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Gold/Mining/Energy : Naxos Resources (NAXOF)
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To: mark silvers who wrote (19614)7/30/1999 12:13:00 PM
From: Tim Hall  Read Replies (3) of 20681
 
Mark,

There is I believe, only one producer of Lithium operating in North America. They are pumping brines that averaged 300 ppm when the operation started in 1966. They use solar evaporation to concentrate the brines to 6,000 ppm. This process takes 12 to 18 months. Then the concentrate is mixed with soda ash and lithium carbonate is precipitated out. Lithium carbonate to the basic feed stock for other lithium compounds. In 1998 lithium carbonate was listed at about $2.00 per pound. However, this price is probably misleading. Basically, there are two companies in the US that deal in Lithium. They are Chemetall GmbH, a subsidiary of Metallgesellshaft AG and FMC Corp.

The German company has the US operation at Silver Peak, NV which is about 100 miles North of Franklin Lake. Both companies have significant brine operations in South America from which they get their lithium carbonate to use for feed stock for the other lithium products they market.

Even if Naxos can build a plant, which should be fairly simple, I don't know that they can easily find a market for this lithium since the big users are already mining their own. This is a very specialized commodity that is produced and marketed by just a few companies.

Also, FMC closed down its mining operation in North Carolina in 1998. (It was an expensive hard rock operation where they mined spodumene and produced lithium.) They opted to open a new brine operation in Argentina to provide their lithium. I am sure they were aware of the brines in the SoutWest but choose to go to Argentina instead.

Tim
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