General discussion, page-10266

I've been scratching my head over these new niobium anode batteries, which are still in early development. It's got me thinking: a single Tesla vehicle would require around 60 kg of niobium pentoxide for its battery. Considering Tesla sold 1.8 million cars in the last 12 months, that amounts to approximately 108,000 tons of niobium pentoxide.

The two main deterrents for me when it comes to buying an electric vehicle (EV) right now are the long charging times and the risk of battery fires. I'm curious about how the global adoption rate of EVs might increase if these two issues were resolved. Niobium anode batteries address both concerns: they offer charging times of just 5-10 minutes—about the time it takes to stop at a station, use the restroom, and grab a coffee—and they are less prone to forming dendrites, which reduces the risk of short circuits and fires.

Globally, 17 million EVs were sold in the last year. If each of these used niobium pentoxides, it would require around 1 million tons. Realistically, fulfilling such a large order would be challenging. However, if niobium battery vehicles targeted the higher-end market, we might start to see some traction in demand.

The initial Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at Luni is impressive, boasting 200 million tonnes (mt) at 1% niobium. This is just the initial estimate and could potentially expand to 400-800 mt when combined with estimates from ENR.

In the West Arunta Region, an estimated 600 mt at 1% niobium could support a 20 mtpa (million tonnes per annum) plant, comparable to a midscale iron ore operation. This plant could produce approximately 160,000 tonnes of ferroniobium annually for the next 30 years, positioning itself to penetrate a 10-15% niche market for niobium batteries in the electric vehicle (EV) industry.

Just a thought, 10-15 years down the track