Koby Kushner: Lithium Just Getting Started, Here's How I'm Positioning

The lithium sector remains hot despite a retreat in prices, but for Koby Kushner it's still early days.

Speaking to the Investing News Network at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention, he shared his thoughts on supply and demand dynamics, noting that supply shows no signs of catching up with demand just yet.

"The fundamental issue is that we have been investing in the wrong side of the market. So we started off wanting (electric vehicles), and then it's like now we need batteries, now we need lithium chemicals and then the resource came very last," he said.

He sees two big opportunities when it comes to lithium stocks, the first of which is grassroots exploration.

Kushner pointed out that the explosion in lithium demand is a recent phenomenon, meaning that historically companies haven't focused heavily on exploring for the commodity — it's been produced at lower levels and in some cases as a by-product.

"What I'm getting at is that we didn't deliberately explore for lithium, and now we need to put dollars into grassroots lithium exploration. So that's one opportunity that I see," he explained. "Because we don't actually know how hard lithium deposits are to find — we genuinely haven't done much of it before, we've only very recently started. So I think there's going to be plenty of discoveries to be made over the next couple years as we're finally seeing exploration dollars go into grassroots exploration."

The second opportunity he sees is direct lithium extraction (DLE). This new technology involves getting lithium out of brines without the need for evaporation, which reduces concerns about environmental impact.

"I think that there's a serious opportunity in DLE," said Kushner. "Your limiting factor is your deliverability, like what kind of flow rates can you get out of your wells. So if you're a hard-rock company and you want to scale up production, you're generally limited by the geology of your orebody. If you're an an evaporated brine company, you're limited by your evaporation rates, your pond footprint size; you have to be in a desert. With DLE, scaling up production can be a function of just drilling more wells."

He mentioned Latin Resources (ASX:LRS) as an example of an exploration play with potential, and said that Grounded Lithium (TSXV:GRD,OTCQB:GRDAF) is a DLE company that he likes.

Watch the interview above for more of Kushner's thoughts on lithium, from supply and demand to prices and how to invest. You can also click here for the Investing News Network's full PDAC playlist on YouTube.

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

Editorial Disclosure: Latin Resources is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.

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.