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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant 6 hours ago

Lisa, my thought is to not get carried away with the company making lease offers.  As with O&G leases, the chances are great that a lease will get traded, assigned or sold to an eventual operator.  And you have no guarantee what company that might be.  The focus should be on the lease terms because regardless of what company ends up with the lease, they will have to honor the terms.  You have control over the lease terms you choose to settle for but no control over the company that ultimately ends up with your lease.  Get professional help in crafting the lease terms and let everything else turn out as it will.

As lithium companies are projecting full production timelines, the greatest concern for me would be the emergence of a superior battery technology that greatly reduces demand for lithium.  Sodium-ion battery technology is generating tremendous investment and experiencing technological advancements.  Sodium-ion batteries look poised to replace lithium in EV batteries by the end of this decade.  The technology is already displacing lithium for grid back up applications. The local media seem to have completely missed this on rushing train that could derail all the rosy projections about lithium-ion battery demand.  I suggest that you do a little online research.  You might start with CATL.

Permalink Reply by Lisa 3 hours ago

This is very helpful and confirms a lot of what I’ve wondered about lithium possibly being overtaken by a different element stealing the show. I’ve been paying attention to the sodium battery news.

The better lease offer is from the less-known and private company. They intend to go for it— and make a case that they can get it done less encumbered by size and be producing fast. They’ve already drilled a well. I’ve been onsite.

I just feel too uninformed to make a decision— but I’m ready to be done thinking about all this!