Overview
With Chile’s latest determination to nationalise its lithium trade, the necessity for a secure home lithium provide in North America has by no means been extra dire. Chile is at present the second largest international producer of the battery steel liable for greater than 21 p.c of the world’s provide. Along with prime producer Australia, these two nations signify greater than 70 p.c of the world’s lithium provide.
In gentle of the truth that demand for lithium is nonetheless on monitor to considerably outstrip provide by 2030, many countries have begun the method of creating various provides of lithium and different crucial minerals.
The Canadian Crucial Minerals Technique, as an illustration, establishes a complete framework for the event of sustainable, responsibly sourced home supplies. Past that, its targets embody supporting financial progress, selling local weather motion, advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and communities, fostering office inclusivity and enhancing international partnerships. The US Inflation Discount Act has an analogous goal, with provisions comparable to sustainability tax credit and decreased renewable power prices.
The present market and regulatory panorama create a big alternative to be concerned in lithium mining and exploration. By means of its extremely potential Apollo Lithium Challenge in James Bay, Quebec, Lithium Universe (ASX:LU7) is well-positioned to leverage the mounting demand for the battery steel. Quebec is quickly rising as a significant vacation spot for lithium manufacturing, setting the stage for Lithium Universe to doubtlessly grow to be a big producer not simply within the North American market, however globally.
A vertically built-in exploration and improvement firm, Lithium Universe is led by the famend Iggy Tan. Broadly considered a trailblazer in Australia’s lithium trade, Tan spearheaded Galaxy Sources Restricted (ASX:GXY), establishing it as one of many nation’s main lithium mining corporations. Working with a extremely skilled group, Tan now goals to duplicate that success with Lithium Universe.
Tan is joined by numerous esteemed mining professionals, together with main technical knowledgeable Dr. Jingyuan Liu. Liu was liable for overseeing the development and commissioning of Galaxy Sources’ Mt Cattlin Spodumene undertaking together with the world-renowned Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate Plant.
The group additionally contains: Patrick Scallan, a seasoned veteran with 25 years of administration expertise on the largest lithium laborious rock mine on the planet; Alex Hanly, who brings greater than a decade of expertise in capital supply and operational administration for mining, oil & gasoline, and manufacturing; Huy Nguyen, who helped design and assemble Mt Cattlin’s Spodumene plant; and Roger Pover, former plant supervisor at Mt Cattlin.
Lithium Universe’s technique for Apollo is straightforward: rapidly establish a useful resource and set up a producing mine to facilitate the corporate’s vertically built-in mine-to-refinery imaginative and prescient. The corporate can also be assessing the opportunity of establishing a lithium processing hub within the area to help operations at Apollo.
Spanning over 240 sq. kilometres, the extremely potential Apollo Lithium Challenge contains 466 claims and is related to a big geological dataset. Positioned within the Eeyou Istchee Baie-James Municipality in northwest Quebec, the property is in the identical greenstone belt as Patriot Battery Metals‘ (ASX:PMT, TSXV:PMET, OTCQX:PMETF) Corvette Lithium Challenge, which has a maiden useful resource of 109.2 million tons at 1.42 p.c lithium oxide. Apollo’s tenement bundle encompasses 17 identified pegmatite outcrops. Lithium Universe plans to begin drilling to establish targets within the very close to future.
Challenge Highlights:
- Challenge Geology: Apollo shows mineralisation typical of greenstone belts within the La Grande sub-province, with spodumene pegmatites hosted by mafic metavolcanic rocks and pegmatitic granite Vieux Comptoir. Property geology consists primarily of Mesoarchean and Neoarchean intrusions.
- Robust Mineral Potential: Apollo is situated 29 kilometres southeast of the Corvette Lithium Challenge and 28 kilometres East of Winsome Sources’ (ASX:WR1, FSE:4XJM, OTCQB:WRSLF) Adina Challenge. It shows related mineralisation, magnetism and geology to the 2 initiatives, each of which not too long ago returned extremely promising outcomes:
- Corvette Lithium: 156 metres at 2.12 p.c lithium oxide at CV5
- Adina: 107 metres at 1.34 p.c lithium oxide from 2.3 metres
Administration Crew
Iggy Tan — Non-executive Chair
Iggy Tan, a trailblazer of the trendy lithium trade, was one of many first Australian mining executives to establish the numerous alternative throughout the rising lithium-ion battery sector when he spearheaded Galaxy Sources Restricted. Tan is trying to replicate that success with Lithium Universe, having constructed Galaxy’s Mt Cattlin Spodumene Challenge and the downstream Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate undertaking. He additionally acquired the James Bay Spodumene Challenge in Canada and the Sal de Vida Brine Challenge in Argentina for Galaxy.
When Tan began at Galaxy, the corporate’s market capitalization was lower than AU$10 million. It rose to AU$2.5 billion when the corporate merged with Orocobre Restricted in August 2021. Tan’s earlier expertise working with lithium dates again to the early Nineties when he briefly managed the Greenbushes Lithium Mine and commissioned the primary lithium carbonate plant for Gwalia Consolidated.
Tan has over 30 years of chemical and mining expertise and has served as govt director for numerous ASX-listed corporations. He holds a Grasp of Enterprise Administration from the College of Southern Cross, a Bachelor of Science from the College of Western Australia and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Firm Administrators. He’s at present CEO and managing director of Altech Batteries Restricted.
Alex Hanly — Chief Govt Officer
Alex Hanly has over 10 years of expertise in capital supply and operational administration for publicly listed corporations throughout the mining, oil & gasoline, and manufacturing industries in Australia and Africa. Over the past three years, Hanly held the function of chief govt officer of ASX-listed gold firm Polymetals Sources (ASX:POL). He was liable for the profitable IPO of the corporate, the operational administration and the environment friendly execution of the fast-track exploration technique.
Hanly has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and Grasp of Enterprise Administration specialising in international undertaking administration.
Gernot Abl — Govt Director
Gernot Abl was beforehand a strategic managing director with huge expertise in enterprise administration, operations and funding for a number of the quickest rising industries on the planet. After gaining over 15 years of company expertise, he led the one pure esports play listed on the ASX, Esports Mogul Restricted. Abl has a confirmed background in enterprise administration and business instinct, initially from working as a administration advisor for each Deloitte Consulting and Deloitte Company Finance in Perth and Melbourne.
Abl additionally led the restructure and turnaround of a financially distressed ASX-listed media firm and at present holds directorships for a spread of start-up corporations, providing company advisory, undertaking administration and business negotiation recommendation to a number of companies. He has a level in regulation and commerce with honours in finance and accounting from the College of Western Australia.
Ross Cotton — Non-executive Director
Ross Cotton has over 17 years of expertise within the funding banking and pure useful resource sectors. He brings important expertise in each the financing and administration of useful resource corporations globally, having labored throughout a variety of commodities in Canada, Latin America, Europe and Australia. Cotton spent six years in stockbroking with a well-respected agency in Western Australia and an additional eight years in company advisory roles specializing in the junior to mid-cap markets in Australia, the UK and Canada. He combines in-depth data of fairness capital markets and technique with hands-on expertise in senior degree firm administration.
At the moment, Cotton serves as managing director of Balkan Mining and Minerals (ASX:BMM) a lithium explorer and developer targeted on initiatives in Canada and Central Europe and is a Non-executive Director of White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN).
Fadi Diab — Non-executive Director
Fadi Diab was the previous head of worldwide payroll at Commonwealth Financial institution of Australia. There, he managed the worldwide payroll group, who’s liable for 55,000 workers throughout 15 nations. Diab is an completed senior govt recognised for leveraging sturdy group management and improvement to drive ahead progress.
He has a background in human sources, having held the function of govt human useful resource supervisor on the Commonwealth Financial institution, and at present runs an investor relations firm.
Diab has Bachelor of Enterprise, Human Useful resource Administration, and Industrial Relations from the College of Western Sydney and a Grasp of Enterprise Administration from College of Know-how Sydney.
Patrick Scallan — Board Advisor
Patrick Scallan’s in depth expertise within the lithium trade is a priceless addition to the LGX Board. With over 25 years of administration expertise on the world-class Greenbushes Mine, he’s a seasoned veteran. Greenbushes is the most important lithium laborious rock mine globally and in addition hosts the highest-grade ore physique on the planet. This makes Greenbushes a singular anomaly, as no different lithium deposit worldwide compares to it.
Scallon oversaw the mine’s many expansions, growing annual output from 200,000 in 1997 to 1,400,000 tpa in the present day, and navigated quite a few possession modifications throughout his tenure. He’s a specialist in laborious rock mining and spodumene concentrating, with downstream relationships with main spodumene converters worldwide.
Scallon can also be extremely expert in managing area people relationships, having acted as shire councillor for almost 20 years throughout his time at Greenbushes receiving his Order of Australia Medal for his neighborhood and native authorities contribution. His earlier roles embody administration positions at Capel and Eneabba Mineral Sands in Western Australia and Western Deep Ranges Gold Mine in South Africa.
Dr. Jingyuan Liu — Non-executive director
Dr Jingyuan Liu is broadly considered a number one technical knowledgeable within the lithium trade. He beforehand held the place of normal supervisor of improvement and applied sciences at Galaxy Sources, the place he was liable for overseeing the development and commissioning of the Mt Cattlin Spodumene Challenge and the world-renowned Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate plant. Liu additionally performed a key function in designing the move sheet for the Sal de Vida brine undertaking.
Following his work with Galaxy, he has acted as a particular adviser to numerous lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide initiatives globally, together with the Lithium Hydroxide Plant operated by Tianqi in Kwinana, Western Australia.
Liu has over 30 years’ expertise in undertaking administration, course of and gear design for minerals processing and within the chemical compounds, non-ferrous metals, iron & metal and power industries, each in Australian and internationally. He was awarded a PhD in chemical engineering from the College of Newcastle, Australia and has labored in senior chemical engineering roles with main corporations comparable to Hatch Engineering and Metso Minerals in Australia and Malaysia.
He’s at present chief expertise officer for Altech Batteries (ASX:ATC), growing excessive capability silicon anode lithium-ion batteries.
Vincent John Fayad — Joint CFO/Secretary
Vincent John Fayad is a chartered accountant with over 40 years of expertise in company finance, worldwide M&A, accounting and advisory-related companies primarily undertaken by mid-tier accounting agency PKF. In 2016, he established his personal agency, Vince Fayad & Associates, to offer accounting and advisory companies inside Australia and abroad.
Over the past 25 years, Fayad has spent a big period of time advising on varied transactions, predominantly associated to the mining and exploration industries and offering accounting and company secretarial expertise to mining exploration corporations.
Fayad is at present an govt director and joint firm secretary of Astute Metals NL (ASX:ASE) and joint firm secretary of Greenvale Vitality (ASX:GRV). He’s additionally a non-executive director of Nexon Asia Pacific, a telecommunications firm, managed by non-public fairness group EQT.
Kurt Laney — Joint CFO/Secretary
Kurt Laney is an skilled chartered accountant specialising within the provision of advisory, consultancy, taxation and company secretarial companies. Laney is at present an affiliate director of Vince Fayad and Associates, the place he offers accounting and taxation companies to high-net-worth people, household places of work, massive family-owned companies and multinational entities.
Laney can also be the joint firm secretary and CFO of Greenvale Vitality Ltd (ASX:GRV) and Astute Metals NL (ASX:ASE), together with a number of unlisted public corporations primarily targeted throughout the tech and mining industries. He has beforehand served as the corporate secretary of Polymetals Sources (ASX:POL).
Justin Rivers — Head of Geology
Justin Rivers possesses better than 20 years senior govt, technical and business expertise in Africa, Australia, Asia, Arctic, Center East, North America and South America within the main and junior area, with a specific deal with Iron Ore and Gold. He has a well-tenured strategic and tactical method to the mining trade with intimate business, enterprise improvement and M&A expertise in Tier-1, publicly listed and personal fairness environments.
Previous to becoming a member of Lithium Universe Restricted, Rivers held the place of govt director and CEO of Mauritian domiciled non-public fairness firm Convertible Sources, driving strategic improvement of its gold initiatives within the Siguiri area of northeast Guinea. He has a Bachelor of Science (top notch honours) majoring in geology and environmental science from the College of Tasmania.
Terry Stark — Mining Advisor
Terry Stark was beforehand managing director – sources division for Galaxy Sources (ASX:GXY), the place he was liable for all of Galaxy’s mineral sources property comparable to exploration and mine operations. Stark oversaw the Mt Cattlin development and subsequent profitable start-up. He additionally managed the Galaxy James Bay undertaking and had a superb relationship with the native Cree Nation.
A veteran mining engineer, Stark holds a Bachelor of Utilized Science specialising in mining engineering.
Huy Nguyen — Engineering Advisor
Huy Nguyen has been seconded from Mintrex to behave as Lithium Universe Restricted’s engineering consumer consultant. Mintrex was the lead engineering firm that designed and constructed (along with DRA International) the Mt Cattlin Spodumene Plant.
Nguyen was a part of the development supervision when Mt Cattlin was constructed, so he’s skilled with not solely the design but in addition the development course of that delivered a undertaking on time and on finances.
Nguyen has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Curtin College, Grasp of Enterprise Administration and a member of Engineer Australia.
Roger Pover — Processing Advisor
Roger Pover was beforehand the Mt Cattlin plant supervisor for Galaxy Sources (ASX:GXY). He was a part of the commissioning and begin up group and operated the plant for a few years. Pover additionally directed all optimisation modifications made at Mt Cattlin.
Pover is a veteran within the lithium trade, having commenced his profession at Greenbushes Lithium mine within the early 90s. He has a 45-year profession within the mining and chemical processing industries involving mineral sands, alumina refining, lithium, iron ore, tantalum minerals and tin manufacturing.
Victoria Vargas – Director, Lithium Universe Holdings (Canada)
Victoria Vargas brings to Lithium Universe (Holdings) greater than 25 years of expertise within the North American capital markets, with a big deal with the Canadian mineral sector. She started her profession at Kinross Gold Company and joined Alamos Gold in 2004. Throughout her tenure, she performed a pivotal function in enhancing investor publicity and facilitating the corporate’s transition from the TSX Enterprise to the TSX. Earlier than becoming a member of Alamos Gold, Vargas labored for H2O Innovation, a Quebec-based firm targeted on offering best-in-class applied sciences and companies for the water and wastewater therapy trade.
