AVZ is an amazing resource.
We have a high grade hard rock lithium resource that potentially dwarfs all others multiple times in size.
AVZ could potentially be the largest lithium producer at the lowest cost and therefore could eventually control lithium pricing and supply; a worthy prize indeed!
But also we have a tier one tin resource. The Brownfields site was once a tin mine!
Some old history:
Earlier results showed"AVZ had strong tin grades independent of weathering and Li grade which has important implications for defining a mineral resource."
And then from company announcement : 6/03/2018 .
"It is important to note that the assay results for tin (Sn) are independent of both Li grade and the degree of weathering and high grades of tin can be present in strongly weathered rock, e.g. sample 1734.
The presence of a large volume of unweathered rock at (or near) surface has important implications for defining a Mineral Resource and is a very favourable characteristic!The presence of high tin grades in the rock that is weathered is also a positive factor, as the value of the tin in the weathered material may compensate for the expected lithium depletion of the weathered material."
Tin and the Electric Vehicle/Energy Storage Revolutions
The Use of Tin in Lithium-ion Batteries
How long a lithium-ion battery can run for is dependent on the battery's capacity. What this means for electric vehicles is that
if you can increase the capacity this will translate to a longer driving range.
What has limited the range of EV's is the battery anode. Traditionally it has been made of graphite and copper, but it is
limited by graphite's capacity, and is
costly and time consuming to make, a laborious, multi-step process where graphite(active material) is powder-coated onto copper foil(inactive current collector) which is
inefficient because it adds volume and inactive material mass to the system.
Tin as a result of an
alloying reactionwith lithium can deliver a
much higher capacity than graphite with the additional merits of low cost and being less toxic.
One problem of alternatives to graphite that increase capacity like silicon and tin is volume expansion, however this problem has been overcome by several methods to obtain high performance tin anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.
An Example
GoHERE
Overcoming the Volume Expansion of Tin and the Time Consuming Coating Process(Graphite onto Copper):
In current lithium ion batteries the active material(graphite) is coated on top of the inactive current collector(copper). This is time consuming and inefficient, and adds volume and inactive material mass to the system. Researchers replaced the active material with tin and the inactive current collector with aluminium.
By combining the current collector and active material together a higher capacity active material can be used while simultaneously using less inactive current collecting material. Also when tin is alloyed only to lithium it will break apart with volume expansion.However when it is combined with aluminium the aluminium can serve as a conductive matrix when the tin alloys(charges) and de-alloys(discharges) with lithium. Thus volume expansion does not occur.
In effect the aluminium provides the structure and electrical conduction while the tin is alloyed and de-alloyed with lithium when the battery is cycled.
Researchers concluded that
"a more compact anode(they made it one quarter the thickness and half the weight of a traditional anode!), and in effect battery could mean big things for manufacturers of smartphones, cars, laptops and myriad other devices, And that's to say nothing of the improved performance and cheaper manufacturing process."
By working the anode into a number of smaller lithium-ion batteries they were able
to double the charge. This potentially could translate into doubling the driving range of an electric vehicle; a game changer!
There are now a number of lithium ion battery patents using tin with its chemical properties that allow batteries to have greater capacity(driving range), be more compact, more efficient, quicker to make( no laboriously coating graphite onto copper) and lower cost to make!
Tin/Patents/ Opportunities in Lithium-ion Batteries
Tin in Lead/Acid Batteries vs Tin in Lithium-ion Batteries
As the transformation to electric vehicles from vehicles with internal combustion engines is now inevitable(the electric vehicle revolution) it is important to note that during this transition that tin is still playing an important role in the lead/acid battery.
"Tin has found growing demand since the development of the sealed lead acid battery. Tin extends the battery’s life and crucially reduces the amount of antimony, deemed a toxic substance, required."
In other words while the use of tin in lithium-ion batteries will become increasingly important as we move towards electrification of vehicles, in the interim tin will have increasing need in lead/acid batteries for vehicles that still have the old internal combustion engines.
That's a
WIN! WIN! wouldn't you say!
Tin use in Electric Vehicles apart from in the Lithium-ion Battery
Traditionally tin's major use was in cans and containers, but in 2010 this became superseded by its need in electrical uses. What this translates to is that there is a far greater need for tin in electric vehicles because of its much greater electrical componentry than cars with internal combustion engines.
"The electrical complexity and consumption of electrical components in an electric vehicle (EV) is a factor of 6-10 over that of an internal combustion engine (ICE). So, not surprisingly, the amount of tin used in solder is likewise much higher."
Therefore tin will be in high demand in lithium-ion batteries and in electrical componentry of electric vehicles in the EV revolution.
What other new technology will affect tin demand?
The electrification revolution is big and it will not be only electric vehicles needing tin, but also in renewable energy storage, robotics, and an ever increasing computer world needing tin for all its electrical componentry. The traditional use of tin was for cans and containers but this has well and truly been superseded by its need in an increasingly electrified world.
Question? What TWO EV metals does AVZ have in abundance???
Lithium and Tin.
WIN! WIN! for
AVZ!
....
