By Gabriel Chiappini*
The worldwide launch of the Lithium Valley Brazil initiative at the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, on Tuesday (May 9) marked the entrance of the Jequitinhonha Valley, in Minas Gerais, on the global map in the lithium chain.
The initiative, led by the government of Minas Gerais in conjunction with the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), seeks to attract international investments for lithium exploration in the north of Minas Gerais, which concentrates the largest reserve of this mineral in Brazil.
Lithium is essential for the energy transition since it is the raw material for electric vehicle batteries and the renewable energy generation chain.
The mineral demand is expected to grow 40 times in the next two decades.
“Today, we launched the Brazilian Lithium Valley, which will help the country’s development and contribute to the global energy transition.”
“The energy transition is one of the main axes of our country’s development,” said Vitor Saback, Secretary of Geology, Mining and Mineral Transformation.
The secretariat’s mission is to set up a sustainable mining agenda, prioritizing critical ores for the energy transition.
Besides the role in the energy transition, the agents involved in the initiative defend that lithium mining in Minas Gerais has a low environmental impact since it can be supplied with almost 100% renewable energy and does not use polluting chemicals in its process.
“Brazil demonstrates that besides preserving and conserving its territory, it exports sustainability in several ways, giving the world the means for decarbonizing,” Sabak added.
The country is still discussing the effects of the devastation in Brumadinho and Mariana in Minas Gerais.
This year, an external commission was created to follow up on the payment of compensation.
Lithium exploration in the Jequitinhonha Valley worries local communities that have asked the public ministry to act.
LITHIUM VALLEY HAS FOUR ONGOING PROJECTS
The “Lithium Valley” in Minas Gerais already has four mining companies – all listed on Nasdaq – developing projects to exploit the mineral in Jequitinhonha: Sigma Lithium (Canada), Atlas Lithium (US), Lithium Ionic (Canada) and Latin Resources (Australia).
Only Brazilian Lithium Company (CBL) is operating in the region.
The governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo), defended changes in the state’s regulation to attract investments in lithium mining.
Currently, the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais (ALMG) is discussing Bill (PL) 1.992/20 from Congressman Dr. Jean Freire (PT), which creates the Lithium Mining and Industrial Hub in the Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys.
“We are setting objective, measurable rules. We are reviewing all the legislation, the regulations so that this process is even faster,” said the governor.
“We will probably have our development approval by next year when we will start construction works in the first quarter of 2025 and complete them in 2026,” announced Chris Gale, CEO of Latin Resources.
Ana Cabral Gardner, CEO of Sigma, which has already invested R$3 billion in the project in the region, says the company has plans to triple operations in Minas Gerais.
“The scale is excellent. We will start supplying enough lithium to fuel 617,000 electric cars (…) We are investing in tripling our operations next year,” she said.
“We will be able to supply 1.6 million electric cars (…) The material is spectacular.”
“It’s ultra-high purity, battery grade, and goes straight to the battery manufacturers, going through a straightforward refining process,” she explained.
Gardner also highlighted the efforts between the state and federal governments to boost the industry.
“I am proud to see the unprecedented collaboration of the federal government of President Lula and the state government.”
“This is a beautiful exercise in national planning.”
Blake Hylands, CEO of Lithium Ionic, told us he is waiting for the license to start operations later this year.
“Our goal is to produce two hundred thousand tons of concentrate as early as 2025 or late 2024.”
Atlas Lithium CEO Marc Fogassa highlighted the recent memorandum of understanding the company signed with Mitsui.
The agreement could give Atlas Lithium the right to purchase 100% of Atlas Lithium’s production from its planned plant in Minas Gerais, with a production capacity of 150,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate per year.
The Lithium Valley comprises the municipalities of Araçuaí, Capelinha, Coronel Murta, Itaobim, Itinga, Malacacheta, Medina, Minas Novas, Pedra Azul, and Virgem da Lapa, with about 45 deposits of the mineral – each with a potential 20 times greater than reserves in other regions – according to studies by the Geological Service of Brazil (SGB).
Besides the global projection, the mining project also seeks to attract investments, businesses, and jobs to the Jequitinhonha Valley, transforming the socio-economic landscape of more than 980,000 inhabitants in 55 municipalities.
AGENDA WITH INVESTORS
Secretary Vitor Saback, representing the Ministry, also participates in agendas with investors and authorities in New York, such as Ambassador Adalnio Senna Ganen, Brazilian Consul in New York, and Ambassador Ronaldo Costa, Permanent Representative of Brazil in New York.
Other meetings with investors are also scheduled until the end of the week to present Brazil’s mining potential and economic, social, and environmental development possibilities.
COOPERATION WITH THE UNITED STATES
Consul Adalnio Senna Ganen called attention to Brazil’s opportunity to be an important supplier of lithium to the United States, with environmental and social security.
“All these projects are committed to preserving the environment and social responsibility.
Recently, through the Inflation Reduction Act, the US government established subsidies for electric vehicles with 80% of the minerals used in their batteries from the US or countries with a free trade agreement.
Despite the term, the US Treasury Department has already signaled that it intends to broaden the interpretation of the meaning of the free trade agreement, which could eventually include Brazil, with which the country already has trade agreements.
*Covers the transformations for the energy of the future, with a focus on new business, sustainable solutions, and socio-environmental governance.
With information from epbr
News Brazil, English news Brazil, Lithium Valley Brazil, Nasdaq
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Read More from The Rio Times