Ford inks Argentina lithium supply deal with Lake Resources

[AzScorpion]

This is great news and a step in the right direction securing the Lithium when EV's are getting more popular.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/ford-inks-argentina-lithium-supply-181102201.html

(Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said on Monday it has signed a preliminary deal to buy lithium from a Lake Resources NL facility in Argentina, marking the first time the automaker has publicly announced where it will procure the electric vehicle battery metal.

The deal is a major bet by Ford on direct lithium extraction (DLE), a relatively new breed of technologies that filter the metal from brines and use far less acreage than open-pit mines and evaporation ponds.

Ford aims to buy 25,000 tonnes annually of the white metal from Lake's Kachi project in northern Argentina, which is being developed with privately held extraction startup Lilac Solutions Inc.

Lilac's technology uses 10 tonnes of water for every tonne of lithium produced. Lilac has said it could use a desalination plant to filter brackish water to avoid using potable water.

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[AzScorpion]

Another follow up article on Lithium technology.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/lithium-technology-help-world-green-183033508.html

New lithium technology can help the world go green -- if it works.

(Reuters) - Rio Tinto, General Motors and even the U.S. Energy Department are investing heavily in a crop of newer technologies that could revolutionize the way lithium is produced for electric vehicle batteries.

Now those technologies just have to prove they work on a commercial scale.

If they do, miners will be able to boost global lithium production with a footprint far smaller than open-pit mines and evaporation ponds, which often are the size of multiple football fields and unpopular with local communities.

These so-called direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies extract the white metal from brine using filters, membranes, ceramic beads or other equipment that can typically be housed in a small warehouse. But they often use lots of potable water and electricity, and none have worked at commercial scale.


Global automakers, mining companies and investors are pouring millions of dollars into DLE companies, betting they can supply the bulk of the lithium needed to power the electric vehicle revolution.