Lithium Americas Corp (LAAC)

[overlordpeter]

Steelmaker hopes Argentine lithium puts a charge into earnings


SEOUL -- Posco is positioning lithium as a key revenue source. Banking on steady growth in demand for the element, which is used in batteries for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, the South Korean steelmaker is building a large processing facility in northern Argentina.

The plant, located at Pozuelos Lake in the city of Salta, is to open by the end of the year. It will have the capacity to churn out 2,500 tons of the metal annually.

The 106-sq.-km salt lake sits 4,000 meters above sea level and is estimated to hold 1.5 million tons of lithium deposits. Earlier this year, Posco signed a supply contract with Lithea, an Argentine business that owns mining rights for the lake.

Back in 2010, Posco developed a method of directly processing lithium through a chemical reaction. This drastically cut processing times, which used to run longer than a year. The steelmaker has been conducting pilot production at salt lakes in Chile and Argentina; now it is ready to go commercial. Posco hopes to increase its output gradually.

The global lithium market swelled from 70,000 tons in 2002 to 170,000 tons in 2014, according to Posco. It forecasts an increase to about 270,000 tons by 2020.

When Posco unveiled its medium-term business plan in May 2014, Chairman and CEO Kwon Oh-joon stressed that the company would focus on its core steel business while restructuring and selling other operations. He also talked about plans to enhance two promising segments: raw materials, such as nickel and lithium; and clean energy technologies, such as fuel cells.

Posco posted its first group net loss for the year ended December.