Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC:TSX; LHMAF:OTCQX) is a unique story with an advantage in its partnership with POSCO (PKX:NYSE), one of the largest steel producers in the world. POSCO has partnered with Lithium Americas at its Cauchari-Olaroz salar in Argentina to implement technology that POSCO has patented. The technology allows for lithium from brines to be produced at a much faster rate than is traditionally possible. Right now, it can take 18 months to produce lithium from brines and you have to contend with adverse weather and chemistry-related issues. POSCO, albeit on a small scale, has reportedly been able to reduce that production time to one month.
Second, POSCO's process shrinks the environmental footprint of a brine operation and increases the recovery rate. This should lower capital and operating expenditures, making lithium from brines an increasingly attractive option. This is exactly the type of transformative or disruptive technology I think the mining industry needs to embrace to survive and thrive in the current structural downturn. The lowest-cost producer always wins, and Lithium Americas, with this partnership, has the opportunity to do just that.
The pilot plant was just inaugurated last week and is positioned to produce several hundred tonnes of lithium per year, so we should know more details soon. 2015 will be a key year for Lithium Americas.
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