InvestIdeas

While autos play down the feasilbility of replacing nickel as perferred battery for now, this commodity is worth puting on KIV list.

Given global crisis is over ppl will start consuming lithum for ipod, hp, laptops.

Obama adminstration may put pressure on green technology on the 3 big auto makers, hence rechargeable auto batteries.

Actually it's "lithium" (with an "i" before "um"). Fixed the topic title for you.

grandrake wrote:Actually it's "lithium" (with an "i" before "um"). Fixed the topic title for you.

Paisay. After years of education My "ang mo" remains sub standards..

Presently, only 3 countries have sizeable reserves of lithium. I think CIC has its eyes on this ball. By letting Goodyear go, Temasek could have lost a gem. Will CIC hire Goodyear after his confidentialty proviso lapses??

The Technology That Will Replace 148 Billion Barrels of Oil
By Horacio Marquez, Money Morning

The real story here is battery power, a technology market that’s heating up in a big way. Just the market for rechargeable batteries is expected to zoom from $36 billion in 2008 to $51 billion in 2013

http://www.moneymorning.com/2009/10/21/ ... ry-hybrid/

Excellent article, Winston. Doomo Arigatoo Gozaimatsu.

The Lithium Chase By CLIFFORD KRAUSS

For many years, few metals drew bigger yawns from mining executives than lithium, a lightweight element long associated mostly with mood-stabilizing drugs.

Suddenly, the yawns are being replaced by eurekas. As awareness spreads that lithium is a crucial ingredient for hybrid and electric cars, a global hunt is under way for new supplies of the metal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/busin ... thium.html

the battery cost is almost 1/3 the cost of the hybrid cars and with higher demand for hybrids and a constant supply, i really wonder how feasible is lithium in the long run?

i mean, to open and mine new sources of lithium is one thing, what about the ability of the industry to absorb then recycle these batteries when they have run the course of their lifespan (limited rounds of charge/discharge). are we going to dump these old batteries into some 3rd world country like what we are doing now to old handphone batteries?

currently bolivia has huge amounts of lithium deposits and it just reminded me of the old days of the silver rush in the mines of Potosi that only led to the exploitation of the locals in the name of $$$$.

I like a speculative lithium stock in Canada called Rodinia Minerals; ticker RM.V
They have projects in Clayton Valley in Nevada, and in Argentina.
Recently announced good exploration results.

Byron Capital Markets has them on Buy with target 2.2 CAD (last price 0.6 CAD).

A recent presentation:
http://www.rodiniaminerals.com/investors/presentation/

Peter Grandich likes the company too:
http://www.stockhouse.com/Bullboards/Me ... =RM&t=LIST

From Rick Rule:-

"Yes, this stuff can be used in cell phones (in miniscule amounts). Yes, lithium has some future in batteries." But the fact is, Rick says, the worldwide market for rare earth elements is about $2 billion. As he works out the math, it doesn't work. "If you assume a 30% margin (which I don't know is reasonable number)," he figures, "you are talking about $600 million in EBITDA. At a 10 times EBITDA number, you're talking about a $6 billion prospective market cap of that industry."

He cites another mystifying bit of math. "The largest lithium producer in the world is now down to 140 years' supply of lithium. The only reason they don't have a bigger supply is there's no particular sense spending money now to develop resources that you'll need in 150 years."

http://www.theaureport.com/pub/na/5818