Energy Advisor

William Tahil, research director at Meridian International Research: “Mexico has nationalized its nascent lithium industry just four years after a Canadian-Chinese mining company first broke ground. It is estimated that Mexico’s Sonora mine contains reserves of 4.5 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). Mining firm Bacanora Lithium estimates that the mine has a 19-year lifespan, with an average annual production of 240,000 tons of LCE. The initial production target of 17,500 tons for the year 2023 is projected to require an investment of $420 million. Globally, lithium carbonate prices have skyrocketed from a low of less than $6,000 per ton in 2020 to nearly $80,000 per ton today—and the price is expected to go even higher. Such a price is unsustainable and is likely to come down in the future. It will nonetheless stimulate faster uptake of sodium ion batteries and other alternatives. Bacanora Lithium is now wholly owned by the largest lithium producer in the world—the Chinese company Ganfeng. China has been determined to…”