Company Highlights
- 81,758-hectare lithium brine property in southeast Mongolia
- Holder of one of the largest mining licenses in Mongolia
- 25 percent of the company owned by management
- Lithium market boosted by rising electric vehicle and green energy demand
- Accomplished management team with extensive experience working with the Mongolian government
- Ion Energy entered into an exploration joint venture with Aranjin Resources ("Aranjin") (TSXV: ARJN) to grant one another reciprocal exploration rights to their respective exploration licences within Mongolia.
Overview
ION Energy Ltd. (TSXV:ION,OTC:IONGF) is a battery metal exploration company focusing on lithium exploration in southeast Mongolia. The company holds one of the largest mining licenses in Mongolia and is leveraging its first-mover advantage to explore an area of more than 80,000 hectares containing lithium brine and spodumene targets.
The global lithium market was worth US$2.86 billion in 2017 and is projected to grow to US$5.88 billion by the end of 2025, according to data by Adroit Market Research. Lithium’s growth is being driven by demand from the green energy and electric vehicle markets. Rising concern over global carbon emissions is leading to the rising adoption of renewable energy generation technologies including electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage technologies, all of which require massive amounts of battery metals like lithium, cobalt and nickel. The International Energy Agency projects the number of electric vehicles on the road to reach 125 million by 2030, with each one containing a large lithium-ion battery. Battery-producing megafactories, including Tesla’s famous giga-factories, are being built around the world, with 91 such facilities expected to be operational by 2028. Governments around the world, including the United States and Chinese governments, are working to secure supplies of battery metals to prepare for a green energy future.
The Mongolian government has granted ION Energy one of the largest exploration licenses in the country for the company’s Baavhai-Uul project in the Sukhbaatar province. The 81,758 hectare asset contains high-grade near-surface lithium brines of up to 810ppm with low potassium and magnesium ratios, which makes for better crystallization of the lithium hydroxide. ION Energy is the first company to be granted a license for this asset, which has never been mined previously. Previous exploration work has been conducted on the project by the Technical University of Mongolia and the Mongolian government.
ION Energy’s management team has extensive experience working with the Mongolian government, which has been largely supportive of mining exploration within the country. The Mongolian economy is largely commodity-based and is considered by the World Bank to be stable and growing. The country’s GDP reached US$13.01 billion in 2018 with a growth rate of approximately six percent. Mongolia enjoys social and political stability and offers a low cost of doing business for international miners. The country is equipped with high-quality and reliable mining and transportation infrastructure. Mongolia’s advantageous position in East Asia puts it close to major lithium markets like China, Korea, Japan and Russia.
The Mongolian government signed a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) with Canada in 2017. The agreement established a legal framework under which Canadian investors working in Mongolia are offered greater predictability and certainty for their investments.
The geology of Southeast Mongolia mirrors that the famed Lithium Triangle of South America. Like the Lithium Triangle, the region is an endorheic basin contained within a low precipitation zone.
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The information contained here is for information purposes only and is not to be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of securities. Readers should conduct their own research for all information publicly available concerning the company. Prior to making any investment decision, it is recommended that readers consult directly with Ion Energy and seek advice from a qualified investment advisor.