Top 9 Lithium Stocks of 2023 (Updated May 2023)

Year-to-date gain: 535.89 percent; market cap: US$279.36 million; current share price: US$41.46

Atlas Lithium is exploring for strategic minerals in Brazil. In addition to its hard-rock lithium projects — Minas Gerais and Northeastern Brazil — it is also looking for nickel, rare earths, titanium and graphite at its other properties. The company is focused on advancing and developing the Neves project area within its Minas Gerais asset, and plans to build a lithium processing plant where it will be able to produce up to 150,000 metric tons (MT) of lithium concentrate per year.

In January, Atlas Lithium signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsui (OTC Pink:MITSY,TSE:8031) under which Atlas will receive US$65 million in funding in tranches to advance its concentrate plant; for its part, Mitsui will obtain the rights to purchase 100 percent of the plant’s output.

After mostly staying below the US$10 mark early in the year, the company’s share price began climbing on February 21, eventually spiking all the way up to US$19.85 on February 23 and staying around that level in the following weeks.

Early April saw Atlas report its best drill hole to date: 4.4 percent lithium oxide at Minas Gerais’ Anitta pegmatite target within Neves. Anitta was discovered in February and is now the focus of drilling to delineate a resource in and around the target.

Atlas’ share price began climbing in mid-April, during which time the company shared details from a metallurgical report on lithium recoveries from Neves ore. Heavy liquid separation performed on the ore achieved a “very high grade of 7.22 percent,” according to the report. Dense media separation resulted in commercial-grade lithium concentrate grading 6.04 percent lithium with a recovery of 70 percent.

The company’s share price peaked on May 2 at US$41.46, the day it announced a royalty transaction with Lithium Royalty (TSX:LIRC,OTC Pink:LITRF). Atlas will receive an immediate US$20 million for a 3 percent gross overriding revenue royalty; the deal is currently Brazil’s largest lithium royalty agreement, per the release.

Year-to-date gain: 23.19 percent; market cap: US$1.01 billion; current share price: US$52.75

Based in the US state of North Carolina, Piedmont Lithium is focused on producing lithium hydroxide to provide companies with a source outside of China. To do so, Piedmont is advancing its fully integrated Carolina lithium project in North Carolina and is planning the largest US lithium hydroxide plant, which will be in Tennessee. The company received a US$141.7 million grant for the plant from the US government last year.

Piedmont has interests outside the US as well. In Quebec, Canada, Piedmont has a 25 percent interest in the Sayona Quebec joint venture with Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA,OTCQB:SYAXF). The two companies successfully restarted spodumene production at Sayona Quebec’s North American Lithium (NAL) project in March. In Ghana, Piedmont has an earn-in agreement for up to a 50 percent interest in Atlantic Lithium’s (ASX:A11,LSE:ALL,OTC Pink:ALLIF) lithium portfolio, including its flagship Ewoyaa project, which Piedmont plans to use to partially feed its Tennessee plant.

In mid-February, Piedmont announced that LG Chem (KRX:051910) was investing US$75 million in Piedmont, and that the battery maker had signed a four year offtake agreement for a total of 200,000 MT of spodumene from the NAL project; it will be used to create cathode materials that comply with the US Inflation Reduction Act. Piedmont's share price hit a year-to-date peak of US$73.46 on the news before moving back down in the following weeks.

In early March, Piedmont’s share price was hurt by a short seller report written by Blue Orca. Piedmont invested in Atlantic Lithium in 2021, and Blue Orca claims that some of that company's licenses were obtained by “making secret payments … (to the) family of a high-level Ghana politician." Blue Orca, which has a short interest in Piedmont, said this makes the Ghana government unlikely to approve Atlantic’s mining licenses for Ewoyaa, which would impact plans for the Tennessee plant.

Atlantic firmly denied the allegations and said that the targeted licenses aren’t part of its mining license application for Ewoyaa. On top of this, Piedmont stated that even without supply from Ewoyaa, it will be able to secure supply elsewhere from companies looking to participate in the US supply chain.

Piedmont’s share price moved back up on the March 30 news that Piedmont and Sayona successfully restarted spodumene production at the NAL project. According to the release, NAL is “the only major source of new spodumene production expected in North America in the next two years.” The operation is expected to produce 226,000 MT annually and is set to begin commercial shipments in Q3.

In April, the company filed its feasibility study for the Tennessee plant, which will produce 30,000 MT of lithium hydroxide annually. Construction of the plant is expected to begin in 2024. Estimated study economics show an after-tax net present value of US$2.5 billion at an 8 percent discount and an after-tax internal rate of return of 32 percent.

Year-to-date gain: 18.06 percent; market cap: US$3.57 billion; current share price: US$34.00

In Minas Gerais, Brazil, Sigma Lithium is now a lithium miner, as its Grota do Cirilo hard-rock lithium project began Phase 1 production on April 17. Sigma anticipates annual production of 270,000 MT for Phase 1 and 766,000 MT from the second and third phases if they proceed. As part of Phase 1, the company commissioned a greentech dense media separation production plant, which it says will make its operations vertically integrated.

The company refers to its battery-grade sustainable lithium concentrate product as green lithium, because the greentech plant “features 100% dry-stacked tailings, 100% clean energy, 100% recycled water and zero hazardous chemicals.”

Sigma’s share price jumped nearly US$5 in mid-February, when Bloomberg shared that Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was considering a takeover of Sigma, citing “people with knowledge of the matter.” However, during Tesla’s Investor Day event on March 1, CEO Elon Musk put a damper on that rumor when he said his company is more interested in lithium refining than mining.

On April 10, Sigma Lithium announced that COPAM, the Minas Gerais state environmental regulator, had awarded Sigma its environmental operating license for Grota do Cirilo. The license allows the company to sell all of its lithium from current and future operations. The news drove the company’s share price to a year-to-date high of C$39.90 on April 14.

As mentioned, Sigma achieved first production at 75 percent nameplate throughput capacity on April 17. The company expects its first shipment of green lithium to take place in May and said it will come in at 15,000 MT; on April 27, it began the process of moving its lithium to port. The plant should reach full production in July of this year.

Year-to-date gain: 85.52 percent; market cap: C$1.16 billion; current share price: C$12.30

Patriot Battery Metals is an exploration and development company that is working on advancing its Corvette lithium property, which hosts the CV5 lithium pegmatite target, in Quebec’s James Bay region. The company’s winter 2023 drill program is focused on extending the CV5 pegmatite at Corvette, and will cover at least 20,000 meters using five drill rigs.

On January 18, Patriot shared assays from its 2022 exploration, reporting the highest-grade lithium intercept so far at the CV5 pegmatite — 156.9 meters at 2.12 percent lithium oxide, including 25 meters at 5.04 percent and 5 meters at 6.36 percent. This news started upward momentum for the company’s share price, which continued moving up through news of the appointment of Natacha Garout as CFO, a new omnibus equity incentive plan, the addition of Mélissa Desrochers to its board and more results from 2022 drilling.

Patriot hit its current year-to-date high of C$17.17 on February 6, when it announced that holes from its 2023 drill campaign extended the CV5 pegmatite by at least 400 meters to 2.6 kilometers. As of May 1, a series of further results from the campaign have now extended it to at least 3.7 kilometers.

In late February, Patriot shared that heavy liquid separation testing on core samples from CV5 indicate that a dense media separation process can be used for the pegmatite body. The testing returned an average spodumene concentrate grade of 5.98 percent at 77 percent recovery.

Patriot plans to use funds from a C$50 million flow-through raising, which it completed in March, to fund its work at Corvette. On April 12, the company gave an update on development of the CV5 pegmatite towards prefeasibility, including the actions it is taking in addition to the drill campaign. It plans to have an initial resource estimate for CV5 in late June.

Year-to-date gain: 80.75 percent; market cap: C$265.43 million; current share price: C$2.91

Lithium Ionic is focused on acquiring and consolidating lithium properties in the Aracuai lithium province in Minas Gerais, Brazil, in order to expand its flagship Itinga project. Including the acquisitions discussed below, the company owns over 14,000 hectares of claims in the region.

Lithium Ionic has been continuing its acquisition strategy in 2023. On January 25, the company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary MGLIT Empreendimentos had entered into a binding share purchase agreement to acquire up to a 100 percent equity interest in Vale Litio; at this time it has acquired 2.78 percent. Vale Litio owns three lithium claims in the Aracuai lithium province.

Another acquisition, announced on February 13, was of a 1,000 hectare mining claim in the Aracuai region, bringing its land position to approximately 7,700 hectares in the region at that time. The company’s share price climbed throughout February to a peak of C$2.89 on February 24.

On March 31, Lithium Ionic announced its 100 percent acquisition of Neolit Minerals, which holds a 40 percent interest in the Salinas lithium project with the option to acquire up to 85 percent. Salinas is located about 100 kilometers north of Itinga and comprises 5,713 hectares with “five lithium-rich spodumene-bearing pegmatites outcropping at surface.”

Since these acquisitions, Lithium Ionic’s news has been focused on exploration. On March 29, the company shared that it had drilled its best hole to date at the Bandeira property, which is part of the Itanga project. It released assays from a drill program at its Galvani claims on April 11, after which its share price began climbing again to top its previous peak at C$2.91 on May 1. The next day, Lithium Ionic began a 20,000 meter drill program that will test and expand the already identified pegmatites at the Salinas project.

Year-to-date gain: 68.57 percent; market cap: C$44.72 million; current share price: C$0.59

Q2 Metals is an exploration company focused on advancing its Mia lithium property in James Bay, Quebec. It also has the Stellar lithium property north of Mia, which it acquired in March, as well as the Big Hill and Titan gold projects in Queensland, Australia.

Q2’s share price began climbing early in the year, jumping from C$0.45 to C$0.62 on the January 23 appointment of Neil McCallum as a director and the company’s vice president of exploration. McCallum identified and staked Patriot Battery Metals' Corvette lithium property in 2016, which is located in the same region as Q2’s lithium projects. Two days later, the company commenced a C$10 million private placement financing.

The company’s share price continued climbing during the following weeks to hit a year-to-date high of C$1.05 on February 6.

On March 2, Q2 shared its exploration plans for the Mia property in 2023 and announced its acquisition of the Stellar lithium property, which is just 6 kilometers north of Mia. In early April, Q2 began the Phase 1 portion of its 2023 exploration campaign at the Mia project, which includes an IP-resistivity geophysical survey. The company completed Phase 1 on April 26 and plans to begin Phase 2 — ground mapping and sampling — after May 20.

Year-to-date gain: 102.23 percent; market cap: AU$5.96 billion; current share price: AU$2.72

Liontown Resources is constructing its Kathleen Valley lithium project, which is expected to begin production in mid-2024. The company commenced open-pit mining operations with the first blast at Kathleen Valley on February 3. The material generated from this phase of operations will help with multiple aspects of construction, commissioning and ramp up.

Liontown’s share price rocketed upwards from AU$1.53 to AU$2.57 on March 28, when the company rejected another takeover bid from lithium major Albemarle (NYSE:ALB). The newest offer was at a price per share of AU$2.50; Liontown had previously rejected offers of C$2.20 and C$2.35 from the company.

The company released its March quarterly activities report on April 28, in which it discusses multiple milestones and details its progress at Kathleen Valley. Its share price has continued upwards since its late March jump, hitting a year-to-date high of AU$2.85 on May 8.

Year-to-date gain: 36.36 percent; market cap: AU$316.04 million; current share price: AU$0.135

Latin Resources (ASX:LRS) is focused on exploring its lithium projects in South America: the Salinas pegmatite project in Brazil’s Aracuai lithium province and the Catamarca pegmatite project in Argentina. While they share a name and a region, Latin Resources’ Salinas project and Lithium Ionic’s Salinas project are separate.

In January, Latin Resources began a 65,000 meter diamond drilling program at the Colina and Colina West deposits, which are part of the Salinas project in Minas Gerais state. The company acquired a package of tenements covering 29,940 hectares in the Aracuai province in February, expanding its Salinas project significantly.

At the end of March, Latin Resources signed a memorandum of understanding with two Minas Gerais state government entities that will help the company as it develops Salinas and support building a lithium battery sector in the state. The government has designated Salinas as a priority project.

Latin Resources’ share price saw upward momentum in April. On April 19, the company said it had received commitments from multiple entities, including North American battery metals funds, for a AU$37.1 million placement. Latin Resources’ share price continued to gain when the company appointed Mitchell Thomas as CFO and vice president of operations and Tony Greenaway as vice president of operations — Americas.

Latin Resources’ most recent news was high-grade results from its diamond drilling at Colina, which drove the company’s share price to further heights, reaching a year-to-date high of C$0.145 on May 4.

Year-to-date gain: 34.85 percent; market cap: AU$115.05 million; current share price: AU$0.445

Essential Metals is a lithium-focused company with its flagship Pioneer Dome lithium project in Western Australia, near Kalgoorlie. The company has two gold projects in that region as well.

Essential’s share price spiked to AU$0.48 early in the year, when the company announced on January 9 that it had entered into a scheme of arrangement with Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA), a joint venture between Tianqi Lithium (OTC Pink:TQLCF,SZSE:002466) and IGO (ASX:IGO,OTC Pink:IPDGF). TLEA was looking to acquire 100 percent of Essential for AU$0.50 per share; Essential's board unanimously recommended the deal, and set an April 20 date for a shareholder vote. Essential was trading at AU$0.345 the day before the announcement, and it passed AU$0.50 in the following days.

With regards to progress made at Pioneer Dome, on February 6 Essential announced that a scoping study for the project’s Dome North area “demonstrates the potential viability of a standalone mining and processing operation,” which the company believes supports moving towards more detailed studies. Two weeks later, it was granted a 21 year mining license for the Dome North mineral resource.

In March, Essential released its half-year report for the period ended December 31, 2022, and just over a month later it put out its report for the March quarter.

Although the company’s share price jumped to a year-to-date high of C$0.58 following the quarterly release, it was actually Mineral Resources’ (ASX:MIN,OTC Pink:MALRF) surprise purchase of a 19.55 percent interest in Essential that drove the rally.

A week after its nearly 20 percent interest acquisition, Mineral Resources used its rights to block the scheme between TLEA and Essential Metals. Enough shareholders — including Mineral Resources — ultimately voted against the scheme, resulting in its termination. Essential’s share price has since fallen to sit around C$0.43.