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Lithium is interesting because we could get really creative in how/where we get it. For example, GM is planning to buy Lithium extracted from the Salton Sea. [1

Lithium is interesting because we could get really creative in how/where we get it. For example, GM is planning to buy Lithium extracted from the Salton Sea. [1] Nickel and Cobalt are, IMO, tougher to solve for. Nickel is rich in places that are not North America, which will run up against certain domestic sourced stipulations in EV subsidies... We have one nickel mine as of 2021 and it produces far less than the Eurasian mines.[2] I think an EV future will really depend on innovative battery chemistries like LiFePO4.[3] [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/04/the-salton-sea-could-produce-the-worlds-greenest-lithium.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/04/the-salton-sea-could-produce... [2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1284604/us-nickel-mine-production/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1284604/us-nickel-mine-p... [3] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_iron_phosphate https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_iron_phosphate

panick21_ 4y ago
Nobody questions if these metals exist or not. But developing a mine in North America takes 5-10 years and often longer. If you want to have a real mine that might actual produce lithium in North America look at Thacker Pass. The Salton Sea is mostly marketing, its totally unproven technology not anywhere remotely close to production. There have been countless junior minors who have made great promises about lithium production in the last 10 years and virtually all of them have failed. It will take much, much longer then most of these companies say to produce anything close to battery grade lithium. Lithium is really tricky to get to the right quality, and each mine needs to go threw a multi year very process to go threw valuation at every car and battery maker. So even if you have a mine partially operating, it takes years and years after that until your lithium might actually show up in a car. Sodium and LFP batteries do help. But LFP still needs lithium and the massive production facilities already built for NMC and NCA can not just be changed. This is a bigger problem then people realize, specially lithium. After all these years there is still only a handful (less then 5) of companies that produce it at the required grade. And of those many are not expanding fast.

panick21_ 4y ago

Nobody questions if these metals exist or not. But developing a mine in North America takes 5-10 years and often longer. If you want to have a real mine that might actual produce lithium in North America look at Thacker Pass. The Salton Sea is mostly marketing, its totally unproven technology not anywhere remotely close to production. There have been countless junior minors who have made great promises about lithium production in the last 10 years and virtually all of them have failed. It will take much, much longer then most of these companies say to produce anything close to battery grade lithium. Lithium is really tricky to get to the right quality, and each mine needs to go threw a multi year very process to go threw valuation at every car and battery maker. So even if you have a mine partially operating, it takes years and years after that until your lithium might actually show up in a car. Sodium and LFP batteries do help. But LFP still needs lithium and the massive production facilities already built for NMC and NCA can not just be changed. This is a bigger problem then people realize, specially lithium. After all these years there is still only a handful (less then 5) of companies that produce it at the required grade. And of those many are not expanding fast.