Howard Klein: Lithium Supply to Disappoint “Unprecedented” Demand

Interview conducted by Nicole Rashotte; article text by Scott Tibballs.

Speaking with the Investing News Network (INN) at Mines and Money New York, Founder of RK Equity Howard Klein said lithium investors should expect supply to continue to fall short.

“I think it’s very important to look at which projects are currently in construction and funded, and expect that their targets are going to be late in terms of when they’re going to come on stream, and you should expect to haircut the volumes and potentially the quality of what you have,” said Klein.

He added that, because of disappointing supply, the ongoing oversupply narrative won’t be as hard hitting and will inevitably end up as a supply shortage instead.

Klein was at Mines and Money to talk all things lithium. He spoke on a panel about whether it is too late for investors to get into the space given the ongoing uptake of electric vehicles around the world. However, he told INN that really, the question is whether it is too early.

“The question is ‘is it too early,’ or ‘is now the right time’ as opposed to ‘is it too late.’ I think now is a good time, but you need to have a medium- to long-term time horizon.”

His argument is based on the relative size of the industry today and future production markers given the uptake of electric vehicles over the next 10 to 15 years.

“The demand is just so, so great, because electric cars are better cars, and battery costs are coming down, and you’ll have mass adoption over time.

“So this demand shock of 20 percent or more growth in any commodity is unprecedented, except for maybe the oil industry in the early ’20s — it’s crazy.”

For more on his thoughts, listen to the full recording of the INN interview above. In it, he also speaks about the US’ role in the battery arms race, supply chain developments, political attitudes to battery metals, green energy and Australian lithium outlook.

You can also click here to view our full Mines and Money New York playlist on YouTube.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Scott Tibballs, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.