Tesla has been on my radar for Hawkstone since last year.
They have bought their own tennements of lithium rich clays in Nevada and have been seriously looking at clay recoveries.
September 2020
Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk told shareholders on Tuesday Tesla has secured rights to 10,000 acres in Nevada where it aims to produce lithium from clay deposits using a process developed internally.
They have even stated they have developed a sodium chloride leaching process for extraction of the lithium from the clay, so I think they are taking this seriously.
“This move by Tesla supports the importance of clays as a future source of lithium in the United States,” Cypress CEO Bill Willoughby said in an emailed statement, referring to Tesla’s plan to extract lithium from clay.Musk said Tesla is focusing on development of a process to extract the metal using sodium chloride, or table salt, instead of more expensive chemical reagents. No other mine uses this process to date, according to Mustri.
The automaker held discussions in recent months with Cypress Development Corp., which is seeking to extract lithium from clay deposits in southwest Nevada, but the parties didn’t reach a deal, the people said, asking not to be named because the information isn’t public.
Now the deal with Cypress has fallen through, who else can they turn to ?
Do you think Tesla has the time to go exploring clays? Ill give you a hint...No, that's why they tried to JV with Cypress.
I did a comparison with them a few months back and although they are further advance then us, our clay resource was bigger and of higher purity.
We have proven recovery rates of 99.8% Li2Co3. with ongoing testing by Hazen to improve the flowsheet to possibly 99.9%
ASX announcement March 2021. Production of Li2CO3 at 99.8% purity has been achieved, which meets the Li2CO3 specifications of major international battery manufacturers and exceeds the Benchmark Mineral Intelligences battery grade Li2CO3 at >99.5%.
We have great infrastructure around us with interstates and heavy rail, and Tesla's Gigafactory in Nevada is 580 miles away.............a gentle stroll up interstate US 95 N.
Compare that to Australian hardrock spodumene, which is mined in Australia, shipped to China, Japan, or Korea for processing and manufacture, then shipped to the auto makers/retailers...... 580 miles would be a dream for PLS.
BLM approval, is a given and a matter of time, as stated recently by Paul.
So now we have a price jump in sp by 25% on the OTC Friday night. For me, this may be a whisper that the BLM approval is imminent. And why not?
Its been with the BLM for 6 months, which is the approximate average approval time. We have gone through the public consultation process with a few (around 100) locals in opposition, but thousands of positive responses. The Biden administration is putting HUGE pressure on the Federal and State authorities to get these projects fast tracked, and through asap.
From our announcement Nov 2019- Arizona is a top 10 global mining investment destination with the Big Sandy Project located within an area that has recently been designated as an economic opportunity zone, allowing companies to access tax concessions from state and federal authorities. Big Sandy’s prospectivity is also bolstered by the recent designation of lithium by the US Commerce Department as a mineral deemed critical to U.S. national security and the economy by the US Federal Government.
We are on PUBLIC LAND. We have anecdotal evidence of approval by one of the very proactive posters here on HC.
Our recovery process is a closed loop sulphuric process, which can actually generate power for the mine, and causing no pollutants to the environment. And as its clay, it is a low impact open pit, with the resource at surface and no strip wastage.
Our resource- The widespread scout drilling program delineated anomalous lithium mineralisation over an area of about 3km long by 1km wide, although the sought-after green clay horizon is mapped and interpreted intermittently over 11km of strike length at Big Sandy.The mineralised unit effectively sits right at the surface and has an extraordinarily soft, putty-like consistency that is amenable to free digging and most likely will require no drill and blast or crushing in future mining.
No drilling blasting or crushing required and available at surface...11km strike, and still only 4% of our area drilled....wow...The potential here is massive!!!!
From the latest quarterly-
Hawkstone’s successful 2019 drill program at Big Sandy resulted in the estimation of a total Indicated and Inferred JORC resource of 32.5 million tonnes grading 1,850 ppm Li for 320,800 tonnes Li2CO3 This represents 4% of the Big Sandy Project area that contains an estimated exploration target of between 271.1Mt to 483.15Mt at 1,000 - >2,000ppm Li*4
Current LiCO price ( 99.5%) on the LME- is US$19.50/kilo...So 320800000 X 19.5= US$ 6.255 BILLION...remember...our recovery rate is 99.8% and we have only drilled 4% of our total area. That's our current resource which will grow with further exploration. . (We also have brine at Lordsburg, and with Vulcan leading the DLE tech for extraction...We may also be able to produce a zero carbon lithium brine there)
Now we have one of the locals mentioning Tesla and Hawkstone in the same sentence. Is it an of the cuff comment with no basis, or has something been unofficially mentioned at local level?
So, not exactly conclusive evidence, but it makes one wonder..... With the evidence presented, Tesla is definitely a possibility. I have not really come across anything concrete to suggest this, but there is so many indications around the periphery of the argument, one may call it circumstantial evidence, to suggest it would be a great fit. What if Elon thinks this as well? JV, partner, offtake....I think Paul would welcome any of it. For to be aligned with Tesla, would just about guarantee the financing to get Big Sandy to production......quickly.
Don't forget, we also have Kore power, setting up KOREPLEX, a half a billion dollar battery cell manufacturing plant in Arizona
KORE Power, Inc. announced today the first lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility wholly owned by a U.S. company will be built in Maricopa County.The one million square foot manufacturing facility, dubbed the KOREPlex, will support up to 12 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery cell production to ensure a reliable and independent U.S. supply chain for lithium-ion battery cells that are critical to the future of electric vehicles, power grids and more. The facility will have the capacity to produce enough power for 3.2 million homes each year. KORE plans to start construction of the facility by the end of the year with the goal of beginning production in Q2 2023.“Arizona is thrilled to be selected as the home of the country’s first U.S.-owned lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility,” said Governor Doug Ducey. “Not only will this facility create thousands of new jobs, it will position Arizona as an anchor in the global battery manufacturing supply chain.
This facility is only 130 miles away, heading south on US-93. .......130 miles!!! Talk about minimal transport costs and low logistical/supply chain carbon footprint!!!
So, one step at a time.
Lets get over the BLM hurdle, expand the resource and then we can carry on the debate about offtakers
Hopefully next week is a big one!!!
Good luck everyone....
Just my thoughts, not financial advice....
HWK Price at posting:
4.1¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)