[Glencore's Recycling Business Head Set to Depart]
Kunal Sinha, Global Head of Recycling at Glencore Plc, is leaving next month, after the company successively exited its partnership with battery metal recycling enterprise Li-Cycle Holdings Corp.
Glencore is renowned for mining and commodity trading, but has long been a key player in the recycling of metals such as copper and lead. In 2022, the company aggressively entered the battery recycling sector, investing in Li-Cycle and the UK's Britishvolt, with Sinha leading the efforts.
Li-Cycle filed for bankruptcy protection in May; at that time, Glencore held $327.5 million in outstanding convertible notes, becoming one of its major creditors. In August, Glencore took over Li-Cycle's core industrial assets and technology portfolio. Li-Cycle co-founder Ajay Kochhar joined Glencore in August as the new head of battery recycling business, with his LinkedIn page updated accordingly.
Li-Cycle was once a star startup in the battery recycling sector. In 2021, when the NEV concept was at its peak, investors were optimistic about the company's plan to recover lithium, cobalt, and nickel from used power batteries, leading to a significant surge in its stock price.
Sinha is set to depart next month. It was under his impetus that Glencore aggressively entered this emerging field; at that time, competition among potential recycling enterprises to gain a first-mover advantage and prepare for the wave of used batteries expected from the 2030s had already intensified.
Li-Cycle originally planned to build five plants, including converting Glencore's lead smelter in Italy into Europe's largest black mass production site (black mass is the metallic shreds extracted from old batteries), but this plan has not yet received local government approval.
In 2023, Li-Cycle was forced to suspend construction of its flagship plant in Rochester, New York due to soaring costs, and a funding crunch caused its stock price to plummet. Glencore's investment in Britishvolt also failed; the UK company declared bankruptcy in 2023, an early casualty in Europe's crowded NEV battery production race.
Source: mining.com
[Atlas Lithium Announces Major Exploration Progress at Salinas Project]
The first drilling at the Salinas Project confirms the presence of high-grade lithium ore near the surface, with the company positioning it as its next growth engine.
BOCA RATON, Fla.–Atlas Lithium Corporation, a leading lithium resources development enterprise, is pleased to announce outstanding exploration results from its wholly-owned Salinas Project located in Brazil's Lithium Valley. The company has completed preliminary exploration drilling, with the drill holes confirming near-surface lithium mineralization rich in spodumene, marking the Salinas project as another expansion frontier following its flagship Neves project, while the company continues to fully advance the commissioning of the Neves project.
Salinas Project Overview
The Salinas project covers 388 hectares (959 acres) in northern Minas Gerais, Brazil, located just 5 miles from the Colina project—the core asset that Pilbara Minerals acquired from Latin Resources for approximately $370 million in August 2024. Situated about 100 km (60 miles) from the company's flagship Neves project, it lies within a proven lithium-rich area of Brazil's renowned Lithium Valley.
The company conducted systematic soil sampling, detailed geological mapping, LiDAR scanning, and high-resolution aerial photogrammetry at Salinas, successfully identifying and mapping multiple spodumene-rich pegmatite bodies.
Initial Drilling Results Exceed Expectations, Confirming Mineralization
Atlas Lithium announced that the first exploration drill holes at the Salinas project encountered significant spodumene mineralization at a shallow depth of just 23 meters.
"The initial drilling results from the Salinas project have exceeded expectations," said Marc Fogassa, Chairman and CEO of Atlas Lithium. "This indicates that Salinas has the potential to become another favorable site for open-pit mining and production. It is exciting to see organic growth opportunities within our extensive portfolio of mineral rights."
To date, the company has completed a cumulative 501 meters of diamond drilling, confirming the continuity of the pegmatite bodies; analysis by the authoritative laboratory SGS-Geosol shows Li₂O grades exceeding 2.0%, demonstrating strong geological potential. The near-surface characteristic of the lithium mineralization suggests favorable conditions for low-cost open-pit mining, similar to the company's Neves project.
Source: Junior of mining
[SQM Raises Lithium Supply Plan as Prices Increase]
SQM, the world's largest lithium producer by market value, raised its full-year sales guidance and expressed optimism about lithium price prospects after its core earnings fell 28% YoY in Q2.
The company stated that attributable core earnings, excluding special items, dropped to $307.9 million. However, the Chile-based battery metal producer continues to advance expansion, indicating that its domestic plant sales will grow 10% this year, while also raising sales guidance for its Australian operations.
The lithium market previously saw prices plunge due to a severe global surplus, though recent production cuts in China have led to a slight rebound—albeit still down more than 80% from peak levels. SQM maintained its forecast of approximately 17% growth in global demand this year.
SQM raised the sales guidance for its international division to about 20,000 mt of LCE, but did not disclose specific figures to illustrate the 10% increase in its Chilean division. The company added that its Kwinana refinery in Australia, a joint venture with its partner, achieved commercial production for the first time in July, and the facility is expected to reach its rated capacity of 50,000 mt per year of lithium hydroxide by the end of 2026, with half belonging to SQM.
Due to the commissioning of new mines and a slowdown in demand growth, lithium prices remained depressed for an extended period under oversupply pressure. SQM adhered to a "volume-for-price" strategy, contrasting with production cuts by some high-cost producers. The company's capital expenditure budget for this year is $750 million, aimed at increasing its annual lithium carbonate capacity in Chile to 240,000 mt by 2026 and raising its annual lithium hydroxide capacity to 100,000 mt by the end of 2025.
The company's total revenue in Q2 was approximately $1 billion, down 19% YoY, as lithium spot prices hit multi-year lows; sales were also lower than in Q1.
Source: mining.com
[Tianqi Lithium Willing to Renegotiate Lithium Refinery Deal with IGO]
Frank Ha, CEO of China's Tianqi Lithium, said on Wednesday that the company is willing to renegotiate with its joint venture partner IGO regarding the latter's stake in the troubled Kwinana lithium refinery in Western Australia.
The refinery, Australia's first lithium hydroxide plant, has faced operational challenges and commissioning delays due to the plunge in lithium prices.
IGO, which holds a 49% stake in the project, disclosed last month that it had impaired the continuously loss-making plant and expressed "low confidence" in improving the asset's prospects.
Ha stated at a media briefing, "I am open to discussing any proposal they bring forward, but as of now we have not received any formal proposal."
"If they do not wish to continue the partnership, they need to come to me to talk, and I am open to that."
The two companies also jointly own the Greenbushes lithium mine, one of the world's best lithium assets.
When asked whether Tianqi Lithium might allow IGO to exit the Kwinana refinery while continuing to invest in the Greenbushes mine, Ha indicated that the two assets are "bundled."
Tianqi Lithium would also not consider other partners for the Kwinana refinery.
Ha added that the operational efficiency of the Kwinana plant is gradually improving, the company has no plans to shut it down, the facility has a rated capacity of 24,000 mt per year of lithium hydroxide, and a clear path to reaching full production has been identified.
The company aims to achieve 65% capacity in the next year.
Source: mining.com
