Overview

As the demand for clean technologies grows, so too does the demand for high-tech rechargeable batteries to power the green economy. However, the United States and the European Union’s current dependence on Japan, South Korea and China for 80 percent of the world’s battery production is threatening their auto industry. As the largest processor and producer of these battery materials, China alone can significantly influence pricing and supply chain flows.

The United States and the European Union are working to reduce dependence on these countries and restructure supply chains. Both regions have identified Canada as a secure and stable source of sustainable raw materials, such as lithium, which is critical to the growing electric vehicle market. As a result, mining companies with Canada-based projects that supply materials needed for high-tech rechargeable batteries such as lithium may be an interesting opportunity for investors to consider.

International Lithium delivers shareholder value through project development, strategic partnerships and project sales. The company’s projects include the Raleigh Lake and Avalonia projects.

The company’s flagship Raleigh Lake project is a wholly owned and highly prospective lithium, rubidium and caesium project in Ontario. Raleigh Lake spans 48,500 hectares adjacent to the Trans-Canada highway and CPR railway, just outside the town of Ignace, and features promising drill results. Drilling identified stacked tabular dyke-like bodies that gently dip from surface, covering an area of 600 meters along strike by 400 meters downdip with each dyke having grades akin to the 3.78-meter interval grading 1.72 percent lithium oxide and 2,829 parts per million (ppm) rubidium in drill hole RL21-03. Prospecting on newly acquired claims discovered 20 new pegmatites at surface level over several kilometers.

A positive preliminary economic assessment for Raleigh Lake, released in December 2023, shows an annual after-tax cash flow of C$634 million, NPV of C$342.9 million, IRR of 44.3 percent.

International Lithium’s Avalonia project is a joint venture lithium project located in Leinster, Ireland, spanning 29,200 hectares covering a 50-kilometer belt. Drilling on the Avalonia project returned 2.23 percent lithium oxide over 23.3 meters including 3.43 percent lithium oxide over 6 meters and 1.50 percent lithium oxide over 5.6 meters. The Avalonia project is currently under an option agreement. International Lithium currently owns 45 percent.

“International Lithium. is now in by far the strongest financial position that it has been since its listing in 2011, and we look forward to building successfully on that both at our lithium and rubidium project at Raleigh Lake in Ontario and on our other present and future projects,” said chairman and CEO John Wisbey.

In October 2021, the company sold its share in the Mavis Lake joint venture lithium and caesium project in Ontario to Critical Resources (ASX:CRR) with proceeds totaling C$1.48 million and a possible further C$1.38 million linked to resource discovery milestones.

The company also sold its remaining interest in the Mariana project in Argentina for US$13.17 million, which has placed International Lithium in a strong financial position to further increase its liquidity. In 2021 alone, the company raised C$4.9 million in equity financing.

International Lithium is currently focused on developing its flagship Raleigh project, but the company also continues to identify additional properties to grow its portfolio. In February 2024, International Lithium entered into an agreement to acquire 90 percent interest in the Firesteel project, a highly prospective grassroots copper and cobalt property in Northwestern Ontario, signaling an expansion of the company’s critical minerals portfolio. The company completed the purchase of the Firesteel property in May 2024 and has filed applications for permits to conduct the first drilling program at Firesteel targeting copper mineralization and test up to six distinct targets with up to 2,000 metres of core drilling.