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Comment: Talison lithium deal

July 16, 2010 - 00:00 GMT

KEYWORDS: Talison , lithium , brine , Salares Lithium , Atacama , spodumene , lithium carbonate , electric vehicles

Lithium deal is as much about attracting investment as it is long term security

The biggest surprise has been Talison’s decision to enter the brine industry – this is a significantly different business from mining and refining spodumene. Talison doesn’t sell lithium chemicals – such as lithium carbonate and hydroxide – but rather the feedstock concentrates to chemical companies.

Just ask Chemetall GmbH and SQM SA why they don’t own mines* – the two leading carbonate producers are chemical not mining companies. (*This is mines in the traditional sense. The facilities in the Atacama are esentially a plumbing system of pumps and wells).

The titanium industry is an apt comparison: in a mature and established industry, only two chemical makers (titanium dioxide producers) own feedstock mineral mines. This is in an industry which produces 6m. tpa of titanium dioxide compared with the 60-80,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate produced last year.

The reason: different business fundamentals.

The...

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