The Conversation (0)
European Lithium
Overview
As the global push to halt climate change gains momentum, the European Commission is looking to regionalize the battery supply chain to capitalize on the rapid electric vehicle (EV) growth and limit its dependency on other countries through heavy investment and policy changes. Europe’s electric vehicle market value reached US$29.49 million in 2021 and is projected to increase up to US$143.08 million by 2027, indicating a compounded annual growth rate of 23.4 percent in that period.
Even though Europe is one of the largest global producers of motor vehicles, it currently does not have a local supply of lithium hydroxide which is heavily used in EV battery technology. According to experts, the market is set to remain in a structural shortage until 2025
One company that aims to become the first local lithium supplier into an integrated European battery supply chain is European Lithium (ASX:EUR,FRA:PF8), a mining exploration and development company focused on exploring, identifying and acquiring lithium in Europe. The company is led by a management team with decades of experience and success in the mining and finance markets.
“Our aim is to be the first supplier of lithium from Europe, for Europe,” European Lithium chairman Tony Sage said.
The company is focused on its wholly owned Wolfsberg Lithium project located in Carinthia, Austria. The pre-existing mine is located in a mining-friendly region with multiple mineral discoveries in the surrounding area. The property features a high-grade lithium resource at an average grade of one percent lithium hydroxide, with a total resource of 12.88 million tonnes based on resources measured, indicated and inferred in zone 1 only.
The Wolfsberg Lithium project resource has the potential to double based on positive drill results in another zone on the property.
Based on the definitive feasibility study (DFS) released in March 2023, Wolfsberg Lithium Project is well positioned to become a leading producer of battery-grade lithium hydroxide in Europe. It is set to deliver high returns, leveraging low operating costs, and benefiting from a lithium market that is anticipated to be in structural undersupply during most of the life of mine. The battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) prices modeled in the DFS are projected to be at a 39-percent discount to current spot prices in 2025 and then escalate by 2 percent per annum. The estimated capex is US$866 million which supports a post-tax NPV of US$1.5 billion.
European Lithium has established several strategic relationships with an aim to deliver value to the Wolfsberg Lithium Project through development and during production. This includes a partnership with KMI for liaising with Austrian authorities.
The company commissioned Dorfner Anzaplan to construct the pilot plant, which was successfully completed on schedule. Anzaplan has also overseen the completion of metallurgical test work on bulk ore extractions. Testing will allow significantly higher recovery rates at the start of production as opposed to only assessing metallurgical data from the core as other mining companies often do, giving European Lithium the advantage of a streamline refinement process.
The company has support from the European Battery Alliance, GREENPEG and other government initiatives, believing it has the potential to become a major, first-to-market producer of lithium in Europe. The company also remains committed to clean production in an effort to support sustainability.
Based on the DFS, the company plans to begin the permitting process of its Wolfsberg Lithium project and prepare the mining plan for the mining authority to authorize the mine and concentrator construction. Afterward, the company will determine the approval requirements of the carbonate hydroxide conversion plant with the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and then initiate the final financing plan.
European Lithium, through its wholly owned Austrian subsidiary ECM Lithium Aľ GmbH (ECM), signed a binding long-term lithium offtake agreement with top-tier European auto manufacturer BMW to secure the company’s first offtake of battery grade lithium hydroxide from its Wolfsberg Lithium Project in Austria.
The company is aiming to commence production of lithium hydroxide from the project in 2027 — subject to funding and approvals by the Austrian government.
In a bid to expand its project portfolio, European Lithium executed a binding Heads of Agreement with 2743718 Ontario Inc., a subsidiary of Richmond Minerals (TSXVRMD), to acquire 100 percent of the rights, title and interest in the Bretstein-Lachtal Project, Klementkogel Project and the Wildbachgraben Project, a group of exploration licenses covering 114.6 square kilometers, targeting lithium with known occurrences in the Styria mining district of Austria.Company Highlights
- European Lithium is a mining exploration and development company focused on exploring, identifying and acquiring lithium in Europe.
- The company aims to become the first local lithium supplier into an integrated European battery supply chain.
- The company’s focus is on its wholly owned advanced Wolfsberg Lithium Project (Wolfsberg) located in Carinthia, Austria.
- Wolfsberg is a high-grade lithium resource at an average grade of one percent lithium oxide, with a total resource of 12.88 million tonnes based on measured, indicated and inferred resources in zone one only.
- Wolfsberg’s definitive feasibility study results demonstrate potential to deliver high returns, leveraging low operating costs, and benefiting from a lithium market that is anticipated to be in structural undersupply during most of the life of mine.
- The Wolfsberg resource estimate has significant upside with the potential to double based on positive drill results.
- Through its wholly owned Austrian subsidiary ECM Lithium Aľ GmbH (ECM), European Lithium signed a binding long-term lithium offtake agreement with top-tier European auto manufacturer BMW AG (BMW) to secure the company’s first offtake of battery-grade lithium hydroxide from Wolfsberg.
- The company has signed a binding agreement to build a Saudi Arabia-based hydroxide processing plant in partnership with Obeikan and deliver significant cost savings.
- The company is led by a management team with decades of experience and success in the mining and finance markets.
- European Lithium entered into a business combination agreement with Sizzle Acquisition, a US special purpose acquisition company, to which European Lithium will sell down its interest in its wholly owned Wolfsberg Lithium Project (Wolfsberg and Wolfsberg Lithium Project) and merge with Sizzle via a newly formed, lithium exploration and development company named, Critical Metals Corp.
- European Lithium has acquired 100 percent of the rights, title and interest in the Bretstein-Lachtal Project, Klementkogel Project and the Wildbachgraben Project, a group of exploration licenses covering 114.6 square kilometers, targeting lithium with known occurrences in the Styria mining district of Austria and nearby the Wolfsberg Lithium Project
- The company received high-grade lithium assays from sampling undertaken at various prospects within the Eastern Alps Lithium Satellite Projects, located in Austria, which are held 20 percent by European Lithium and 80 percent by EV Resources Limited (ASX: EVR).
Get access to more exclusive Lithium Investing Stock profiles here
Developing the Advanced Wolfsberg Lithium Deposit in Austria
Atlantic Lithium
Investor Insight
Atlantic Lithium is advancing Ghana’s first lithium mine at Ewoyaa, a fully permitted, strategically located project ready to supply global battery markets. With strong local support and a clear path to production, the company is positioned for near-term growth and long-term impact in the energy transition.
Overview
Atlantic Lithium (AIM:ALL,ASX: A11,GSE:ALLGH,OTCQX: ALLIF) is an Africa-focused lithium exploration and development company advancing its flagship Ewoyaa Lithium project through to production as Ghana’s first lithium mine.
Despite its long mining history, favourable regulatory climate and stable political backdrop, Ghana remains largely overlooked as an investment jurisdiction for battery metals. Situated on the West African coast, the country boasts a strong strategic location, between Europe, the Americas and Asia, to serve the global battery metals market. Ghana is also home to an abundance of mineral wealth, with c. 180,000 tonnes of estimated lithium resources.
Atlantic Lithium intends to produce spodumene concentrate capable of conversion to lithium chemicals for use in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage, aiming to support global decarbonisation.
A definitive feasibility study (DFS) released in June 2023 shows that Ewoyaa has demonstrable economic viability, low capital intensity and excellent profitability.
Through simple open-pit mining, three-stage crushing and conventional Dense Medium Separation (DMS) processing, the DFS outlines the production of 3.6 Mt of spodumene concentrate over a 12-year mine life, which will make it one of the largest spodumene mines by production capacity globally.
The Ewoyaa Lithium Project was awarded a Mining Lease in October 2023, an EPA Permit in September 2024, and a Mine Operating Permit in October 2024.
Having secured all of the permits required to begin construction, Atlantic Lithium currently awaits parliamentary ratification of the Ewoyaa Mining Lease, which was issued by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources in October 2023.
The JORC mineral resource estimate at Ewoyaa now stands at 36.8 million tons (Mt) at 1.24 percent lithium oxide, 81 of which is now in the higher confidence measured and indicated categories (3.7 Mt at 1.37 percent lithium oxide in the measured category, 26.1 Mt at 1.24 percent lithium oxide in the indicated category, and 7 Mt at 1.15 percent lithium oxide in the Inferred category).
The residents of the project-affected communities in Ghana’s Central Region have voiced their strong support from the advancement of the project towards production.
Atlantic Lithium’s Ewoyaa Lithium Project site
Project Funding
The development of the project is co-funded under an agreement with NASDAQ and ASX-listed Piedmont Lithium (ASX: PLL), under which Piedmont is required to contribute the first US$70m of Development Costs, as defined in the agreement, as sole funding to complete its earn-in to 50% of Atlantic Lithium's ownership of the project, with all Development Costs and other project expenditure equally shared by both Atlantic Lithium and Piedmont thereafter.
In accordance with the agreement, which is intended to result in the construction of the project and the achievement of initial spodumene production, Piedmont will earn the rights to 50 percent of all spodumene concentrate produced at Ewoyaa at market rates, providing a route to consumers through several major battery manufacturers, including Tesla.
The Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), Ghana’s minerals sovereign wealth fund, has also agreed to invest US$27.9 million at project-level to acquire a 6% contributing interest in the project and Atlantic Lithium’s Ghana Portfolio. The project-level investment represents Stage 2 of its Strategic Investment in the company.
This follows Stage 1 of its Strategic Investment, comprising MIIF’s Subscription for US$5 million Atlantic Lithium shares, which was completed in January 2024, resulting in MIIF becoming a major strategic shareholder in the company.
MIIF’s Strategic Investment is intended to expedite the development of the project towards production.
In addition, noting that Ewoyaa is one of the most advanced undeveloped hard rock lithium projects globally, Atlantic Lithium continues to engage with parties across the battery metals supply chain who express inbound interest in lithium products from Ewoyaa.
In doing so, Atlantic Lithium aims to expedite and de-risk the development of the Project, realise attractive terms for any offtake contracted and secure well-credentialled partners that will support the company's and Ghana's objectives of supplying lithium into the global market.
Ghana
Ghana is a well-established mining region with access to reliable, existing infrastructure and a significant mining workforce. There are currently 16 operating mines in the country.
Already the largest taxpayer and employer in Ghana’s Central Region, Atlantic Lithium is expected to provide direct employment to over 900 personnel at Ewoyaa and, through its community development fund, whereby 1 percent of revenues will be allocated to local initiatives, will deliver long-lasting benefits to the region and Ghana.
Through its proven lithium discovery, exploration and evaluation methodologies, Atlantic Lithium has the potential to capitalise on its extensive exploration portfolio and deliver upon its objectives of becoming a leading producer of lithium in West Africa.
Company Highlights
- A lithium exploration and development company operating in West Africa, Atlantic Lithium is set to deliver its flagship Ewoyaa Lithium Project as Ghana’s first lithium-producing mine.
- The June 2023 definitive feasibility study for the Ewoyaa Lithium Project indicates the production of 3.6 Mt of spodumene concentrate over a 12-year mine life (steady state production of 365,000 tonnes per annum), making it one of the largest mines by production capacity globally.
- The project was awarded a Mining Lease in October 2023, an EPA Permit in September 2024, and a Mine Operating Permit in October 2024. The project is funded under a co-development agreement with Piedmont Lithium.
- The DFS confirms Ewoyaa’s robust commercial viability and profitability potential, driven by the project’s low capital and operating cost profile.
- The project has an updated mineral resource estimate of 36.8 Mt at 1.24 percent lithium oxide.
- Atlantic Lithium holds a portfolio of lithium projects within 509 sq km and 774 sq km of granted and under-application tenure across Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire respectively.
Key Assets
Ewoyaa
Atlantic Lithium's flagship Ewoyaa Lithium Project is situated within 110 kilometres of Takoradi Port and 100 kilometres of Accra, with access to excellent infrastructure and a skilled local workforce.
Atlantic Lithium has been granted a Mining Lease, an EPA Permit and a Mine Operating Permit in respect of the project in October 2023, September 2024 and October 2024, respectively. The company is currently advancing the project towards production.
Highlights:
- Promising DFS Results: Atlantic Lithium's DFS reaffirmed Ewoyaa’s low capital and operating profile and robust profitability. Highlights include:
- Estimated 12-year life of mine, producing 3.6 Mt spodumene concentrate.
- 365 ktpa steady state production
- Robust US$675/t All in sustaining cost and US$377 C1 cash cost.
- Favourable Location: The project's starter pits are positioned within one kilometre of its processing plant. Additionally, Ewoyaa has access to reliable existing infrastructure, located within 800 metres from the N1 highway and adjacent to grid power.
- Promising Reserves: Ewoyaa's current mineral resource estimate (as of July 2024) at is 36.8 Mt at 1.24 percent lithium oxide, of which 81 percent is now in the higher confidence measured and indicated categories (3.7 Mt at 1.37 percent lithium oxide in the measured category, and 26.1 Mt at 1.24 percent lithium oxide in the indicated category, and 7 Mt at 1.15 percent lithium in the inferred category).
- Potential for Further Exploration: There remains significant exploration potential within the company’s 509km2 tenure in Ghana.
- Strong Partnerships: Atlantic Lithium has an offtake deal with Piedmont Lithium, which itself has offtake agreements with both Tesla and LG Chem. Ghana’s Minerals Income Investment Fund has also agreed a Strategic Investment in the company to expedite the development of the project.
- Positive Presence: Atlantic Lithium will generate significant economic benefits for the region. Once operational, the project is expected to employ over 900 personnel and deliver significant value to Ghana, including through taxes, royalties, employment and local procurement.
Côte d'Ivoire
Atlantic Lithium wholly owns two contiguous exploration licences covering an area of c. 771 square kilometres in the mining-friendly jurisdiction of Côte d'Ivoire, which borders Ghana on the West African coast. The two licences offer the company with exclusive rights to apply its proven lithium exploration expertise over new, untested and highly prospective tenure, where the company considers there to be significant lithium discovery potential. The licences, which are located within 100 kilometres of the country's economic capital, Abidjan, are incredibly well-served, with extensive road infrastructure, well-established cellular network and high-voltage transmission lines.
Management Team
Neil Herbert - Executive Chairman
Neil Herbert is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and has over 30 years of experience in finance. He has been involved in growing mining and oil and gas companies, both as an executive and as an investor, for over 25 years.
Until May 2013, he was co-chairman and managing director of AIM-quoted Polo Resources, a natural resources investment company. Prior to this, Herbert was a director of resource investment company Galahad Gold, from which he became finance director of its most successful investment, the start-up uranium company UraMin, from 2005 to 2007. During this period, he worked to float the company on AIM and the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2006, raised US$400 million in equity financing and subsequently negotiated the sale of the group for US$2.5 billion.
Herbert has held board positions at a number of resource companies where he has been involved in managing numerous acquisitions, disposals, stock market listings and fundraisings. He holds a joint honours degree in economics and economic history from the University of Leicester.
Keith Muller - Chief Executive Officer
Keith Muller is a mining engineer with over 20 years of operational and leadership experience across domestic and international mining, including in the lithium sector. He has a strong operational background in hard rock lithium mining and processing, particularly in DMS spodumene processing.
Before joining Atlantic Lithium, he held roles as both a business leader and general manager at Allkem, where he worked on the Mt Cattlin lithium mine in Western Australia and, prior to that, Muller served as operations manager and senior mining engineer at Simec.
Muller holds a Master of Mining Engineering from the University of New South Wales and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Pretoria. He is also a member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland, and the Engineering Council of South Africa.
Amanda Harsas - Finance Director and Company Secretary
Amanda Harsas is a senior finance executive with a demonstrable track record and over 25 years’ experience in strategic finance, business transformation, commercial finance, customer and supplier negotiations and capital management. Before joining Atlantic Lithium, she worked in several sectors, including healthcare, insurance, retail and professional services, across Asia, Europe and the U.S. Harsas holds a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology, Sydney and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Kieran Daly - Non-executive Director
Kieran Daly is the executive of Growth and Strategic Development at Assore. He holds a BSc Mining Engineering from Camborne School of Mines (1991) and an MBA from Wits Business School (2001) and worked in investment banking/equity research for more than 10 years at UBS, Macquarie and Investec, prior to joining Assore in 2018.
Daly spent the first 15 years of his mining career at Anglo American’s coal division (Anglo Coal) in a number of international roles including operations, sales and marketing, strategy and business development. Among his key roles were leading and developing Anglo Coal's marketing efforts in Asia and to steel industry customers globally. He was also the Global Head of Strategy for Anglo Coal immediately prior to leaving Anglo in 2007.
Christelle Van Der Merwe - Non-executive Director
Christelle Van Der Merwe is a senior manager in the growth & strategic development team at Assore. She has been a geologist for Assore since 2013 and is involved with the strategic and resource investment decisions of the company. Van Der Merwe is a member of SACNASP, the GSSA and AUSIMM.
Jonathan Henry - Independent Non-executive Director
Jonathan Henry is an experienced non-executive director, having held various leadership and board roles for nearly two decades. Henry has significant expertise working across capital markets, business development, project financing, key stakeholder engagement, and the reporting and implementation of ESG-focused initiatives. Henry has a wealth of experience projects towards production and commercialisation to deliver shareholder value.
Henry previously served as non-executive chair and executive chair of Giyani Metals Corporation, a battery development company advancing its portfolio of manganese oxide projects in Botswana, executive chair and non-executive director at Ormonde Mining, non-executive director at Ashanti Gold Corporation, president, director and chief executive officer at Gabriel Resources and various roles, including chief executive officer and managing director, at Avocet Mining. He holds a BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Dublin.
Michael Bourguignon – Head of Capital Projects
Michael Bourguignon is a distinguished project management professional with a rich history of leading significant initiatives in the mining and energy sectors. Most recently, he served as the COO at Evolution Energy Minerals in Tanzania, where he managed the optimisation and update of the Definitive Feasibility Study, managed the Front-End Engineering Design package, and oversaw the completion of the Relocation Action Plan and other community-related works.
Prior to this, Bourguignon worked with Rio Tinto in Australia as a consulting construction manager, as well as Glencore’s Mopani Copper Mines in Zambia, where he was the project director for the Mopani Synclinorium Concentrator, and Syrah’s Balama Graphite Mine in Mozambique, where he was project director. He has also previously worked in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire with Perseus Mining. Bourguignon holds an MBA from Murdoch University and is a member of the Australian Institute of Project Management.
Andrew Henry – General Manager, Commercial and Finance
Andrew Henry is an accomplished general manager with over a decade’s experience in the operational mining sector, specialising in strategy, planning and analysis, contracts, large-scale project development and site operations.
Before joining Atlantic Lithium, Henry held the role of commercial manager at global lithium chemicals company Allkem and, prior to that, he spent over four years with major gold mining company Newcrest Mining.
Henry holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of South Australia and is a member of CPA Australia.
Ahmed-Salim Adam – General Manager, Operations
Ahmed-Salim Adam is an experienced mining general manager with over 15 years of experience leading various large-scale projects in Ghana across all stages of mine development, production, and closure, with a focus on safety and sustainability.
Adam has previously held a number of leadership roles, including as senior consultant of Metallurgy at GEOMAN Consult Ltd, as a director for FGR Bogoso Prestea’s Refractory Project and as general manager at Golden Star Resources.
He holds a MPhil Minerals Engineering and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Mineral Engineering, both from the University of Mines and Technology, Ghana. He is also a member of The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) in the United Kingdom and the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) in Australia.
Belinda Gethin – General Manager, Corporate Finance and Company Secretary
Belinda assumed the role of general manager, corporate - finance and company secretary in January 2024, having initially joined the company as financial reporting manager in June 2023. To her role at Atlantic Lithium, Gethin brings a wealth of experience in all aspects of statutory, financial and corporate reporting, including the preparation of financial statements and accounting for complex transactions. Before joining Atlantic Lithium, Gethin worked as the chief financial officer for Lumus Imaging and, prior to that, as the group reporting manager at Healius. Gethin is a chartered accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from UNSW in Sydney, Australia.
Iwan Williams – General Manager, Exploration
Iwan Williams is an exploration geologist with over 20 years' experience across a broad range of commodities, principally iron ore, manganese, gold, copper (porphyry and sed. hosted), PGE's, nickel and other base metals, as well as chromitite, phosphates, coal and diamond.
Williams has extensive southern and West African experience and has worked in Central and South America. His experience includes all aspects of exploration management, project generation, opportunity reviews, due diligence and mine geology. He has extensive studies experience, having participated in the delivery of multiple project studies including resource, mine design criteria, baseline environmental and social studies and metallurgical test-work programmes. He is very familiar with working in Afric,a having spent 23 years of his 28-year geological career in Africa. Williams is a graduate of the University of Liverpool.
Abdul Razak – Exploration Manager, Ghana
Abdul Razak has extensive exploration, resource evaluation and project management experience throughout West Africa with a strong focus on data-rich environments. He has extensive gold experience, having worked throughout Ghana with AngloGold Ashanti, Goldfields Ghana, Perseus and Golden Star, as well as international exploration and resource evaluation experience in Burkina Faso, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Guinea.
Razak is an integral member of the team, managing all site activities including drilling, laboratory, local teams, geotech and hydro, community consultations and stakeholder engagements and was instrumental inthe establishment of the current development team and defining Ghana’s maiden lithium resource estimate.
