Lithium has become a battleground as electric vehicle (EV) makers look to secure new supply. General Motors just announced a $650 million investment in Lithium Americas to develop the Thacker Pass mine in Nevada, which should provide the automaker with enough lithium supply to support production of up to 1 million EVs per year.
GM isn’t the only automaker looking to secure lithium supplies. Last summer, Ford Motor Co announced a series of deals including Chinese battery maker CATL and mining giant Rio Tinto to accelerate its shift to EVs and plans to produce 600,000 EVs annually by 2023 and over two million by 2027.
Tesla has become more involved with the raw material supply chain for EV batteries, signing supply contracts with the world’s largest producer of battery-grade lithium, and Australia’s Liontown Resources. The EV giant is also signing contracts for offtake agreements with mining companies developing new projects. The company initially signed a supply deal with Piedmont Lithium, which is developing several lithium properties in North America, to buy roughly one-third of the planned 160,000 tonnes of annual spodumene lithium production from its North Carolina mine for a minimum of five years.
However, after delivery delays, the companies amended the agreement to purchase lithium from Piedmont’s North American Lithium in Quebec, which is expected to restart output in H2 2023. The 3-year binding agreement will include 125,000 metric tons of spodumene concentrate (SC6), a high-purity lithium ore with a lithium content of roughly 6%.
Still, more mining projects are needed. According to Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, these large investments planned by major lithium producers won’t be sufficient to meet EV production g...
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