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WLC just shared a very interesting video on their social media:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-02-24/the-peak-oil-myth-and-the-rise-of-the-electric-car
holding steady here...go LEXG
Western Lithium sees opportunity in battery boom
VANCOUVER — Management of Western Lithium (TSX: WLC; US-OTC: WLCDF) finds itself in a fortuitous position following the recent surge of interest in the global lithium industry. The company negotiated a merger with South American focused Lithium Americas in mid-2015, and is now sitting on two advanced-stage projects that appear well positioned to address an emerging deficit in lithium carbonate and hydroxide markets.
Western Lithium is advancing the Kings Valley clay-hosted lithium deposit in Nevada's Clayton Valley. The area hosts North America’s only producing lithium operation — Albemarle’s (NYSE: ALB) Silver Peak brine facility — and has subsequently emerged as a hot spot for speculators due to a US$5-billion “gigafactory” Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) is building outside of Reno.
Based on a March 2014 prefeasibility study (PFS), Kings Valley hosts 27 million proven and probable tonnes grading 0.4% lithium, 3.9% potassium and 1.4% sodium. The development would advance in two stages, with an initial build costing US$248 million, and a second phase costing US$161 million. The plan would carry a 24% after-tax net present value (NPV) at an 8% discount rate, along with a 20% internal rate of return (IRR).
"The whole thesis around lithium being an important mineral really resonated with us prior to 2008. So we put our claims on Kings Valley, which is recognized as one of the largest lithium deposits in the world," explained president Jay Chmelauskas during an interview.
"We've developed the project through various stages of engineering and demonstration plants over the years despite some definite highs and lows in the lithium space. We've remained very confident in the business model through it all, but I don't think any of us saw the industry gaining momentum like it is today," he added.
Kings Valley will be the first clay-hosted lithium mine in the world. Western Lithium is planning to recover lithium from clays via a proprietary process it tested at a pilot plant in Germany last year. The end product, however, will be quite similar to what is produced from a traditional lithium brine deposit.
The pilot testing was scheduled to end in late January, which will set the stage for an upcoming feasibility study (FS). Western Lithium will then proceed through permitting under the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and hopes to get the project into production by early 2019.
The company has gone through the permitting process on a similar — albeit smaller — operation with its Organoclay Hectatone subsidiary, which produces hectorite clay additives used in oil-and-gas drilling fluids.
“We've always focused our attention on the development side because we really believe the lithium business is not an exploration business,” Chmelauskas continued. “A lot of these major lithium deposits were discovered in the past, and it really becomes an engineering exercise that's essentially about getting known deposits into production. By combining our two projects we've now focused the industry on one company that has the position to be the next producer.”
Western Lithium may not have anticipated the sharp boom in lithium prices over the past six months, but it was just such an opportunity the company was hoping for when it picked up the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium brine deposit in the Lithium Americas merger.
The project sits across two salt lakes on Argentina’s Puna Plateau and hosts 2.7 million tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at a lithium cut-off grade of 354 milligrams per litre.
A feasibility study (FS) released in mid-2012 outlines a US$315-million development scenario at Cauchari–Olaroz. The FS assumes the project is built over two stages, with each stage consisting of a 20,000-tonne-per-year lithium carbonate facility and a 40,000-tonne-per-year potash facility.
Western Lithium is pursuing a joint-venture agreement with South Korean multinational POSCO that it hopes will lead to initial production at Cauchari-Olaroz in early 2017. POSCO will contribute its proprietary lithium extraction technologies for production of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide. The companies estimate that the first stage of the plant would produce up to 2,500 tonnes of LCE annually, with the project eventually ramping up to 20,000 tonnes.
"When it comes to brine lithium projects there are many factors that determine whether a project will work. You have to have a major focus on chemistry and engineering because not all deposits are economically recoverable. The best brine deposits are actually in the Atacama Desert in Chile and Argentina," Chmelauskas said.
"We're now developing two world-scale lithium projects, in what I believe are the two very good jurisdictions, at a time where the mineral is becoming very important. There are four main suppliers right now with a fifth coming online. We see our assets giving us an opportunity to become another major producer," he continued.
And Western Lithium has certainly been able to raise capital as market conditions have improved. In mid-November the company closed a US$5-million line of credit with privately-owned hedge fund Geologic Resource Partners. Meanwhile, Western Lithium closed the final tranche of a US$5 million non-brokered private placement with Thailand's Bangchak Petroleum in late December.
The company has traded within a 52-week window of 25¢ and 96¢, and closed at 40¢ per share at the time of writing. Western Lithium maintains 291 million shares outstanding for a $110.4 million press-time market capitalization.
http://www.northernminer.com/news/western-lithium-sees-an-opportunity-to-be-a-major-producer/1003765485/
As Billy says, hold long for the bang boom!
hello everyone, looking GOOD here today
Looking for another SOLID day tomorrow.
i agree...go LEXG
Solid day here
this is looking quite good. thanks
good volume this morning :)
Looking for a big week here!
could be a GREAT week here
The latest 8-k garble means no one really knows what is going on. But with the low float and test results...I believe this could shot to $11 again.
2/3 of the world is facing a water shortage!
SonCav technology can help! Let's get those units tested and verified LEXG!
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/13/science/two-thirds-of-the-world-faces-severe-water-shortages.html?_r=0
Super LOW FLOAT here...HUGE move could happen at any time.
YTD price per share of LEXG is exactly even...much better than the Dow!!!
I agree, could be any day now!
It's possible we'll get test results soon...then BANG
Something good could be coming for LEXG..
LEXG is known for historic PPS explosions.
POSCO's official entry into the Li biz...very nice. Another step forward.
If news hits here, with this low float...holy cow some people are gonna be rich.
LEXG might make another amazing run soon.
MMs trying to pull the price down...there's no real sell volume going on. Longs are for real!
Thank you...LEXG about to POP, maybe ;)
congrats on post #3000 of this board. With the good year ahead the post count should soar around here.
Argentina is doing everything it can to get out of the woods. Let's go WLC!!! get that deal done....
"Argentina offers $6.5 billion cash deal to end debt battle"
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-debt-idUSKCN0VE2L4
another run?
there's no stock quite like this one!
UP and away!!
The 8k is pretty funny. Just a bunch of weirdness. I have a feeling they are setting this up for a classic LEXG explosion. The dance continues...
that would be great...gov't contracts would be huge, we know how they like to spend money ;)
I agree, the countdown has begun...
It's going to be a good year on this board.
Seeking Alpha is BULLISH on WLC :)
http://seekingalpha.com/article/3856806-western-lithium-company-january-2016-update
A volcanic PPS eruption could come here at any time!! Has before and will again!!
The big announcement could come any day now...exciting!
Step by step, one foot in front of the other...there's a phrase "Haba Na Haba". The company is moving onward and upward. I'm more excited about this stock than any other that I own.
LEXG ready to POP again??
I agree. WLC will be a billion dollar company if things play out like I think they will. Lets hope for some more upward movement today!
This perspective is understandable, and I tend to agree. However, the upside is a super low float, and a steady PPS...for now.