It'll happen, not if, but when. ASN time will come....just a matter of time.
some info....
1 Patrick Howarth, Lithium Global Business Manager, ExxonMobil
Patrick was a big star of the show alongside governor Huckabee Sanders.
Patrick is charged with pushing the US1BN capped Exxon into Arkansas lithium at a fast pace - and has plenty of charisma to boot.
We first heard Patrick speak on Joe Lowry’s Global Lithium podcast a couple months ago.
For anyone wanting to really understand Exxon’s role in the Smackover and US lithium brine industries, the podcast is a must-listen.
(Source)
As we’ve detailed previously,ExxonMobil is going HARD at lithium production in the Smackover.
(PFE’s land position happens to be immediately adjacent to Exxon’s project to the West):
Patrick shared a great video which will be a part of ExxonMobil’s public relations push.
He also announced a new ExxonMobil charitable foundation for southern Arkansas which was warmly received by the audience.
Most importantly though, here was the key slide:
1 Again, I’m no Stanley Kubrick or Ansel Adams with my photo but you can just see a REALLY BIG number -USBN is what ExxonMobil has earmarked for “lower emission opportunities” over the next 5 years.
Like lithium from DLE in Arkansas.
It’s a huge chunk of change and is a massive sign of commitment - when that slide came up there were some murmurs in the audience.
Even a fraction of this would be a game changing investment for the state of Arkansas, and we hope that kind of decisive capital allocation by ExxonMobil will have second order benefits for PFE (next door) as it advances its own Smackover lithium operations.
After the speakers had finished, we moved to have lunch.
Again, just to give a sense of how well attended this event was here’s how many people were packed into the lunch room:
Sitting next to me was the recently appointed director Tim Goldsmith of PFE (formerly of Rincon), along with PFE chairman Barnaby Egerton-Warburton, the very friendly Cleve and John who head up PFE’s land and mineral rights work in the Smackover.
For lunch, turkey breast with a mustard cream sauce, green beans, mash and a glass of iced tea.
For dessert, a slice of Southern hospitality - pecan pie.
Looking around the table and chatting to the people of Arkansas, I knew that these are some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met.
They also just want to get things done.
And that includes making the state the centre of US lithium production.
