Hi redgum. I'll contribute a little here if you both don't mind.
There are numerous different forms of batteries and a number of types of lithium batteries. In lithium ion batteries lithium is commonly combined with other materials (we all know of the graphite component that has had it's own bubble). The cathode used in most portable devices (smart phones etc) requiring high capacity is a cobalt oxide. Indeed I think cobalt oxides are used in several of the most common types of lithium ion batteries in combination with other materials.
STA has exposure to cobalt already through the stake it has in Torrens. The Mt Gunson copper assets have cobalt to significant levels. So much so that it was formerly effectively a contaminant that made it economically prohibitive to try and extract the copper. Torrens appear to have solved the cobalt problem at Mt Gunson and turned it into a potentially significant asset alongside the copper.
Separately cobalt was one of the three minerals the company named earlier in the year as potential new targets for exploration.
So there's definitely a growing market for cobalt and STA has a foot in the water. (Less so now having sold Mt Gunson to Torrens but did get a good stake for the asset).
Btw STA could also come to have exposure to another form of lithium battery - lithium titanate. These batteries, which are super fast charging albeit low density are the sort potentially best suited to powering heavy vehicles like buses. They run out relatively quickly having low energy density but could potentially charge in minutes. Components relevant to STA include lithium (obviously) and titanium, a derivative of heavy mineral sands with STA talking of looking for lithium and already with useful sands assets. But this technology hasn't been mentioned by the company so may not be on their radar.
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