The Conversation (0)
January 22, 2023
Critical Resources Limited (ASX:CRR) (“Critical Resources” or “the Company”) is pleased to provide an update on metallurgical test work being undertaken by SGS Canada (“SGS”).
Highlights:
- Metallurgical test work program began in October 2022, to determine the suitability of spodumene from the Mavis Lake Lithium Project for dense media separation processing
- Test work is being performed on samples that provide spatial representation across the Mavis Lake Main Zone
- Samples have been assayed for head-grade lithium content, delivering 1.2% Li2O (representative) and 1.6% Li2O (high-grade) composites
- First concentrate was produced by simple heavy liquid separation, followed by magnetic separation
- Assays to determine concentrate grade and recovery/yield estimates due in March
- Test work is being conducted concurrently with a fully funded 20,000 meter drilling campaign at Mavis Lake
Test Work Program
To support a future scoping study, the Company commissioned SGS to conduct basic heavy liquid separation (HLS) and magnetic separation test work program. The purpose of the test work is to determine the amenability of Mavis Lake Spodumene for dense media separation (DMS) processing. Mineralogical assessments will also be undertaken to better understand the presence and impact of deleterious minerals on final product quality and the mineralogical drivers of DMS processing efficacy.
In designing the sample suite for the test work program, focus was placed on representing the known Mavis Lake mineralised zone as accurately as possible. A total of 50 quarter and half core samples, from seven drill holes, were selected to provide a wide range of spatial locations, lithia grades, lithologies, spodumene intersection depths and also account for typical mining dilution. Details of drill core used to prepare the representative samples can be seen in Appendix 1.The samples were delivered to SGS and compiled to create two composites, being a representative grade composite (SGS assays confirmed 1.2% Li2O) and a high-grade composite (SGS assays confirmed 1.6% Li2O).First Concentrate
The Company received confirmation from SGS that the first series of test work has been completed on the high-grade composite. Test work on the representative-grade composite is due to commence shortly. Once all test work has been completed, final products will be assayed to determine concentrate grade, impurity profile and recovery/yield estimates.
Future Work
The current test work program will continue through to mid-February, with final results expected to be made available to the Company towards the end of Q1 CY23.
The test work program is a key step towards initial scoping study work for the Mavis Lake Project, the Company will provide further updates on the next phase of development in the coming weeks.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Critical Resources Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
CRR:AU
01 August
Albemarle Swings to Profit, Lowers Spending Amid Prolonged Lithium Slump
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) is cutting costs and investment plans as it adjusts to lithium price weakness, even as demand from the electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage sectors holds up better than expected.
The major lithium miner reported a Q2 profit of US$22.9 million, a significant turnaround from the US$188.2 million loss it posted a year ago. While total revenue fell 7 percent to US$1.33 billion, the figure still came in ahead of Wall Street’s US$1.22 billion estimate, buoyed by cost management and stronger-than-expected results in its specialties division.
“Our job is just to keep working on the things that are in our control, because we don’t really have a clear line of sight to where pricing is going,” CFO Neal Sheorey told investors on Thursday (July 31).
Sheorey said Albemarle has reached its US $400 million annualized cost-savings and productivity target, citing measures such as supply chain restructuring and improved operations at lithium conversion and mining sites.
The company now expects to spend between US$650 million and US$700 million in capital expenditures for the full year, narrowing its previous guidance of US$700 million to US$800 million.
With lower spending and continued operational execution, Albemarle said it expects to achieve positive free cash flow for 2025 — so long as current lithium prices, which have hovered around US$9 per kilogram, persist.
Lithium prices down, but demand remains resilient
Lithium prices have come off historic highs seen from 2021 to 2022.
But that surge spurred rapid supply growth, and by late 2022, the market entered a surplus. Prices have since declined sharply and now sit near levels that are not considered economically viable for many new or greenfield projects.
Despite the pricing downturn, Sheorey emphasized that demand for lithium has not collapsed.
During the company’s earnings call, he maintained that demand has held up better than expected this year, pointing to robust growth in China and Europe that is offsetting a more subdued US market.
“The outlook in North America is less certain, particularly in the United States due to the potential impact of tariffs and the removal of the 30D tax credit in September,” Sheorey said.
He added that the US accounts for only about 10 percent of global EV sales.
In contrast, EV sales in China rose 41 percent year-to-date, including a 44 percent jump in battery EVs spurred by recent subsidies, while Europe also showed double-digit growth.
Still, Sheorey cautioned that pricing remains under pressure. “We continue to expect the full-year EBITDA margin [for energy storage] to average in the mid-20 percent range assuming our $9 per kilogram price scenario,”
According to Albemarle’s internal analysis, the market could return to balance as early as next year if current price levels persist. “New project development has begun to slow, while demand continues to be robust,” the company said. It estimates that demand growth could outstrip supply growth by up to 10 percent per year between 2024 and 2030.
Much of the company’s current optimism stems from performance at its integrated production and processing facilities, particularly due to strong volumes from Albemarle’s Wodgina mine and the Salar yield improvement project.
With lithium demand expected to more than double by 2030, Albemarle is betting that its investments in operational excellence and global reach will pay off once the market stabilizes.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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30 July
Quarterly Activities Report and Appendix 5B
29 July
Top 5 Canadian Lithium Stocks of 2025
As the global push toward electrification accelerates, lithium remains a critical piece of the energy transition.
Continued oversupply remained a persistent headwind for lithium prices through the first half of 2025. Demand for the battery metal jumped 29 percent year-over-year in 2024, fueled by surging electric vehicle sales and rising power needs from sectors like data centers and heavy industry.
Fastmarket’s analysts expect lithium demand to grow 12 percent annually through 2030, supported by structural trends such as renewable energy integration and battery energy storage.
However, a rapid increase in global supply — particularly from China, Australia and South America — has driven prices to multi-year lows, raising concerns about project economics and the sustainability of new production.
Against this backdrop, Canadian lithium stocks are gaining attention as investors look for companies positioned to benefit from long-term demand growth while navigating short-term price pressure.
The Investing News Network breaks down the top-performing Canadian lithium stocks of 2025 for investors below. This list was created on July 22, 2025, using TradingView's stock screener, and all data was current at that time. Only companies with market caps above C$10 million for the TSX and TSXV and above C$5 million for the CSE are included.
1. NOA Lithium Brines (TSXV:NOAL)
Year-to-date gain: 58.82 percent
Market cap: C$488.32 million
Share price: C$0.30
NOA is a lithium exploration and development company with three projects in Argentina’s Lithium Triangle region. The company’s flagship Rio Grande project and prospective Arizaro and Salinas Grandes land packages total more than 140,000 hectares.
As NOA works to advance its flagship asset, the company brought on Hatch in April to lead the preliminary economic assessment (PEA).
The PEA will evaluate the project's economic and development potential with a target production of 20,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) annually, with a scalable plant design that could double capacity to 40,000 metric tons per year.
NOA has also been working to secure a water source in the arid region through a drilling program targeting fresh water. In late June, the company discovered a fresh water source at the project, located near high-grade lithium zones in the project's northeast area. According to the company, the location means the water source could support future production facilities or evaporation ponds.
The well, drilled to 190 meters in the northern part of the property, is being tested and developed.
Shares of NOA reached a year-to-date high C$0.425 on July 17, 2025.
2. Wealth Minerals (TSXV:WML)
Year-to-date gain: 40 percent
Market cap: C$23.93 million
Share price: C$0.07
Wealth Minerals is focused on the acquisition and development of lithium projects in Chile, including the Yapuckuta project in Chile’s Salar de Atacama, as well as the Kuska Salar and Pabellón projects near the Salar de Ollagüe.
Wealth Minerals’ shares spiked to a year-to-date high of C$0.095 on February 9, 2025, following the company’s acquisition of the Pabellón project.
According to Wealth, Pabellón has been shortlisted by Chile’s Ministry of Mining as a potential site for a Special Lithium Operation Contract based on its geological and environmental suitability. Located in Northern Chile near the Bolivia border, the project spans 7,600 hectares across 26 exploration licenses about 70 kilometers south of the Salar de Ollagüe.
In May, Wealth formed a joint venture with the Quechua Indigenous Community of Ollagüe to advance the Kuska project. The new entity, Kuska Minerals SpA, is 95 percent owned by Wealth and 5 percent by the community, which also holds anti-dilution rights and a seat on the five-member board.
3. Avalon Advanced Materials (TSX:AVL)
Year-to-date gain: 37.5 percent
Market cap: C$38.26 million
Share price: C$0.055
Avalon Advanced Materials is a Canadian mineral development company focusing on integrating the Ontario lithium supply chain. Avalon is developing the Separation Rapids and Snowbank lithium projects near Kenora, Ontario, and the Lilypad lithium-cesium project near Fort Hope, Ontario.
Separation Rapids and Lilypad are part of a 40/60 joint venture between Avalon and SCR Sibelco, with Sibelco serving as the operator.
Avalon started the year with a revised mineral resource estimate for the Separation Rapids project, which boosted resources in the measured and indicated category by 28 percent.
Company shares rose to C$0.07, a year-to-date high, on July 15, the day after Avalon released its results for its fiscal quarter ended May 31.
A week later, Avalon announced an additional C$1.3 million in funding through its C$15 million convertible security agreement with Lind Global Fund II. The drawdown, expected to close within two weeks, will support project development and general corporate needs, according to the company.
4. Frontier Lithium (TSXV:FL)
Year-to-date gain: 20 percent
Market cap: C$125.41 million
Share price: C$0.54
Pre-production mining company Frontier Lithium aims to be a strategic and integrated supplier of premium spodumene concentrates as well as battery-grade lithium salts in North America.
The company's flagship PAK lithium project, which is a joint venture with Mitsubishi (TSE:8058), holds the “largest land position and resource” in a premium lithium mineral district located in the Great Lakes region of Ontario, Canada. Frontier also owns the Spark deposit, located northwest of the PAK project.
Shares of Frontier Lithium reached a year-to-date high of C$0.79 on March 4. The stock uptick coincided with a government release reporting the federal and provincial governments supported the company's plans to build a critical minerals refinery in Northern Ontario.
Once complete, the proposed lithium conversion facility will process lithium from the PAK mine project into approximately 20,000 metric tons of lithium salts per year.
In late May, Frontier released a definitive feasibility study for the mine and mill segment of its PAK project. The study outlines a 31 year mine life with average production of 200,000 metric tons of spodumene concentrate. As for the economics, it projects net revenue of C$11 billion, an after-tax NPV of C$932 million and a 17.9 percent internal rate of return.
5. Century Lithium (TSXV:LCE)
Year-to-date gain: 17.31 percent
Market cap: C$51.58 million
Share price: C$0.30
US-focused Century Lithium is currently advancing its Angel Island lithium project in Esmeralda County, Nevada. The company is also engaged in the pilot testing phase at its on-site lithium extraction facility, which will process material from the lithium-bearing claystone deposit.
On May 6, Century Lithium announced the successful completion of testwork on the direct lithium extraction (DLE) process at its demonstration plant.
The results exceeded expectations, showing 91.6 percent lithium recovery and an eluate grade of 575 milligrams per liter (mg/L) from a 328 mg/L lithium concentrate feed. The company says these improvements could significantly reduce capital and operating costs at its Angel Island project.
Shares of Century Lithium registered a year-to-date high of C$0.49 on May 19.
Recently, the company participated in First Phosphate’s (CSE:PHOS,OTCQB:FRSPF) successful production of commercial-grade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) 18650 battery cells.
As noted in the press release, the cells were made using North America-sourced materials, including lithium carbonate from Century’s Angel Island project in Nevada that was processed at its demonstration plant alongside high-purity phosphoric acid and iron from First Phosphate’s Bégin-Lamarche project in Québec, Canada.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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24 July
Top 3 US Lithium Stocks of 2025
As the global economy shifts toward electrification and clean energy, lithium has emerged as a cornerstone of the energy transition, and the US is racing to secure its place in the supply chain.
Lithium-ion batteries are no longer just critical to electric vehicles (EVs); they're becoming vital across sectors to stabilize power systems, particularly amid growing reliance on intermittent renewables.
According to Fastmarkets, demand for battery energy storage systems (BESS) is accelerating, driven by data centers, which have seen electricity consumption grow 12 percent annually since 2017.
In the US, where data infrastructure is heavily clustered, BESS demand from data centers alone could make up a third of the market by 2030, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 35 percent.
As the US works to expand domestic production and reduce import dependence, policy uncertainty, including potential rollbacks of EV tax credits and clean energy incentives, clouds the investment outlook.
Against this backdrop, the Investing News Network has created an overview of the top-performing US lithium stocks on the NYSE and NASDAQ. This list was created on July 22, 2025, using TradingView's stock screener, and all data was current at that time. Only companies with market caps above C$10 million were considered.
1. Sociedad Química y Minera (NYSE:SQM)
Year-to-date gain: 10.43 percent
Market cap: US$10.82 billion
Share price: US$40.64
SQM is a major global lithium producer, with operations centered in Chile’s Salar de Atacama. The company extracts lithium from brine and produces lithium carbonate and hydroxide for use in batteries.
SQM is expanding production and holds interests in projects in Australia and China.
Shares of SQM reached a year-to-date high of US$45.61 on March 17, 2025. The spike occurred a few weeks after the company released its 2024 earnings report, which highlighted record sales volumes in the lithium and iodine segments. However, low lithium prices weighed on revenue from the segment, and the company's reported net profit was pulled down significantly due to a large accounting adjustment related to income tax.
In late April, Chile’s competition watchdog approved the partnership agreement between SQM and state-owned copper giant Codelco aimed at boosting output at the Atacama salt flat. The deal, first announced in 2024, reached another milestone when it secured approval for an additional lithium quota from Chile's nuclear energy regulator CChEN.
Weak lithium prices continued to weigh on profits, with the company reporting a 4 percent year-over-year decrease in total revenues for Q1 2025.
2. Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC)
Year-to-date gain: 9.67 percent
Market cap: US$719.1 million
Share price: US$3.29
Lithium Americas is developing its flagship Thacker Pass project in Northern Nevada, US. The project is a joint venture between Lithium Americas at 62 percent and General Motors (NYSE:GM) at 38 percent.
According to the firm, Thacker Pass is the “largest known measured lithium resource and reserve in the world.”
Early in the year, Lithium Americas saw its share rally to a year-to-date high of US$3.49 on January 16, coinciding with a brief rally in lithium carbonate prices.
In March, Lithium Americas secured US$250 million from Orion Resource Partners to advance Phase 1 construction of Thacker Pass. The funding is expected to fully cover development costs through the construction phase. On April 1, the joint venture partners made a final investment decision for the project, with completion targeted for late 2027.
Other notable announcements this year included a new at-the-market equity program, allowing the company to sell up to US$100 million in common shares.
3. Lithium Argentina (NYSE:LAR)
Year-to-date gain: 8.46 percent
Market cap: US$467.28 million
Share price: US$2.90
Lithium Argentina produces lithium carbonate from its Caucharí-Olaroz brine project in Argentina, developed with Ganfeng Lithium (OTC Pink:GNENF,HKEX:1772).
The company is also advancing additional regional lithium assets to support EV and battery demand.
Previously named Lithium Americas (Argentina), the company was spun out from Lithium Americas in October 2023.
While shares of Lithium Argentina spiked in early January to a year-to-date high of US$3.10, the share price has been trending higher since June 19 to its current US$2.90 value.
Notable news from the company this year includes its name and ticker change and corporate migration to Switzerland in late January and the release of the full-year 2024 results in March.
In mid-April, Lithium Argentina executed a letter of intent with Ganfeng Lithium to jointly advance development across the Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes basins in Argentina. The plan includes a project fully owned by Ganfeng as well as two jointly held assets majority-owned by Lithium Argentina.
The company released its Q1 results on May 15, reporting a 15 percent quarter-over-quarter production reduction, which it attributed to planned shutdowns aimed at increasing recoveries and reducing costs.
Overall, the production guidance for 2025 is forecasted at 30,000 to 35,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate, reflecting higher expected production volumes in the second half of the year.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, currently hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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24 July
EUR Sells 0.5m CRML Shares for U$1.8m (A$2.7m)
21 July
Lithium Market Update: Q2 2025 in Review
The second quarter of 2025 brought more downward pressure for lithium prices, as values for lithium carbonate continued to contract, slipping to their lowest level since January 2021.
After starting the year at US$10,484.37 per metric ton, battery-grade lithium carbonate rose to a year-to-date high of US$10,853.85 on January 27. Prices sank through Q1 and most of Q2, bottoming at US$8,329.08 on June 24.
Lithium hydroxide followed a similar trajectory, with Fastmarkets analysts noting an 89 percent drop in prices for battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate between 2022 and 2025.
“The lithium industry is definitely navigating a period of complexity,” said Paul Lusty, head of battery raw materials at Fastmarkets, at Fastmarkets' Lithium Supply & Battery Raw Materials conference in June.
“We're facing headwinds, no doubt, and we're also seeing quite a lot of negative or bearish sentiment widespread in the market, and I think at times, it's amplified by voices that really overlooked the phenomenal levels of demand that we're seeing in many aspects of the market.”
However, Lusty explained that despite facing a multi-quarter price slump, lithium’s long-term drivers remain robust, and are primarily driven by what he described as “mega trends.”
“The fundamentals are really still very strong, and these are anchored in some very powerful, mega trends that we see developing within the global economy; the urgent drive for climate change mitigation, the once in a generational shift in the global energy system, and also the rise of energy intensive technologies such as artificial intelligence,” he said.
Chinese expansions behind lithium oversupply
Although the long-term outlook for lithium remains positive, oversupply and market saturation have added headwinds during the first half of 2025. Demand, particularly from the electric vehicle (EV) sector, remains strong, but global lithium mine supply has outpaced it, rising by an estimated 22 percent in 2024 alone.
“We're forecasting similar year on year increases for both 2025 and 2026 equivalent to around 260,000 tons of additional (lithium carbonate) alone just this year,” explained Fastmarkets' Lusty.
“Chinese producers have been particularly aggressive in terms of expanding capacity.” Australia, Argentina and Chile are also driving growth alongside emerging producers like Brazil, and several African nations.
According to data from the US Geological Survey, mined supply from China increased 14.85 percent from 35,700 metric tons in 2023 to 41,000 in 2024, however an asterisk notes that the tallies are estimates, and exact numbers may be “withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data.”
For Fastmarkets, the total is likely higher.
“China has rapidly expanded its mining footprint, boosting domestic lithium output by 55 percent since 2023 and is on track to surpass Australia as the world’s top producer by 2026," said Lusty. “One of the most notable developments has been the rise of African supply that we started to see over the last two years,” said Lusty.
Africa’s emerging role in the lithium sector
The importance of African supply to the future lithium market was also the topic at Claudia Cook’s presentation, "The Lithium Market Shift: China’s and Africa’s Role in Redefining Supply."
During the 20 minute overview Cook explained that China is increasingly looking to African hard-rock lithium supply to provide feedstock for the country’s growing chemical segment.
So much so that by 2030 18 percent of global hard-rock lithium supply will originate from the continent.
Additionally, the continent will see a 170 percent uptick in hard-rock lithium supply output between 2025 and 2035, according to Cook, who attributes the massive expansion to China’s need to diversify its lithium sources due to domestic supply constraints. To facilitate this demand, China has invested heavily in African production.
“In 2025, 79 percent of African output will be China owned,” she said. “That percentage reduces down to 65 percent in 2035 however, with the increase in tonnage, even though there's a reduction in percentage, there'll be an almost doubling in terms of how much that's actually being put out.”
Regionally, Cook pointed to Zimbabwe and Mali as the country’s poised to see the most growth.
In 2025, Zimbabwe alone is expected to account for 70 percent of African lithium supply, though its share is projected to fall to 43 percent by 2035 as new countries come online.
Despite that shift, African output overall is set to rise significantly, with nations like the DRC, Ethiopia, and Namibia expected to begin production by 2035, said Cook.
Lithium demand surges, but prices lag
The rapid increase in supply has pushed prices to multi year lows, levels that are unsustainable and fail to incentivize new production. Despite this demand remains strong and is expected to grow.
According to the US Geological Survey, global consumption of lithium in 2024 was estimated to be 220,000 tons, a 29 percent increase from revised consumption of 170,000 tons in 2023.
Much of the demand story is attributed to soaring global EV sales, which were up 35 percent in Q1. Lithium consumption in this segment is projected to grow 12 percent annually through 2030.
“Globally, electric car sales this year are forecast to surpass about 20 million units in 2025 representing more than a quarter of all cars sold,” said Lusty.
Future lithium demand remains underpinned by deep structural shifts in global energy consumption.
“We’re witnessing extraordinary battery demand tied to the electrification of the global economy and the rise of renewable energy,” said Lustyt, pointing to surging electricity needs and the increasing role of storage solutions.
In 2024, global electricity demand rose by over 4 percent, adding 1,100 terawatt-hours to the grid, more than Japan’s total annual consumption. This marks the largest year-on-year increase outside post-recession rebounds and reflects broad trends such as greater electricity access, the proliferation of energy-intensive appliances, the expansion of artificial intelligence and data centers, and the shift to electric-powered heavy manufacturing.
Notably, 95 percent of future demand growth is expected to be met by renewables like solar and wind, further boosting the need for battery energy storage systems (BESS) to manage intermittency and stabilize grids.
“Batteries are now essential — not just for EVs, but to balance power systems across sectors,” Lusty added.
Data centers, in particular, are becoming a key growth driver. Since 2017, their electricity use has grown 12 percent annually, according to Fastmarkets, with the US seeing half its centers concentrated in five regional hubs.
By 2030, BESS demand from data centers alone could represent a third of the market, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 35 percent over the next five years.
Overall, lithium demand is forecast to grow 12 percent annually through 2030, underpinned by EV adoption, renewable integration, and digitalization. While China currently accounts for 60 percent of global demand, that dominance is expected to wane as other regions scale up.
“The long-term fundamentals remain intact,” he said, “and it's hard to envision a future where lithium isn’t central to the global economy.”
What's next for lithium in 2025?
After June saw prices slip to year-to-date lows, lithium saw a brief uptick in early July amid speculation about supply cuts from Australian miners Mineral Resources (ASX:MN,OTC Pink:MALRF) and Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR,OTC Pink:LINRF). However, gains were reversed after the rumors were denied.
In the US, policy uncertainty continues to weigh on sentiment. A rollback of EV tax credits under the Trump administration could spark a short-term sales bump, but longer-term support appears fragile.
New fair competition rules in China, aimed at curbing downstream dumping, have fueled speculation about broader impacts. While upstream effects are unclear, the policy contributed to July’s brief price rise.
“The nascency of the lithium market means that it is prone to be led by sentiment,” wrote Cook in a monthly update.
"We have especially seen this at play this month as prices ticked up momentarily mainly from rumors of supply cuts, highlighting how twitchy and reactive the market currently is," she continued.
"These rumors have since been denied … However, with healthy inventory levels and continued ramp-up of production, the reported supply cuts, even if they proved true, may not be enough to dip the market into a deficit.”
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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