Eye on Lithium: BMW tips A$1.2bn to expand Mexican EV plant

• BMW invests A$1.2 billion to expand its EV plant in Mexico, targets  ‘Neue Klasse’ production from 2027
• Galan moves to full ownership of its Candelas lithium project in Argentina
• Latin Resources expands Salinas lithium project footprint by 367%

All your lithium news, Wednesday Friday 8.

 

German automaker BMW is investing 800 million euros (A$1.2 billion) in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi to produce ‘high-voltage batteries’ and ‘Neue Klasse’ electric vehicles.

According to the group, the first Neue Klasse cars will come off the production line at its plant in Debrecen, Hungary, starting in 2025, followed by the main plant in Munich.

“We will achieve additional volumes by integrating the Neue Klasse at the plant in San Luis Potosí from 2027 onwards,” BMW said.

A large part of the investment costs, 500 million euros, will go towards constructing an 85,000-square-metre plant high-voltage battery assembly plant.

 

Plant San Luis Potosí

We’re investing €800 million in our fully-electric models of Neue Klasse, our local high-voltage battery assembly. The plant in Mexico will create around 1,000 new jobs: https://t.co/LNE8DCBz7w#BMWGroup #emobility pic.twitter.com/tCYWf6fyh8

— BMW Group (@BMWGroup) February 3, 2023

 

The BMW Group plant in San Luis Potosí, which opened in 2019, was designed to be flexible.

This means it just takes a few adjustments to body construction and assembly to expand production to include electric models.

The company says more than 500 new employees will manufacture the batteries, which will be integrated directly into the Neue Klasse vehicle structure.

Meanwhile, China’s BYD is reportedly exploring the option of setting up its own electric vehicle factory in Europe.

In an interview with Bloomberg from BYD’s North American headquarters in Pasadena, California,  BYD executive vice president Stella Li said the company is more interested in building its own plants rather than acquiring other companies’ factories.

“We’re doing feasibility studies to see our plans for the future,” Li said.

As well meeting growing demand, opening factories in Europe means BYD will be able to avoid the high tariffs that have been imposed on Chinese imports by the European Union – making its vehicles competitively priced and help the company gain market share.

 

Here’s how ASX lithium stocks are tracking:

A total of 43 companies finished in the green, 54 fell flat, and another 40 tumbled into the red zone.

 

Who’s got news out?

GALAN LITHIUM (ASX:GLN)

Galan has moved to full ownership of its Candelas lithium project in Argentina and plans to revisit project studies once it wraps up the Hombre Muerto West Definitive Feasibility Study.

Candelas features a PEA which estimates un-leveraged pre-tax net present value and internal rate of return – both measures of a project’s profitability – of US$1,225m and 27.9% respectively as well as a resource sufficient to fuel production of 14,000 tonnes per annum of battery grade lithium carbonate for 25 years.

It is also worth noting that the PEA – roughly equivalent to a JORC Scoping Study – dates back to November 2021, meaning that some of its assumptions, including the long-term average real lithium price assumption of US$18,594/t now looks just a tad conservative given the February lithium carbonate price of about US$69,560/t.

 

LATIN RESOURCES (ASX:LRS)

LRS has applied for 17 new exploration applications covering more than 29,940 hectares with the Brazilian National Mining Agency over areas that contain favourable basement lithologies to host lithium bearing pegmatites similar to those found at its Colina lithium deposit.

This will take its land holding up to 38,000 hectares, a not-so-insignificant increase of 367%.

The company has also signed an option agreement over additional mining rights directly adjacent to the south of the Colina lithium deposit, which is right at the heart of why it is so aggressively consolidating its position in the Bananal Valley region.

 

LORD RESOURCES (ASX:LRD)

LRD’s Horse Rocks lithium project is situated between Essential Metals (ASX:ESS)  and Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN).

The company’s managing director Barnaby Egerton-Warburton says the project continues to provide all the right signals with latest infill auger sampling returning a peak assay of 0.15% Li2O.

Another high assay of 2.54% Li2O was also returned from a rock sample program.

“This is an exciting next step in the exploration of the project,” Egerton-Warburton says.

“These highly encouraging results will allow us to refine our drilling program, which is planned to comprise up to 6,000 metres of RC and will commence shortly after the completion of the heritage survey which is scheduled for next week”.

 

BURLEY MINERALS (ASX:BUR)

Burley has completed the acquisition of the Chubb lithium project in Quebec, Canada, as well as the Mt James and Dragon lithium projects in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.

“We were delighted to have concluded the acquisition of these three strategic lithium projects, with the immediate focus being on the exploration and drilling program at the Chubb lithium project,” BUR managing director Wayne Richards says.

 

XANTIPPE RESOURCES (ASX:XTC)

Drilling for lithium targets on exploration lease, E77/2609, has intersected thick intervals of pegmatite along with mineralogy indicative of fractionation that is conducive to lithium mineralisation.

The Blanche pegmatite, now intersected in two RC drill holes, occupies a distinct magnetic low within the host stratigraphy and is interpreted to represent the northern extension of the system intersected by Black Dragon / Zenith to the south.

Several pegmatites in the Western Australian Goldfields sustain profitable mining operations, with Blanche being within close proximity to some of Australia’s most significant deposits.

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