Lithium Ionic to invest US$230mn in Brazil's Bandeira project

Canadian junior Lithium Ionic plans to invest US$233mn in a lithium mine at the Bandeira deposit, part of the Itinga project, in Brazil's Minas Gerais state. 

The amount is mentioned in the preliminary economic assessment (PEA) completed by Brazilian consultancy GE21 Consultoria Mineral, with support by SNC Lavalin.

"The robust results of our PEA marks a major de-risking milestone towards our goal of becoming a near-term supplier of high-quality spodumene concentrate to the global lithium and electric vehicle supply chains," CEO Blake Hylands said in a press release.

"The Bandeira deposit has demonstrated its technical simplicity and remarkable economic viability, placing it among the lowest-cost spodumene concentrate producers globally. Furthermore, this PEA showcases an impressive 20-year mine life from just one of our deposits," he said, adding that the definitive feasibility and environmental impact assessment are expected by year-end, paving the way for environmental permitting.

The Bandeira project's engineering design contemplates dual underground mining operations.

Controversy

Itinga is one of many projects that are gaining scale in the Vale do Jequitinhonha region. Minas Gerais is facilitating mining in the area to increase lithium output and supply the energy transition.

But governor Romeu Zema recently said the electric vehicle industry could eliminate thousands of jobs in the traditional vehicle and auto parts industries. Zema favors ethanol as a sustainable fuel.

“Our ethanol-run car, which is often forgotten, is as sustainable as the electric car or even better. Often what we are watching is an electric car plugged in and what behind it generates this energy is a highly polluting thermal plant,” Zema said in a speech. 

Most vehicles in Brazil run on a mixture of gasoline and ethanol, mainly produced from sugar cane.

The debate is set to intensify, since the ethanol industry is powerful and because experts deem it financially unviable to establish a charging infrastructure across the continent.

São Paulo’s governor, Tarcísio de Freitas, vetoed a bill last week that promoted a tax exemption for electric vehicle owners.