goes to the 50% split ownership from surface, no matter who is pumping. This concept has not hit the brine lake producers to date but the legalities of it will bear their ugly head as juniors compete for brine deposits and splintered ownership of lakes becomes commonplace.”
Lithium is for batteries. Toyota and other automobile makers are devoting early financing to potential lithium carbonate plants around the world. In exchange, the Toyotas of the world get guaranteed off-take from the plants.
Global X’s new lithium fund (LIT in USA) is a basket of lithium wanna-bes and also battery makers. Lithium is also used in cell phones. Orocobre (TSX: T.ORL, Stock Forum) in Canada is probably the largest pure lithium company out there.
Global X Management in New York City tells me there are few – if any – pure lithium producers. (Lots of prospectors though.) Most lithium “plays” are part of larger mining companies with many other commodities on their plates.
Of interest in this lithium story: Global X, run by two guys from Spain named Bruno and Jose, now has about $300 million of ETF assets in trading vehicles that range from my beloved country of Colombia (GXG in USA) and silver miners (SIL) to China financials, Brazilian consumer companies and copper. “This lithium fund has been our most highly anticipated fund as several multi-billion dollar hedge funds and banks will be putting capital into it,” Evelyn Hu at Global X tells me.
Some of the largest producers are mostly potash producers or chemical giants with just a fraction of their assets in lithium. SQM in Chile SQM in USA) is one of the largest among those. Rockwood Holdings (ROC in USA) is another.
Up and coming from tiny Global X: uranium – a fresh area of interest for Ticker Trax subscribers. Lumber is another area that Global X might pursue. Aluminum as well. Who knows – one day maybe we will see geothermal producers? (Thom Calandra owns no lithium companies in any way. He does own shares of uranium and geothermal companies.)
Kiska in Alaska: Front and center is our fresh report from Stockhouse’s Peter Kennedy on gold developer Kiska Metals (TSX: V.KSK, Stock Forum) in Alaska. Please see the report: Kiska article.
- More:Properties I have visited and are on my tracking list for possible investor exploration include Timberline Resources (AMEX: TLR, Stock Forum) and (TSX: V.TBR, Stock Forum) in Montana and Sandspring Resources in British Guyana (TSX: V.SSP, Stock Forum). I own Sandspring shares – about 3,000 shares. I intend to purchase Timberline shares at some point.
STUFF: Our Ticker Trax landing page has more stuff, videos included. Please see: https://stockhouse.com/TickerTrax/Default.aspx.
NEW ORLEANS: This autumn I will be making two or three appearances outside of prospect tours. One of them is in New Orleans, where I appear each year at Brien Lundin’s New Orleans Investment Conference.
If you’d like to join our Stockhouse and Ticker Trax audience at the late-October show, please register and pay up at this link: REGISTER FOR NEW ORLEANS. You get a discount on the price at that address. And I have something special planned for New Orleans. It’s my favorite investment show.
Ticker Trax™ is in place because its fiscal loyalty is to subscribers who are looking for radically cheap investments. Our service, started in November 2008, researches a select group of Planetary Prospects™ with legitimate shots at rising 1,000 percent or more in the span of two years, maybe less and maybe more.
- We hope you out there in the Stockhouse audience consider joining our expanding service, now in its 19th month. It is at www.tickertrax.com. Needy wanna-be subscribers can petition Stockhouse with a plea and a suggested price for the $399 service at members@stockhouse.com. The service is thriving amid a gloomy summer for natural resources stocks.
Ticker Trax™
Please see Stockhouse for a selection of our Ticker Trax research and our password-protected library for subscribers. Please see our Ticker Traxpassword-protected library for coverage of gold in Ghana and silver in Mexico … plus fresh insights into drug discovery, uranium, copper and platinum.
(All photos by Thom Calandra. Thom and his family own shares of each of the 12 Planetary Prospects. Thom’s personal holdings are available for all to see on Stockhouse, the Canada publishing company. Subscribers are informed well in advance of any shift in research regarding Planetary Prospects and any purchase or sales decisions.)
Ticker Trax™Please see tickertrax.com to learn more about this wealth service and its Planetary Prospects. For an index of free Thom Calandra articles, please click here. For an entire explanation of our strategies, research methods and disclosure procedures regarding all aspects of Ticker Trax and our Stockhouse reports, please visit our readily available Stockhouse articles. Please see this one in particular: Core Box Revealed. Thom Calandra’s on-site tours of properties are paid in part by the hosting companies and in part by Stockhouse and Thom Calandra. For the password-protected Ticker Traxlibrary, please see: www.tickertrax.com/Login.aspx.
HOLDINGS: Thom’s holdings are listed for Stockhouse members at www.Stockhouse.com under the “portfolio setting” for user TCALANDRA. It is public and free to view. He and his family own recently minted gold and silver coins and shares of about 30 public and two private companies.
THOM CALANDRA of Ticker Trax helps his audience find value in a quagmire of investment choices. Thom co-founded CBS MarketWatch and MarketWatch.com. As the voice of Thom Calandra's StockWatch and The Calandra Report, Thom pegged $300-ounce gold as a long-term hold in 1999 and in 2000. He has been covering life-sciences and natural resources since 1988.
Thom Calandra and Stockhouse produce this and other free reports. Please visit www.Stockhouse.com
Ticker Trax™ is published by Stockhouse Publishing Ltd. Ticker Trax is an information service for subscribers and neither Stockhouse nor Thom Calandra is a broker or an investment advisor. None of the information contained therein constitutes a recommendation by Mr. Calandra or Stockhouse that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. Ticker Trax does not purport to tell or suggest the investment securities subscribers or readers should buy or sell for themselves. Subscribers and readers of Ticker Trax should conduct their own research and due diligence and obtain professional advice before making any investment decisions. Ticker Trax will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a reader’s reliance on information obtained in the reports. Subscribers and readers are solely responsible for their own investment decisions. Opinions expressed in Ticker Trax are based on sources believed to be reliable and are written in good faith, but no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is made as to their accuracy or completeness. All information contained in Ticker Trax should be independently verified. The editor and publisher are not responsible for errors or omissions or responsible for keeping information up to date or for correcting any past information. Ticker Trax does not receive compensation of any kind from any companies that may be mentioned in the report. Any opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. Owners, employees and writers may hold positions in the securities that are discussed in Ticker Trax. PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL THOM SEEKING PERSONALIZED INVESTMENT ADVICE, WHICH HE CANNOT PROVIDE. Copyright 2010 all rights reserved.