To The Moon

In the last post of TBlive, we heard an great overview of the entire lithium battery industry from Richlink Founder-Gorge SU:

Gorge Su: Deep Details on Lithium Battery Industry Booming

In this week we'll share some of the great Lithium companies shared by GorgeSu directly.

First up are the ASX Top 10 Lithium Mining Companies by Market Cap list:

Lithium spodumene up by more than 500% in 12 months, The demand for lithium among car manufacturers should exceed supply for at least the next five years, the global automakers and battery manufacturers were urgently seeking to lock in limited supply at almost any price.

According to statistics, these companies that are already in production, or are already under construction, or even doing the final feasibility study, the average annual increase in the stock price is this 111%.

Inside which, $Avz Minerals Ltd(AVZ.AU)$ share price hasn’t moved a muscle for five and a half months in 2022. Last week, the company revealed that its legal team have been very busy recently. AVZ is facing arbitration proceedings from China’s Jin Cheng Mining in relation to a dispute in the ownership of the Manono Lithium Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Jin Cheng claims it owns a portion of the project, whereas AVZ denies this.

ASX lithium shares broadly outperformed on the back of near record lithium prices with a strong forecast outlook for 2023.

The the rest 9 companies’s recent 3-month performances since end of July are as follows:

Data from TradingView

1. Lithium giant $Pilbara Minerals Ltd(PLS.AU)$ hit a record high after release first quarter update on Monday’s trading(25 Oct), and increased 89.49% during the past 3 month.

For the three months ended 30 September, Pilbara Minerals reported a 16% quarter on quarter increase in spodumene concentrate production to 147,105 dry metric tonnes (dmt). Management advised that this strong production performance reflects the company’s operating strategy and represents an annualised production rate of 588,000 dmt of spodumene concentrate.

The company has entered into a further contract of sale for an additional 5,000dmt cargo following completion of the BMX pre-auction held earlier this month.

2. $Piedmont Lithium(PLL.AU)$ increased 66.07% in past three month is advancing a global portfolio of projects with planned first production anticipated as follows:

• 2023: Quebec – spodumene concentrate production at Sayona Quebec’s North American Lithium
• 2024: Ghana – spodumene concentrate production at Atlantic Lithium’s Ewoyaa Lithium Project
• 2025: Tennessee Lithium – lithium hydroxide production from spodumene concentrate sourced from our international investments
• 2026: Carolina Lithium – integrated spodumene concentrate and lithium hydroxide production

Piedmont Lithium has been selected for a US$141.7 million (A$226 million) grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE). 

In an October 19 press release, the Biden Administration said it was awarding $2.8 billion in grants to as many as 20 U.S.-based companies to “expand domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles and the electrical grid.”

3.$IGO Ltd(IGO.AU)$(+55.61%) ,IGO is one of the biggest lithium producers in Australia and provides high quality exposure to the rapidly growing battery materials market, with low-cost lithium and nickel operations.

The company has exposure to the Greenbushes Lithium mine in Western Australia via a 25% ownership stake. The mine has the largest installed capacity, the highest-grade reserve, the lowest cost structure, and a mine life of over 20 years. IGO is generating very strong cashflows from existing operations and can fund future growth opportunities.

4. $Liontown Resources Ltd(LTR.AU)$(55.00%) deals with the business of exploration and evaluation of metals and minerals like lithium, gold, vanadium and nickel deposits in Australia. On 3 October 2022, The company had secured approval on the Mining Proposal and Mine Closure Plan for the Kathleen Valley Project from the Western Australia (WA) Development of Mines, Industry, Regulation and Safety (DMIRS).

In early 2022, signed a contract with the global electric vehicle giant$Tesla Motors(TSLA)$ for 5 years lithium supply agreement which will start from 2024, Investors like it. Some how a slowdown in China could impact Tesla and the Liontown share price in the shorter term. But analysts are broadly in agreement that the 10-year global demand outlook for lithium remains very strong as EV markets are forecast to continue growing rapidly.

5.$MINERAL RESOURCES LTD(MIN.AU)$ (+46.82%),on 11Oct,Mineral Resources announced its final investment decision (FID) to develop the Red Hill Iron Ore Joint Venture assets during the quarter. On the iron ore front, the Mineral Resources share price is lifting, despite the company reporting a 3% quarter on quarter reduction in iron ore shipments to 4.5 million wet metric tonnes (wmt).

The Mineral Resources share price could be getting some support after the company reaffirmed FY23 guidance of 300,000-330,000 dmt (51% share) for spodumene concentrate shipped at Mt Marion. Goldman sachs has retained its buy rating with a $76.10 price target.

6.$Lake Resources NL(LKE.AU)$ (+33.11%) was offered its stock for 35 cents apiece under its IPO, even plunge to below 1 cent in 2015. Fortunately, things have since turned around for the lithium developer – its shares are now trading for 200% more than its IPO offer price.

A number of milestones lie ahead for Lake in fiscal 2022, including first production from the demonstration plant at Kachi, the successful completion of the DFS, an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and the delivery of our first ever Sustainability Report.

7. $Allkem Limited(AKE.AU)$ (31.25%) is a well-diversified lithium producer in terms of products (spodumene, lithium carbonate and soon to be lithium hydroxide) and geographies (Argentina, Australia, Canada).

AKE’s 1Q revenue of $298m missed expectations (-17% on VA consensus, -6% on Morgans forecast). The major shift was smaller production at Mt Cattlin. The company has pointed to ongoing pre-stripping activities as it moves to new areas of the mine. There is another “bigger issue” to be concerned about. That’s the delay and “cost increases expected for Olaroz’s stage 2 expansion” which are expected to add “an additional $45m (12%)” to its budget. Morgans's analysts have retained their hold rating and trimmed their price target to $15.00.

8.$Core Exploration Ltd(CXO.AU)$ (+25.82%) noted the recent exploration success and favourable lithium pricing market, in which it intends to “pursue new and aggressive exploration programs”.The company is seeking to expand its ore reserves and mineral resources through its drilling campaign at the Finniss Lithium Project in the Northern Territory.

Core Lithium advised it is on schedule to deliver the first lithium concentrate production in the first half of 2023. Despite tumbling this month, the Core Lithium share price has posted a gain of almost 90% in 2022.

9.$Vulcan Energy(VUL.AU)$ (+0.97%) didn't show good performance in recent 3 month. While a binding agreement was made with Enel Green Power for exploring geothermal lithium in Italy. Vulcan yielded the best lithium hydroxide samples to date via its phase 1 definitive feasibility study.

Vulcan is producing green power from its Insheim geothermal renewable energy plant, a new deputy CEO, Cris Moreno, was appointed to help offset the energy crisis in Europe.

The above are Top 10 lithium stocks with great fundamentals, if you are interested in these mining stocks, please add to your watch list.

Next post, we will share some new listed mining companies.