George Miller, lithium expert at Benchmark Minerals, therefore does not believe that Europe will become an important producer for the metal: "The legal framework is not particularly mining-friendly," says Miller. Therefore, too little is being invested. He estimates that Europe will have a market share of barely more than two per cent of global lithium production from 2025. "And that's only if all the planned projects are successful.It does not look like that will happen: It is true that the EU Commission also wants to improve the framework conditions for lithium extraction. But politicians like Hildegard Bentele (CDU), a member of the European Parliament, complain about a "not in my backyard" attitude: nobody wants such projects at home. In the following, Handelsblatt gives an overview of the most important projects in Europe - and why they are delayed.
Austria: escalating costs
If European Lithium had had its way, lithium would have been mined in Austria as early as 2016. But there have always been delays, for example because of a conflict with a landowner. No sooner was this settled than the corona pandemic intervened. This prevented foreign mining specialists from travelling to Austria for preparatory work.Now Dietrich Wanke, the German boss of the company listed on the Sidney stock exchange, expects that mining of lithium on the Weinebene in the province of Carinthia could start in early 2025. European Lithium has received 54 exploration licences and eleven mining licences from the state of Austria, which include the right to mine lithium.The company wants to complete the feasibility study by the summer. However, the uncertainties have recently increased again. On the Wine Plain, European Lithium needs to create a complete mine. "The costs for this are currently escalating," says Wanke.From today's perspective, European Lithium, which has so far been a pure exploration company, will invest 450 million euros in mining. According to the company, the deposit on the Weinebene contains 12.9 million tonnes of lithium-bearing rock. European Lithium wants to produce 10,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium per year from it. There is already a pilot plant for this in Germany, Wanke says.
EUR Price at posting:
11.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
(20min delay)