General Discussion Banter GLN, page-15927

Moin,

I would like to comment and speculate a little on the upcoming Japanese investor visit to Catamarca.Over the past 15 years, Japan has had to watch painfully as China has overtaken Japan's former market leadership in battery production, especially in the EV sector. To counter this, the Battery Association for Supply Chain was founded in 2021.A group of Japanese car manufacturers, including Toyota Motor and Nissan Motor, materials companies such as Sumitomo Metal Mining and large trading houses joined forces in 2021 with the aim of ensuring a stable supply of car battery materials.The problem was/is the procurement of the required metals. The raw materials are not available in Japan, and intermediate products that are processed with a higher degree of purity are also difficult to obtain. For example, Japan relies on China for 80 per cent of its lithium hydroxide supplies.

An interesting development began a year ago between Japan and Canada.
I have listed some article headlines below (source: asia.nikkei.com):

September 14, 2023 Japan, Canada to develop North American EV battery supply chains

Agreement would help Japanese autos qualify for U.S. subsidies

October 4, 2023 Japan courts Canada, Australia for China-free EV supply chain

October 31, 2023 Toyota pledges $8 billion more for U.S. battery plant to rev up EV push

April 23, 2024 Honda near agreement with Canada on $6bn EV plant

April 26, 2024 goes all in on EVs in U.S., Canada despite slowdown worries

April 26, 2024 Toyota to invest $1.4bn to bolster EV output in U.S.

April 24, 2024 Asahi Kasei to build $1.3bn EV battery components plant in Canada

March 5, 2024 Mitsubishi Corp. to invest in Canadian lithium project(Frontier Lithium)

At country level, Japan and Canada agreed to work together last October against the backdrop of the IRA. Then it was initially very quiet and a good six months later in March/April several investment announcements and contracts were finalised.The conclusion is that the Japanese investment interest was very concrete and resulted in rapid action (I consider six months to be fast).

I can therefore imagine something similar in the case of Argentina. I have already written enough here about the attraction of RIGI. International and, more recently, national investors have been flocking to the northern lithium provinces (including copper, of course). One major difference to Canada is the partially faster availability of lithium due to the advanced project phases, especially Galan. It is worth taking a look at our neighbours in Catamarca. POSCO is making progress and has just inaugurated a 25 ktpa hydroxide plant(maybe they have had enough favourably priced steel?), but still has to build an enormous number of ponds and wait for the evaporation phase to achieve significant utilisation. I could also imagine that the quantities will be produced primarily for South Korea's own needs?

December 8, 2023 U.S. rules force South Korea's EV battery makers to rethink China deals

Arcadium initially plans to expand with Sal de Vida 15 ktpa and then with an additional 10 ktpa at Fenix. Completion goal 2028.

Our Chinese neighbour in the South of Hombre Muerto Zijin Mining with its "Tres Quebradas" project will probably not be visited by the Japanese delegation.

And for the sake of completeness, there is also Lithium South in the north with scattered properties. I can imagine that POSCO is a little annoyed because, for example, a Li-South ‘Tramo’ property lies exactly between the old and the new ponds.


So there are not many short to medium-term investment properties left in Catamarca. However, the Japanese delegation will also be travelling to Salta.Perhaps the national initiative from Japan is also a ‘mission’ as part of the MSP membership?
The Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) is a transnational association whose members seek to secure a stable supply of raw materials for their economies.
The MSP is composed of: Australia, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. Members profess a commitment to high Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) standards.
It is conceivable, but more likely, that Japan's national interests are in the foreground here.At this point I would like to speculate about the 16 unknown companies (I have listed 15):

Looking forward for an exciting visit in any case.