The Assay The Assay Battery Materials PDF

THE ASSAY
121 GROUP MINING MAGAZINE

www.theassay.com Battery Materials Edition | February 2018
BATTERY
MATERIALS
EDITION
SIMON MOORES
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
“There is, no doubt, huge

growth on the horizon.”
CHRIS BERRY
House Mountain Partners
“…it’s not just battery

manufacturers that are
looking at locking down long
term supply of these metals”
ANTHONY
Cobalt 27
MILEWSKI
“...we may need double the
world’s cobalt supply, with a
majority of it going into EV
batteries.”
WILLEM MIDDELKOOP
Co-Author, The Tesla Revolution
“The transformation of our

energy systems is here to
stay.”
COMPANY INVESTOR ANALYST INVESTMENT

PROFILES INSIGHTS REVIEWS EXPERTISE
5 CITIES 7 EVENTS 450 CORPORATES 1500 INVESTORS
23-24 APRIL 2018 HONG KONG

and 9-10 OCTOBER 2018
17-18 MAY 2018 LONDON

and 20-21 NOVEMBER 2018
23-24 MAY 2018 SINGAPORE
5-6 JUNE 2018 NEW YORK
FEBRUARY 2019 CAPE TOWN
To become a corporate presenter at a 121 INVESTMENT SUMMIT event please email:

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www.psl.com.au
Leading arranger of equity

capital in the Australian
resources sector.
1
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has ranked
by number of equity 85,000
clients with Funds
issues in Australia
every year since Under Management
2003 by reference to and Advice of
Thomson Reuters
League Tables $13.6 billion
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The Team Contributors

Editorial Andrew Krelle Many thanks to our contributors for
T: +852 5936 4081 this issue of The Assay:
E: andrew.krelle@weare121.com
Anthony Milewski, Charles
Sales Michael Poulos Whitfield, Chris Berry, Gavin Wendt,
T: +852 3628 2483 George Heppel, Simon Moores, Willem
E: michael.poulos@weare121.com Middelkoop
Marketing Kevin Ward

T: +852 3628 2488 Website
E: kevin.ward@weare121.com All articles and company profiles
available at:
www.theassay.com
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WELCOME TO
THE ASSAY
T he Assay is a 121 Group initiative that provides a print and online

platform for leading fund managers and analysts to share their
investment outlooks and market insights.
Each edition of the Assay showcases a range of exploration, development

and production assets, providing both private and publicly-listed companies
year-round global exposure to the institutional mining investor community.
In this edition we look at ‘Battery Materials’. With Tesla leading the charge,
the electric vehicle market is on the verge of massive expansion. The falling
cost of solar panels and wind turbines means that renewable energies are
finally becoming cost competitive. Environmental concerns (particularly in
China) are driving a dynamic shift from hydrocarbon-dependent economies
towards a renewable energy future. However, neither EVs nor renewable
power generation is possible without effective battery storage, and vast
quantities of raw materials will be required to meet the demand for batteries
to support the world’s energy future.
Read on for a wide range of mining companies looking to supply the “battery
revolution” and expert analysis on the key metals that will contribute to this
fast expanding market.
On behalf of 121 Group, we hope you enjoy this First Edition of The Assay.
Andrew Krelle
Editor
Company Profiles
8. Lithium Australia
10. Nemaska Lithium
12. Neometals Ltd
14. Neo Lithium Corp.
20. Piedmont Lithium
22. Infinity Lithium Corp.
24. Consolidated Nickel Mines
26. Cobalt 27
36. TNG Ltd

42. Battery Minerals
44. Talga Resources
46. Leading Edge Minerals
52. Alabama Graphite
Insights
6. The Tesla Revolution - Willem
Middelkoop
16. Cobalt: Chasing Electric

Dreams - Anthony Milewski
28. Cobalt Shifts From Metal to

Chemical Markets - George
Heppel
31. Vanadium - Another Important
Battery Option - Gavin Wendt
54. Baby Steps Into The World of

New Battery Investing- Charles
Whitfield
Interviews
38. Financing Battery Material Projects
- Chris Berry
48. Understanding Battery

Chemistries - Simon Moores
The Tesla
Revolution
By Willem Middelkoop, Founder, Commodity
Discovery Fund & Co-Author, The Tesla Revolution
Willem Middelkoop (Geneva, 1962) is founder of the Commodity Discovery Fund, and is a writer. He became a well-
known personality through his work as stock market commentator for the Dutch business television channel RTLZ.
Middelkoop predicted the onset of the credit crisis in his book “Als de dollar valt” (If the dollar falls) – 2007. Subse-
quent publications were “De permanente oliecrisis” (The permanent oil crisis) – 2008, “Overleef de kredietcrisis”
(Surviving the credit crisis) – 2009, “Goud en het geheim van geld” (Gold and the secret of money) – 2012, and The Big
Reset – 2013. In total, he sold more than 100,000 copies of his books.
W e have consumed the planet’s oil so quickly

that the era of cheap oil is now over. Tesla’s
rapid success shows the world of energy is
changing to a post-fossil-fuel age, very fast. Ever cheaper and
more efficient solar cells and wind farms are now the pillars of
taken for granted in high income countries. The supply chains of
natural gas or coal ensure power plants are able to deliver almost-
constant cheap electricity. In less-developed countries, people
are used to outages of electricity. The majority of factories today
operate continuously thanks to the automation of most processes
a renewable energy revolution. This will reshape economies, combined with 24/7 power.
upset global power relations, and impact our own daily lives.
With a rising middle class worldwide from one billion to over
The world is all about energy. Cheap electricity has become the two billion people, it is clear that the need for energy will keep
backbone of our economy. We need power 24 hours, seven days a rising - just like it did in the last 200 years. We can only hope that
week. Society breaks down when power is lost. No TV, internet, or transition to renewable energy will be completed before we lose
cooling drives most people mad in a few hours. oil as our main source. Probably well before 2030 the energy to
produce a barrel of oil will be higher than the energy delivered by
The availability of cheap electricity on a continuous basis is
that same barrel. At that point we have reached the end of our oil-
6
www.theassay.com
based society and we will have entered a whole a few days for its Model 3 electric car in early
new era. 2016. The energy revolution has started.
"The
We have burned half of all easily accessed and One of the biggest challenges is meeting
transformation
of our energy
cheap fossil fuels. A strong global movement our 24/7 demand for electricity, given the
has emerged. Many politicians, businesses and fluctuating sources of solar and wind. The end
citizens are working towards a fully-renewable of cheap oil and increasing needs of electric systems is here
energy system. Their motivation can be found transport makes the challenge even bigger. to stay. "
in a mixture of concerns over climate change,
After writing The Tesla Revolution we
air pollution (especially in Asia), and worries
understand much better why demand for
over fossil fuel supply security.
copper will keep growing, why platinum is
In the 2015 Paris Agreement, nearly 200 needed for future fuel cell production, and why
governments present agreed to move towards oil under $50 is not sustainable. The world of
low-carbon energy systems so as to reduce energy is changing fast and we will see many
greenhouse gas emissions as fast as possible. more changes arriving soon. It’s time to prepare
Even the Saudi and Russian governments are accordingly - for companies and investors.
on board: as Russian President Vladimir Putin
said, “our ability to successfully address climate
change will determine the quality of life for all
people on the planet.”
The transformation of our energy infrastructure

is here to stay. It can easily be grasped from the
investment numbers in electricity systems.
In 2015 a total of $329bn was invested in

renewable generation, versus only $130bn
allocated to new coal and gas-fired power. We
can also see it from the words of oil and coal
chief executives who have accepted the new
reality. In 2009, the then chief of Shell Jeroen
van de Veer stated on television his disbelief in
solar: “I need to become older than 100 years
for solar panels to pay back their investment.”
In 2015 Ben van Beurden, the current chief,
showed how the company had changed its
mind, saying solar energy “will be the dominant
backbone of our energy system, certainly of the
electricity system.”
The development of renewables can be seen

in tender price agreements. In the Middle East,
tenders delivered solar energy production
streams for $0.03 per kWh, and in Morocco and
Texas similar price levels have been reached for
onshore wind turbines. This marks the tipping
point for clean energy. Tesla Motors completed
$14bn of sales reservations worldwide in just
7
COMPANY EXPOSURE COMPANY LISTING STOCK CODE
Lithium and Processing Technology Lithium Australia ASX:LIT
LITHIUM AUSTRALIA
COMPANY OVERVIEW TEAM
Lithium Australia NL believes disruptive lithium chemical production will Adrian Griffin – Managing Director
power the energy revolution that’s transforming the world as we know it. To Bryan Dixon – Non-Executive Director
that end, the Company has developed SiLeach®, an exclusive technology that Barry Woodhouse – Company Secretary & CFO
can process all lithium silicates into battery-grade materials without the need
George Bauk – Non-Executive Chairman
for ‘roasting’. This advance on traditional processing methods is a world first.
Lithium Australia NL (‘LIT’) has one over-arching goal: the application of its
disruptive processing technologies to the production of lithium chemicals on a LATEST ANNOUNCEMENTS
commercial scale and at an operating cost in the lowest quartile.
11/01/2018 SiLeach process is novel, inventive and patentable
To achieve its ends, LIT is: 28/12/2017 Graphite spinout BEM receives conditional ASX approval
• procuring access to feed materials with low exposure to mining costs; 13/12/2017 Commences drilling at Sadisdorf, Germany
• processing materials considered waste by other operators; 07/12/2017 Maiden lithium Mineral Resource estimate at Sadisdorf,
• developing strong strategic partnerships, and Germany
• maintaining equity in resource projects globally. 01/11/2017 VSPC cathode product passes major milestone
06/07/2017 Large Scale Pilot Plant study exceeds design criteria
CAPITAL STRUCTURE AND SHAREHOLDERS KEY FINANCIALS (JANUARY 2018)

Top 10 holders at 28 July 2017 22.2% Share Price A$0.21
JP Morgan Nominees 4.76 Shares Outstanding 343.5m
Citicorp Nominees 3.66
Market Capital A$70.43m
Adrian Griffin 3.01
Cash A$15.69m
Parkway Minerals NL 2.57
Debt Nil
Horn Resources 1.97
Alan Jenks 1.32 Year High-Low A$0.27 - 0.07
Apollinax Inc. 1.15

SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE
TA Securities Berhad 1.1
Gasmere Pty Ltd 1.06
BNP Paribas 1.06
Shareholder structure
Retail 77.03%
Top ten inside holders 16.95%
Institutional ownership 6.02%
PROJECTS
North America Australia
Electra project – Sonora, Mexico, Pilbara region, Western Australia
Metals Tech – Quebec, Canada Goldfields region, Western Australia
Europe Cape York region, Queensland
Sadisdorf – Saxony, Germany Bynoe, Northern Territory

Kangaroo Island, South Australia
PROJECTS
From alpha-spodumene to zinnwaldite:
SiLeach ® is the ultimate processing solution
SILEACH ® – THE FUNDAMENTALS Before SiLeach
SiLeach® is a hydrometallurgical process, so no roasting is required.

It uses a combination of sulphuric acid (to break weak chemical
bonds) and halides (fluoride in particular) to dissociate the strong
bonds that act as the glue in silicate lattices. Reactions occur rapidly
at about 90˚C, which is a distinct advantage in terms of constraining
plant footprint and reducing capital costs. Now that SiLeach® has
been independently pilot-tested by ANSTO Minerals, one of Australia’s
premier research organisations, further optimisation of the process is
under way, with a view to committing to the construction of a Large
Scale Pilot Plant (LSPP) by the end of calendar 2017.
STRATEGIC POSITIONS IN LITHIUM HOT SPOTS
• Resource security is a commercial imperative One of LIT‘s prime
objectives is processing third-party ore, where much of the
After SiLeach
mining cost has already been absorbed during the extraction of
other commodities.
• To ensure such security, LIT has taken positions in major lithium
provinces around the globe.
• LIT has drill-tested the Agua Fria deposit in Mexico, and
Ravensthorpe in Western Australia and is planning its drilling
programme for Sadisdorf in Germany.
• IT is negotiating farm-out positions on a number of its
L
exploration properties in return for first right of refusal on
product generated from those areas, thereby retaining access to
the supply chain without spending high-risk exploration dollars
to realise reserves.
• SiLeach® optimisation remains LIT’s highest priority, with a
EFFICACY OF THE SILEACH ® PROCESS
view to commercialising the process and advancing towards
production. SiLeach® does not incorporate a roasting phase to extract lithium and
can potentially derive all its energy requirements from waste heat
• Metallurgical assessment of the Agua Fria deposit is underway,
generated in the production of sulphuric acid. Therefore, operating
to identify a beneficiation path that elevates feed grades and
inputs could be quite low. This is in vast contrast to attempts to
improves the value of the project.
recover lithium from micas using conventional processing (see China
• Exploration at Ravensthorpe and Sadisdorf has commenced and (lepidolite) in the graph below).
preliminary indications of the resource potential of Lake Johnston
Operating costs for production scale, accounting for by-product
are very promising; the latter area will undergo more intensive
credits, should place SiLeach®-based lithium carbonate production
exploration later in the year.
near the bottom end of the cost curve (see Target hydrometallurgical
costs).
9 WWW.LITHIUM-AU.COM
Lithium Mine Development and Nemaska Lithium TSX: NMX, OTCQX:NMKEF

Processing Facility
NEMASKA LITHIUM
TEAM
COMPANY OVERVIEW
Michel Baril – Chairman of the Board
Nemaska Lithium (TSX:NMX and OTCQX:NMKEF) is building North America’s Guy Bourassa – President & CEO
richest and largest hard rock lithium project and lithium salts (LiOH and Li2CO3) François Biron – Director
processing facility through a unique deposit in Nemaska and a state-of-the-art Paul-Henri Couture – Director
transformation plant in Shawinigan, both located in the province of Québec, René Lessard – Director
Canada. The project is fully permitted and construction has begun, making it
LATEST ANNOUNCEMENTS
one of the next fully integrated lithium salts suppliers in the world.
09/01/2018 Nemaska Lithium releases 2018 feasibility study
Once in commercial production, Nemaska Lithium is projecting to be one of the
lowest cost producers of lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate in the world. 08/01/2018 Nemaska Lithium delivers second shipment of battery grade
(source - NI43-101 compliant feasibility study of January 8, 2018) lithium hydroxide from Whabouchi Concentrate and releases
product purity specifications
The Company is well positioned to enter the chain of supply with lithium
concentrate by 2018 and lithium salts by 2019. Qualification of Nemaska 19/12/2017 Nemaska Lithium makes reclamation bond installment for
Lithium’s lithium salts with key customers began in 2017. Whabouchi Mine and announces exercise of warrant and
options
CAPITAL STRUCTURE AND SHAREHOLDERS
14/12/2017 Nemaska Lithium signs deal for sale of Sirmac property to
Investissement Québec Inc. 7.35% Abe resources and receives mining lease for Whabouchi
Lithium mine
TQC Group (Netherlands) Cooperatief UA 4.77%
04/11/2017 Nemaska Lithium confirms first delivery of battery grade
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd. 4.45%
lithium hydroxide from Whabouchi Mine concentrate
Global X Management Co. LLC 3.16%
RobecoSAM AG 1.25% KEY FINANCIALS (JANUARY 2018)
Fidelity (Canada) Asset Management ULC 1.18%
Share Price C$1.85
Van Eck Associates Corp. 1.08%
Shares Outstanding 401.6m
Hauck & Aufhäuser Privatbankiers AG 0.97%
OFI Global Asset Management, Inc. 0.93% Market Capital C$743m
Baring Asset Management Ltd. 0.66% Cash C$40m
Debt $0
Year High-Low C$2.44-0.95

Shareholder structure
Top Ten Shareholders 25% SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE
Management and Employees 7%
Others 68%
PROJECTS
Nemaska Whabouchi Project
• H2-2018: Commissioning
of Commercial Mine and STRATEGIC OFFTAKE CUSTOMERS
Concentrator
• FMC
Shawinigan Hydromet Plant • Johnson Matthey
• Q4 2017: Phase 1 Plant to • Multi-year contracts for Quantities - this accounts for ~42% of annual
produce, commercial lithium production
salts samples • Combination of fixed and market pricing
• Investment grade counterparties
• H2-2019 Commissioning of
Hydromet plant
Nemaska Lithium is committed to a low carbon footprint,
environmentally responsible production model throughout its
process from concentrate to finished lithium salts.
GREEN LITHIUM PRODUCTION
At both the Hydromet plant and mine site the Company has designed a project
that takes into account the goal of minimising the project footprint and recycling
where possible.
Initiatives include:
• co-disposal of filter-pressed tailings with waste rocks at the mine site;
• almost-100% process water reuse at both sites,
• low GHG emissions due to use of electrolysis with hydroelectricity
• valorization of all side products with the result of having no waste at
Hydromet site.
LITHIUM HYDROXIDE PRODUCTION

Nemaska Lithium has developed an innovative method of producing lithium
hydroxide via membrane electrolysis. This process was modified from an
industrial process used for years in the chlor alkali industry. The key operating
WHABOUCHI MINE: HIGH QUALITY LOW COST LITHIUM
cost of this method of production is electricity which, in Quebec is contracted SPODUMENE CONCENTR ATE - 2016 FEASIBILITY RESULTS
long term for $0.03 kWh, giving Nemaska Lithium visibility into its cost
structure over the life of the project. Expected Mine Life and Payback Period
33 years with 2.9 year payback period
LOW COST VERTICALLY INTEGRATED PRODUCER
NPV
$3.3B (US$2.5B) 8% Discount (pre-tax)
$2.4B (US$1.8B) 8% Discount (after tax)
Life of Mine Revenue

$19.2B (US$14.8B) (average of $581M/yr for 33 years)
Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

34.4% (pre-tax)
Undiscounted Cash Flow

$13.2B (US$10.2B) (pre-tax)
$9.6B (US$7.4B) (after tax)
Notes : 1 – Combined technical - and battery - grades - SQM, Rockwood and FMC costs assume lithium
carbonate procured internally at cost; Tianqi, Other China and Ganfeng mineral conversion assumes Total Initial Capital Costs
US$430/t CIF spodumene concentrate from Talison Lithium
$801M (US$616M) in CAPEX including contingency
EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE Average Cost Per Tonne - Spodumene Concentrate

$285/t (US$219/t) FOB Mine
Nemaska will mine its own source of lithium which is the 100% owned
Whabouchi Lithium mine located in northern Quebec Canada. Cost Per Tonne - Lithium Hydroxide
$3,655/t (US$2,811/t) FOB Shawinigan low cost producer
The mine site is well serviced with existing infrastructure including:
• year round road access Average Cost Per Tonne - Lithium Carbonate 99.99%
• commercial airport $4,424/t (US$3,403/t) FOB Shawinigan low cost producer
• electricity
Yearly Average Production
• lodging
• local workforce Mine ≈ 1.1Mt of ore at 1.5% Li2O; ≈ 213,000 tonnes of concentrate (6.25% Li2O)
Hydromet plant ≈ 23,000 t of lithium hydroxide; ≈ 11,000 t of lithium carbonate
WHABOUCHI LITHIUM MINE EXCEPTIONAL Note: Sales Prices FOB Shawinigan Lithium Hydroxide USD$14,000/t, Lithium Carbonate
CHARACTERISTICS: USD$9,500/t for first 5 years and USD$12,000t thereafter
• High-grade reserve WHABOUCHI MINE TO SHAWINIGAN HYDROMET PLANT

• Easily mined open pit
• Low strip ratio 1.
Mine and concentrator located in Eeyou Istchee James Bay
region, 300 km north of Chibougamau
Low cost concentrate is crucial in hard rock production, as it takes 7.5t of • 1.1MT/y ore
concentrate to produce 1 tonne of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). • 213kt/y 6.25% Li2O concentrate
• 130 employees
Controlling the raw material provides a cost advantage over the Chinese
producers who are all sourcing their concentrate from mines in Australia 2. Transport by road to Chibougamau and 555 km by rail (CN) to
through contracted prices, not at cost, as is the case for Nemaska Lithium. Shawinigan
• 8 railcars / 3 days
3. Hydromet Plant in Shawinigan as per Feasibility Study

ON-SITE BATTERY POWERED MACHINERY • 23kt/y LiOH.H2O
Nemaska Lithium is planning to use a fleet of electric utility vehicles at • 11kt/y Li2Co3
• 86 employees
both the mine and Hydromet facilities. Charging stations have already been
installed at Shawinigan facility with plans to install them at the mine site.
11 WWW.NEMASKALITHIUM.COM
Lithium Neometals Ltd ASX:NMT, OTC:RDRUY
NEOMETALS LTD
THE EVOLUTION OF LITHIUM
Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT, OTC: RDRUY) is a Western Australian minerals Steven Cole – Chairman
project developer with interests in lithium, titanium, vanadium and nickel Christopher Reed – Managing Director
projects. The Company is primarily focused on its Mount Marion and Barrambie David Reed – Non-Executive Director
projects. Neometals is developing itself in multiple positions in the Lithium-Ion Natalia Streltsova – Non-Executive Director
battery commodities supply chain through its 3 key business units – Lithium, Doug Ritchie – Non-Executive Director
Titanium, and Technology. COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS
12/12/17 Update on downstream lithium projects
INVESTMENT PROPOSITION 06/12/17 Neometals admitted to NASDAQ international designation
• Undervalued lithium producer 17/11/17 Neometals’ Mike Tamlin on increased production at Mt Marion
• Expected re-rating with consistent steady-state production 08/11/17 Barrambie Titanium Project - update
• Cash, cash flow & growth 31/10/17 Neometals features in 60 Minutes story on batteries
»» 13.8% cash flow from Mt Marion concentrates
»» Downstream conversion to LiOH KEY FINANCIALS (JANUARY 2018)
»» Technology: developing a diversified portfolio, licence potential
Share Price A$0.43
»» Secured strong partners for Neomet process
»» Titanium: The Big One, completed BFS Shares Outstanding 543.5m
Market Capital A$249m

MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS
Cash/Equiv A$42.1m
David Reed 11.09%
Debt 0
Global Lithium ETF 3.12%
Year High-Low A$0.50-0.24
Top 20 Shareholders 38.2%

CORPORATE STRATEGY
Combining innovative cost

advantages and strong partners
Into lower-risk, long-life, high-

margin operations to optimise
stakeholder returns
To develop a portfolio of globally

significant mineral resources
PROJECTS SUMMARY
PROJECT BUSINESS UNIT OWNERSHIP
Mt Marion Lithium Operation Lithium 13.8%
WA Lithium Hydroxide Project Lithium 100%
Barrambie Titanium Project Titanium 100%
100%
Lithium Battery Recycling
Technology Commercialisation
Technology
Rights; 50% IP
Lithium Titanate Research
Technology 100%
Project
Neomet Process Technology Technology 25% Net Profit Interest
Lithium Hydroxide Processing
Technology 70%
Technology - ELi Process
Lithium Brine Processing
Technology 100%
Technology - Dexter Process
PRODUCTION - Mt Marion Lithium Operation
GLOBALLY SIGNIFICANT OPERATION –
• Mt Marion Lithium Project is located approximately 40km south west of
Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
400KT CONCENTRATES PA (~50KT LCE)
• Jointly owned by Neometals Ltd (13.8%), China’s lithium producer Jiangxi
Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd (43.1%) and a local mining services business (43.1%).
• 400kt concentrates per year (~50kt LCE)
• JORC Resource 77.8Mt @ 1.37% Li2O* across 6 deposits
• 2HFY17 Production 156,000 dmt
• 1QFY18 Production +100,000 wmt
• FY18 Forecast 450,000t of 6% & 4% Li2O
• 1HFY18 EBITDA A$72M** (100% basis)
• C1 costs A$369/t CIF (~US$290/t)
• Total costs A$460/t CIF (~US$360/t) Mt Marion Aerial
• LOM Take or Pay Contract* January 2017
First ore to beneficiation
• Price linked to International LCE price
DOWNSTREAM PROCESSING -Kalgoorlie Lithium

Hydroxide Facility
• Conduct assessment of the technical and commercial
feasibility of the construction and operation of a lithium
chemical plant in the Eastern Goldfields of WA
• Nameplate capacity of 20,000 tpa of lithium carbonate
equivalent production, although smaller capacity is being
assessed
• Local plant to minimise transport from Mt Marion – 7t
spodumene concentrate needed for 1t of LiOH
• Conventional flowsheet – remove technology risk – speed
to market
• Utilise local natural gas, sulfuric acid, and workforce
TITANIUM - Barrambie Titanium Vanadium Iron Project GLOBALLY SIGNIFICANT TITANIUM RESOURCE
• Plans to exploit one of the world’s highest grade hard rock titanium deposits
• Beneficiate with a proprietary acid leach process to produce high purity TiO2,
Fe2O3 and V2O5 from the Barrambie deposit.
• The process route shows potential to operate at lowest quartile costs.
• JORC Resource 48Mt @ 22% TiO2
• Formal laboratory-scale test work in Canada has confirmed high-purity (>99%)
TiO2 can be precipitated selectively from a leach solution at recoveries >90%
• NEOMET PROCESS: 3 Product Efficiency
TECHNOLOGY - Lithium Hydroxide Processing Technology

– ELi Process
• Purified LiCl is electrolysed using NMT’s 70% owned and patented
“ELi Process” to produce battery quality LiOH.
• Potential to operate at lowest quartile costs for LiOH.
• Input: 147,000t of 6.0% Li2O
• Output: 10,000t of Battery Grade LiOH, and 8,810t of Battery
Grade Li2CO3
• Cost: US$83m (located in Malaysia)
• NPV: US$321m using 12% discount rate, IRR: 94%, payback: ~2
years CONTACT Chris Reed
• OPEX: LiOH US$3,800/t – Li2CO3 US$4,500/t Managing Director
• Potential to deploy on both hard rock and brines T+61 8 9322 1182
info@neometals.com.au
• Potential licence income
13 WWW.NEOMETALS.COM.AU
Lithium Brine Neo Lithium Corp TSX.V:NLC; OTCQX:NTTHF; FSE:NE2
NEO LITHIUM CORP

THE NEXT MAJOR LITHIUM DISCOVERY
COMPANY OVERVIEW
Neo Lithium Corp (TSX.V:NLC; OTCQX:NTTHF; FSE:NE2) is quickly becoming TEAM
the most prominent new name in lithium brine exploration by virtue of its
quality team and project. Already well capitalised, Neo Lithium is rapidly Waldo A Perez – President & CEO
advancing its newly discovered Tres Quebradas (3Q) project - a high-grade Constantine Karayannopoulos – Chairman
lithium brine reservoir and salar complex in the Lithium Triangle. Carlos Vicens – Chief Financial Officer
Thomas Pladsen – Director
MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS Gabriel Pindar – COO & Director
Paul Fornazzari – Director
BlackRock Inc. 13.0%
COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS
M&G Investment Management Ltd. 10.2%
08/01/18 Neo Lithium appoints Chief Operating Officer and expands
JP Morgan Asset Management 5.8%
engineering team
Connor Clark & Lund 3.4% 04/12/17 Neo Lithium provides exploration update; receives C$15.6M
RBIM 3.3% from the acceleration of outstanding warrants
21/11/17 Neo Lithium announces cosing of $30 million bought deal
Mackenzie Financial Corp. 2.9% private placement
Manulife 1.8% 01/11/17 Neo Lithium Corp. increases bought deal financing to $30
million
Dynamic Resource Fund 1.5%
31/10/17 Neo Lithium Corp. announces $20 million bought deal financing
Extract Capital 1.3% 30/10/17 Neo Lithium Corp. announces positive preliminary economic
Primevest Fund 1.2% assessment results on its 3Q Project
06/09/17 Neo Lithium announces PEA to be based on 35,000 tonnes of
Total Institutional Ownership ~45% lithium carbonate per year; provides progress report On 3Q
Insider Ownership ~16% Lithium Project
KEY FINANCIALS (JANUARY 2018)

WHY NEO LITHIUM?
• One of the highest-grade lithium brine assets in the world combined Share Price C$1.90
with the lowest critical impurity content of any known salar making it Shares Outstanding 117.1m
ideal for well-known and simple evaporation processing
Market Capital C$227.6m
• 8th largest resource of lithium carbonate after one season of drilling
with significant potential for upside Cash/Equiv C$65m
• 100% ownership - the only Lithium company that owns an entire salar
Debt 0
of this size without competitors or third parties
• PEA completed in Q4 2017 - US$1.2 billion after-tax NPV at 8%; IRR Year High-Low C$2.75-0.85
of 27.9%; Payback: 1 year and 8 months; OPEX: $2,791/t of Lithium
Carbonate; CAPEX: $490.2 million SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE
• Strong cash position and robust shareholder register
TRES QUEBRADAS (3Q) LITHIUM PROJECT

3Q is the most recent high-grade lithium brine lake and salar complex discovery in
the lithium triangle.
• Located in the southwestern portion of the Catamarca Province of Argentina - the
largest lithium producer province of Argentina.
• Project located 30km from the Chilean border with direct road to Pacific ports
• 100% ownership of the entire salar complex
• Fully permitted to feasibility - EIA well advanced and expected to be finalised in Q1/
Q2 2018
THE3QPROJECT
GEOLOGY & RESOURCES
• Most recent high-grade lithium brine lake and salar complex discovery in the lithium triangle
• Maiden Resource Estimate developed and announced after first drilling season
»» 2.1 Mt lithium carbonate @ 716 mg/L Li (at 520 mg/L Li cut-off)
»» 3.5Mt lithium carbonate @ 567 mg/L Li (at 400 mg/L Li cut-off)
• High-grade / low impurities
• Production rate of 35kt/year of Lithium Carbonate In only one drilling
• Simple, proven solar evaporation technology season Neo Lithium
• Mine life of 20 years with a 3 year ramp up was able to announce
its maiden resource
• 3.5 Million Tons Lithium Carbonate @ 567 mg/l Li
estimate for the 3Q
• Measured and Indicated 1.22 Million Tons Lithium
Carbonate @ 567 mg/l Li Project.
3Q PROJECT - PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT (PEA)

• The economic analysis of the PEA is based on Construction commencing in 2019 with a three year ramp-up
• All numbers based on a constant U.S. dollar basis
• Average lithium carbonate pricing over the life of mine is ~US$11,760/t
CAPEX US$ Million

PEA Highlights & Results
Direct Costs $321.4
After-Tax Net Present Value (“NPV”) @ 8% Discount Rate US$1,200 million
Indirect Costs $88.5
After-Tax Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”) 27.9%
Total Initial Capital Costs $490.2
Capital Expenditures US$490.2 million
Cash Operating Costs (per tonne of LCE) US$2,791
OPEX US$000/yr US$/t Li2CO3
Steady-State Annual Production (lithium carbonate) 35,000
Direct Costs $96,317 $2,752
Mine Life 20 years
Steady-State Annual EBITDA* (nameplate production) US$310.1 million General & Administration $1,359 $39
Payback Period (from commencement of production) 1 year 8 months Production Total Costs $97,677 $2,791
OPERATIONS & PROCESSING
Salar Complex Evaporation Fiambala Lithium

Plant- 3 step process. Carbonate Plant
1. Pre-concentration ponds • Finishing a battery grade
2. Conditioning brine lithium carbonate product
3. Post-concentration ponds • Pilot plant construction
planned to commence Q1
2018, for operations in Q3
2018
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 2018

• Drilling campaign will be double the previous drilling programme
• Aquifer pump testing with large diameter production wells will continue
• Hydrogeology: hydrogeological model with reserve and potential resource
expansion estimation expected in early Q2 2018
• DFS: Definitive Feasibility Study estimated between Q4 2018 and Q1 2019
CONTACT Carlos Vicens

Chief Financial Officer
cvicens@neolithium.ca
15 WWW.NEOLITHIUM.CA
Cobalt - Chasing
Electric Dreams
By Anthony Milewski, Chairman, Cobalt 27
Anthony’s career in the mining industry includes time spent as a company director, advisor, founder and inves-
tor. Anthony has managed numerous mining investments at various stages of development and across a broad
range of commodities. Prior to joining Pala, Anthony worked at Firebird Management, where he focused on
natural resource investments in Africa, Central Asia and the Former Soviet Union. Anthony previously worked
at Renaissance Capital and Skadden, Arps in Moscow and has lived and worked in Africa and Russia, including a
year as a Fulbright scholar.
A day hardly passes without news of the future

of electric vehicles (EVs) and battery storage.
Whether you read about countries mandating EV
sales, the creation of entire fleets of EVs, or new electric grid
storage innovations, there’s a lot to contemplate.
will win the race. Will Tesla or Ford sell the most EVs? Whose
lithium ion battery will have the most efficient chemistry?
Should I own a publicly traded chipmaker? Hard to answer,
but there is one thing investors can be sure of. If you believe
that consumers are going to buy EVs and home storage battery
systems, basic materials will be a winner.
In fact, we are looking at a structural change in both the energy
market and the automobile industry. Over the next decade we The key basic materials that comprise the lithium ion battery
will see a decrease in terminal value of energy stocks and a and the industrial revolution now underway include, copper,
complete upheaval in the car industry. nickel, cobalt, graphite, and manganese. In the next decade the
impact of
Investors often point out that they are confident about EV
penetration rates over the next few years and the expansion
of grid storage. However, they do not necessarily know who
16
www.theassay.com
being expanded. This is in stark contrast to uranium where the

"To understand the planned reactors were not being built at the rates anticipated.
future of cobalt you need
to understand its past." To understand the future of cobalt you need to understand
its past. In 2008, war in the DRC caused the price of cobalt to
EVs and battery storage on these commodities will unfold in jump to about $50 per pound. Immediately, anyone that could
dramatic fashion. use cobalt more sparingly in their industrial process did so.
Around the time of the spike in cobalt prices the global financial
In the early years of the cycle cobalt and lithium are most
crisis struck, precipitating a significant decrease in the price of
impacted by the adoption of new technology. As battery
many metals, including cobalt. There were other reasons for the
chemistries change and penetration rates accelerate, nickel
subsequent decrease in price, including the tail end of a Chinese
will become more exciting. We have already started to see a
boom that saw more nickel mines (which create cobalt as a
bifurcation of the nickel market that will accelerate and result
byproduct), and more artisanal miners in the DRC.
in several distinct markets. Finally copper, the largest and most
liquid of these commodities, will be affected due to increased The price of cobalt is currently around $30 per pound. Most of
need for both the grid and EVs. Of these metals, however, I’m the reduction in usage that can occur with cobalt happened a
going to look at cobalt. decade ago. End users such as airplane makers that make up
20 per cent of the cobalt market are not interested in saving a
few dollars to eliminate cobalt and make their hundred million
Why Cobalt? dollar planes less safe.
Annual cobalt production is approximately 100,000 tonnes, Times have also changed for artisanal miners in the DRC.
with over half coming from the Democratic Republic of the Companies such as Apple and Tesla are requiring suppliers to
Congo (DRC). Half of it is used in the broader battery industry show sourcing data to avoid negative publicity associated with
in one form or another (including the cellphone market). The child labour. Even if the cobalt price goes higher it is unlikely
amount of cobalt required to supply expected future demand that cellphone and carmakers are willing to buy and use conflict
is staggering. Analysts are not great at predicting future cobalt, so there will be a far smaller corresponding increase in
penetration and adoption rates for new consumer products. artisanal mining compared to 2008.
But, if we take their projected rates as a guide, the cobalt market
Will someone invent a new battery and ‘engineer out’ cobalt,
will need to expand dramatically between now and 2025. Bank
as sometimes suggested? This is nonsense. Carmakers say that
analysts have 2025 EV penetration rates at anywhere from a
even if a new battery was invented today we would not see it in
few per cent to upwards of 15 per cent. If we imagine a world
an electric car for at least eight years.
in 2025 with 10 per cent EV penetration we may need double
the world’s cobalt supply, with a majority of it going into EV That is not to say that scientists are not working on new battery
batteries. technology. Instead, it highlights the time it takes to create a
new battery, make it cost effective and then convince carmakers
Perhaps this all sounds like the bull markets that precipitated
and regulators it is safe enough to be in a car. I am reminded of
huge spikes in the uranium price and the rare earths market at
Betamax v VHS. The argument about which format was better
various points over the past decade. Should we worry?
was largely academic. VHS was the format of choice for the film
First and foremost, a critical distinction between cobalt and industry and crushed Betamax. The same is true of the lithium
uranium/rare earths is that unlike the “if you build it they ion battery. The market has chosen the lithium ion battery as the
will come” mentality that surrounded both of those latter winner for a decade.
commodities, the gigafactories of the world are currently being
There are other aspects of the cobalt market to consider: battery
built. The industrial capacity that requires cobalt exists and is
chemistry changes; new projects coming into production; and
17
THE ASSAY
the possibility of collecting additional material from existing The world needs more cobalt. Around 98 per cent of the world’s
operations and tailings. cobalt is a byproduct of copper or nickel. This makes increasing
supply difficult. That said, cobalt is like all other commodities –
Lithium ion battery chemistry will change in the next five years.
there is a price point which acts as an incentive to bring on new
The two most common chemistries are the NCA (a combination
supply. The current cobalt price is just off the 20-year inflation-
of lithium with nickel, cobalt, aluminum oxide, used by Tesla)
adjusted average, and in my opinion a long way from the
and NMC (lithium with nickel, manganese and cobalt oxide,
incentive price. When the price of cobalt is high enough there
used by most everyone else).
are mines in North America, Africa, Russia, Cuba, and Australia
The NMC configuration is a ratio of 5-2-3 of nickel, manganese that can and will be built.
and cobalt. A 6-2-2 configuration is being rolled out and
If history is a guide, the market will go well past the incentive
companies are working on an 8-1-1 configuration, which is
price for new cobalt production, sparking investment in new
probably four or five years away. I would note that all of these
mines. There are few large-scale new mines with significant
changes in chemistries are built in supply demand models and
cobalt credits that I can think of that will be in production in
are expected. Even the lithium air battery, a decade out, contains
the next three years, and the timeline for most mines is more
cobalt. If the price goes high enough you may see companies put
like four to six years. The two obvious cobalt producers that will
more scientists on the task of changing the chemistry to the 8-1-
enter the market are Katanga and ERG’s mine.
1 and so theoretically this could be brought forward a few years.
18
www.theassay.com
When a commodity moves sharply the market possible to engineer-out at this time. Cobalt’s
always seems to manage to find units in price at $30 per pound is less than 1 per cent of
forgotten places. That may come in the form of the price of an EV and well below the incentive
"The world adding or changing a circuit at an HPAL (High price for new mines.
needs more Pressure Acid Leach) facility, or optimising a
cobalt. Around current process for cobalt. There are tailings in
Investing in cobalt producers and the metal is
an exciting pure play on the EV adoption trend.
ninety eight places such as the DRC that could be brought
percent of the on faster than a new mine.
world’s cobalt In a nutshell: cobalt has a new and massive
is a byproduct source of demand in the form of the EV. Cobalt
of copper or is a byproduct and so there are not many, if any,

mines that can quickly and easily be brought
nickel." into production, so the supply response will
be muted and slow. It is a critical element of
the lithium ion battery and not technologically
19
Lithium Piedmont Lithium ASX:PLL, OTC.PLLLY
PIEDMONT LITHIUM
THE WORLD’S BEST-LOCATED LITHIUM PROJECT
Piedmont Lithium is an emerging lithium company focused on the development Ian Middlemas – Chairman
of its 100%-owned Piedmont Lithium Project in North Carolina, with the goal Keith D. Phillips – President & CEO
of becoming a strategic domestic supplier of lithium to the increasing electric Anastasios (Taso) Arima – Executive Director
vehicle and battery storage markets in the U.S. The Piedmont Lithium Project is Robert Behets – Non-Executive Director
located in one of the premier regions in the world for lithium exploration given Levi Mochkin – Non-Executive Director
its favourable geology and ideal location with easy access to infrastructure, Mark Pearce – Non-Executive Director
power, R&D centers for lithium and battery storage and major high-tech
population centres.
24/01/18 Piedmont launches Scoping Study with the appointment of
MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS Primero and CSA
17/01/18 US Policy changes on critical minerals and corporate taxes
NASDAQ Securities Australia Pty Ltd. 9.48% reinforce core advantages of the Piedmont Lithium Project
AustralianSuper Pty Ltd 5.64% 09/01/18 Piedmont enhances Senior US Executive team
12/12/17 Comprehensive Drilling Programme commences at The
Ian Middlemas 3.61% Piedmont Lithium Project
Sapphire Chip Pty Ltd 1.87% 28/11/17 Further High-Grade Assay results continue to extend
mineralisation at The Piedmont Lithium Project
14/11/17 Piedmont continues aggressive land strategy
Officers and Directors 14.20% 03/11/17 Completion of institutional placement raising A$16m
01/11/17 Phase 2 Drilling Programme completed and further High-Grade
WHY PIEDMONT? Assay results
11/10/17 Piedmont commences trading in The United States and admitted
• High-Growth Sector – lithium is a high-growth sector for both to Nasdaq International Designation
consumer products and investors 05/10/17 Piedmont Lithium to present at the Cathodes 2017 Conference
• Project That “Checks All The Boxes” – the world’s best located lithium 26/09/17 Four Kilometres of mineralisation confirmed at the Piedmont
project with strong project fundamentals and ability to rapidly develop Lithium Project
the high-grade deposit 13/09/17 Piedmont secures additional Lithium Mineral Rights
• Strong Board – extremely well credentialled Board with a proven
history of developing mineral resource projects and delivering
shareholder value
Share Price A$0.21/ US$16.70
• Solid Shareholder Base – major shareholders who share the vision for
Piedmont to become a new strategic supplier of lithium to the high- Shares/ADRs Outstanding 554.0m/5.54m
growth US market
Market Capital A$116m/ US$92.5m
• Maiden Resource - Expected Q2 2018
Cash/Equiv US$14.0m
Debt 0
PIEDMONT LITHIUM PROJECT SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE
PROJECT ADVANTAGES
• Proximity to downstream markets – located within 15 miles of the only two large
scale lithium processing facilities in the U.S. providing potential cost savings and
certainty of supply;
• Existing infrastructure – ready access to high quality roads and rail, low-cost power
and skilled labour force; and
• Stable and investment friendly jurisdiction – stable legal regime, established 9
month permitting process for mining operations with low taxes and no state mining
royalties
PROJECTS INFRASTRUCTURE
• 100% interest in the Piedmont Lithium Project • Good access to established infrastructure and labour market
• Located approximately 40 kilometres west of Charlotte, »» Access to labour is a significant strategic advantage for Piedmont located outside Charlotte
North Carolina • 11.5 GW of large scale power within 50 km of the project
• Located within the world-class Carolina Tin-Spodumene »» McGuire Nuclear Power Station (2.3 GW)
Belt (“TSB”)
»» Transcontinental Natural Gas Pipeline
• Along trend to the Hallman Beam and Kings Mountain
• A major highway just south of the project
mines, provided most of the western world’s lithium
between 1950 and 1990 »» I-85 Interstate Highway
• The TSB has been described as one of the largest lithium • Two nearby railways with access to major international ports, and a major international
provinces in the world airport
»» Charlotte/Douglas Int. Airport
EXPLORATION AND GEOLOGY

• 4 high-grade Li corridors identified
• Property consists of 530 contiguous acres
• Historic drilling (2009/2010) consisted of 19
holes totaling ~1,200 m
• Phase 1 drilling programme consisted of
12 holes totaling ~1,500 m of drilling and
identified 4 corridors or groups of pegmatite
swarms within the property
• 4+ kilometres strike length
• Pegmatite dikes generally strike northeast
with a moderate southeast dip and range in
thickness between 5-25m
• Phase 2 drilling extended a further 3,000m from
the initial 9,400m campaign
• Exploration Target anticipated by year-end
Drillholes Assay Results
28.9m @ 0.94% Li2O from 35m including 6.0m @ 1.72% Li2O

Hole 17-BD-21
from 55m

Hole 17-BD-22
from 67m

Hole 17-BD-23
from 41m
17.8m @ 1.04% Li2O from 107m and 2.8m @ 1.35% Li2O
Hole 17-BD-50
from 94m
Hole 17-BD-53 10.5m @ 1.06% Li2O from 56m and 5.5m @ 1.39% Li2O from
Hole 17-BD-29 5.0m @ 1.44% Li2O from 30m and 3.0m @ 1.26% Li2O from
Hole 17-BD-62 16.2m @ 1.72% Li2O from 109m
2018 WORK PLAN AND EXPECTED NEWS FLOW

• Comprehensive 20,000m drill programme underway CONTACT Keith D. Phillips
• Maiden Resource anticipated Q2 2018 President & CEO
keith@piedmontlithium.com
• Scoping Study commenced January 2018 and results expected Q3 2018
+1 973 809 0505
• Metallurgical studies underway at North Carolina State Mineral Research
Laboratory Anastasios (Taso) Arima
• Initial permitting work in process and submissions expected Q4 2018 Executive Director
• Land consolidation strategy ongoing taso@piedmontlithium.com
+1 347 899 1522
21 WWW.PIEDMONTLITHIUM.COM
Lithium Infinity Lithium Corp. ASX:PLH

(formerly Plymouth Minerals Ltd)
INFINITY LITHIUM CORP.

(FORMERLY PLYMOUTH MINERALS LTD)
DEVELOPING THE WORLD CLASS SAN JOSE
LITHIUM-TIN DEPOSIT IN EUROPE
TEAM
COMPANY OVERVIEW
Adrian Byass – Managing Director
Infinity Lithium Corp. (formerly Plymouth Minerals Ltd) is an ASX-listed Humphrey Hale – Non-Executive Director
company developing the San Jose Lithium-Tin Project in JV with Spanish Eric Lilford – Non-Executive Director
company Valoriza Mineria (Sacyr). The Project is located in the mining friendly Christian Cordier – Non-Executive Director
Extremadura province of Western Spain. Previous worker Tolsa drilled and Kevin Tomlinson – Non-Executive Chairman
commenced feasibility studies on the project n the 1990s. Infinity Lithium
has progressed from here with further drilling, metallurgical test work COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS
programmes and completed a Scoping Study that details a large, long-life,
10/01/18 San Jose lithium-tin project update
open-pit development with strong economics that will produce 15,000 tonnes
13/12/17 $6.5m capital raising to complete feasibility study and advance
of lithium carbonate per annum from the mine and on-site refinery.
the San Jose Lithium-Tin Project
MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS 07/12/17 First btch from bulksampling programme to major Chinese
lithium producer
Morgan Stanley 4.99% 05/12/17 Updated mineral resource establishes San Jose Lithium-Tin
Adrian P. Byass 3.27% Deposit as one of the largest in Europe
18/10/17 Scoping study demonstrates robust economics for the San Jose
A22 Pty Ltd. 2.06%
Lithium-Tin Project
Eric Vernon Lilford 1.75%
Christian Cordier 1.70%
Management Ownership 7.40% KEY FINANCIALS (JANUARY 2018)
Top 20 61%
Share Price A$0.16
INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS Shares Outstanding 189m

• World-class project, development and technical partners Market Capital A$31m
• Scoping Study completed in Q4 2017 - US$401 million pre-tax NPV
at 8%; IRR of 28%; Payback Period: 2.7 years; CAPEX (Incl. 10% Debt 0
contingency): US$273 million; OPEX (Years 1-10): US$4,763/t of Lithium
Carbonate Year High-Low A$0.29-0.15
• AU$6.5m raised to complete Feasibility Study 2018 – currently
underway
• Proven +99.9% LC battery grade product SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE
• Feasibility Study Due QY CY2018
SAN JOSE LITHIUM-TIN PROJECT
“A MAJOR, NEAR-TERM, BROWNFIELDS LITHIUM

DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY”
• Located in the brownfields, proactive
mining region of Extremadura in Spain
CONTACT
• Tender awarded by Government for
development Adrian Byass
CEO, Managing Director
• One of the largest lithium deposits in T: +61 (0) 410 305 685
Europe E: abyass@plymouthminerals.com
• Excellent supporting infrastructure
“UPDATED MINERAL RESOURCE ESTABLISHES
SAN JOSE LITHIUM-TIN DEPOSIT AS ONE OF
THE LARGEST IN EUROPE”
GEOLOGY & RESOURCES
• San Jose Lithium-Tin Deposit contains an estimated +1.6Mt of Lithium
Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) – one of the largest in Europe
• 112Mt @ 0.61% Li2O (lithium oxide) and 0.02% Sn (tin) (at 0.10% Li cut-off)
• 25.2Mt @ 0.9% Li2O (lithium oxide) and 0.03% Sn (tin) (at 0.35% Li cut-off)
• Initial mine life of 24.1 years potential
• Resource open in all directions
MINING & PROCESSING

• Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with major
Chinese lithium carbonate producer Shandong Ruifu
Lithium Company (Shandong Ruifu)
• Proven, simple process flow sheet and metallurgy to
produce saleable Lithium Carbonate (LC)
• Initial process test work proved battery grade LC
+99.5% purity
• Additional process test work for Feasibility Study
2018 currently underway in at Shandong Ruifu’s
production facilities in China
• Process flowsheet- Proven Simple and Cheap
SCOPING STUDY 2017
Scoping Study Highlights & Results
NPV (8%) @ US10,000/t LC US$401m
Project IRR 28%
Payback from Commencement of Production 2.7 years
CAPEX (including 10% contingency) US$273m
Grade - Lithium Carbonate LOM 1.7%
Potential Annual Production 15,000tpa LC +99.5%
Average C1 Cost - Year 1-10 (without credit*) US$4,763/t
Average Gross Operating Cash flow Per Annum - Year 1-10 US$74.8m
Project Milestones DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Activity Status “INFINITY LITHIUM IS ON TRACK TO ACQUIRING A 75%

Feasibility Study Underway
INTEREST IN THE SAN JOSE LITHIUM-TIN PROJECT
THROUGH THE COMPLETION OF THE FEASIBILITY
Beneficiation Test Work Underway STUDY”
Geotechnical & Metallurgical Drilling
Underway • Feasibility Study: currently underway and expected to be completed by Q4 2018 –
Campaign earning Plymouth Minerals 75% project interest
Delivery of Feasibility Study Expected Q4 2018 • Process Test Work: currently being conducted by lithium producer in China
Earn 75% Project Interest • Drilling: geotechnical and metallurgical drilling campaign commencing January 2018
Expected Q4 2018
• Development: permitting, financing, construction and commissioning of San Jose
Product Offtake & Strategic Partner Planned 2018 planned for 2019/2020
Permitting, Financing, Construction &

Planned 2019/2020
Commissioning
23 WWW.PLYMOUTHMINERALS.COM
Nickel Producer Consolidated Nickel Mines PRIVATE
CONSOLIDATED NICKEL MINES

MUNALI NICKEL MINE ZAMBIA NEAR TERM PRODUCTION

Simon Purkiss – Chief Executive Officer
Consolidated Nickel Mines (CNM) is a private nickel developer focused on
the Munali Nickel Project 70km South West of Lusaka, Zambia. Operations at Craig Bailey – Chief Operating Officer
Munali ceased in November 2011 due to low nickel prices and poor operational
performance by previous owners, Jinchuan. CNM acquired the rights to use all
of Munali’s mine resources and infrastructure through a leasing arrangement MUNALI MINE
from the previous owners. ROBUST PROJECT RETURNS
CNM believe the company is well positioned to develop the mine at a lower • S hort-run to cash flow positive driven by competitive operating costs and
cost level than the previous owners and is well positioned to produce a Nickel low start-up capex requirement
Sulphate NiSO4 product that will supply the developing battery market. • Targeting low cost 30-40kt/pa Ni concentrate over >7yr LoM
• Saleable products: 12% Ni Conc :4,500tpa Ni, 200tpa Cu, 200tpa Co,
6,400oz PGM 25% Cu Conc : 500tpa Cu, 6,300oz PGM
COMPANY STRATEGY
• Forecast Opex costs of approx. US$ 7,000/t nickel produced
CNM’s strategy is to acquire underperforming base metal assets and apply
• Estimated US$40m to commence start-up within 6 months
modern mining methods and novel applications of metallurgy to improve the
economic performance of mines that have had significant capital invested. • Targeted annual revenue of US$56m (Ni price US$15,000/t)
• NPV8% - US$36.7m and IRR – 33.5% (7yr LoM)
CNM have recently raised US$20m and is seeking a further US$40m through
equity and debt instruments to commence mining at Munali. • NPV8% - US$74m and IRR – 39.8% (10yr LoM)
• Free to sell nickel concentrate off-take contract
• Potential to further beneficiate to sulphate or metal
MINING IN ZAMBIA
Country Background RE-START STRATEGY AND STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS
• Zambia has a proven, democratic tradition of transfer of power Current Position
• Mining has been economic and social backbone of Zambia • Ongoing care and maintenance costs at current staffing level $5m per
• More than 80 years of established mining operations annum
• Mining is a significant contributor to employment (direct and indirect) • Project cash positive at current nickel prices
• Highly-trained and well-educated mining workforce • Decision made to finance re-start at $40m capital
Infrastructure Financing options

• Well-established transport and communications network • Mining fleet financing in advanced discussion
• Further capital development underway (railway, power stations) • Light vehicle financing in advanced discussion
• Offtake finance $20m under discussion with traders
Taxes • Offtake finance and nickel sulphate project finance under discussion
• 5% Mineral Royalty Tax for nickel operations • Equity finance – private
• Sliding scale for copper 4-6% depending on copper price
• 30% Corporation Tax
• Ministry (Mines and Finance)
STRATEGIC SHAREHOLDERS
• CE Mining
• CE Mining II
“demand for nickel could reach 400,000 tonnes should electric
vehicles reach 10 per cent of the global fleet, enough to cause a
supply deficit” Glencore Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg
INCREASED DEMAND-ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) GROWTH
• Market in deficit 2016 onwards
– Supply closures on ferronickel side
– Chinese stainless demand strong
– Stock reducing from highs
• New demand source – batteries

– 20% growth in battery demand 2016
– EVs 40kg nickel per car (80kg copper)
– 5m EVs in China within 5 years
– 400kt of new nickel required
– 5m EVs in ROW?
– Renewable storage batteries?
– Battery grade nickel from sulphides
• Reducing supply from current mines (grade, tonnes)
• Forecast 20% sulphide supply to batteries within 5 years
SUPPLY – LIMITS TO NPI MARKETS • High grade ore, Indonesia, produces HG NPI, direct
300 stainless feed
• Low grade ore, Indonesia and Philippines produces

LG NPI, partial feed to 300 stainless
• Balance made up of other nickel sources such as

scrap and refined nickel
• Limit to amount of LG NPI that can be consumed in

stainless process so limit to amount of utilised LG
Ore
• LG Ore price to decouple from nickel price,

dampening rising nickel price affect on Chinese
stainless steel cost
NICKEL SULPHATE NISO4 – MARKET OPPORTUNITY

• Lithium Ion (Li) batteries are used for storage of energy, for plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) and static storage markets
• Nickel will play a key role in developing battery technology due to high energy density.
• Nickel-containing battery technology, specifically battery cathodes, is an essential component in the development of electric vehicles
• Nickel Sulphate is the primary nickel product to meet this demand (most laterite, NPI and FeNi will not be able to produce a competitive nickel product).
• Nickel Sulphate currently trading at a premium to LME nickel prices.
• Tesla expects to produce 35 GWh worth of batteries/Energy storage in 2018, if one assumes 2kg of Nickel per kwh, that would mean a 70k ton demand for
Nickel Sulphate just for Tesla.
• Battery size range for fully Electric from 6kwh (Renault Twizy) to 100kwh (Tesla S) - Averaging around 25Kwh
INVESTMENT SUMMARY
• Leveraging off US$180m historical spend on mine, plant and infrastructure
• Strong Government and Community support with all key mine infrastructure and permits in place
• Company de-risked with CSR commitments cleared, water security improved, costs reduced
• Key technical operating management in place at site
• Robust project returns with short-run to cash flow positive, driven by competitive operating costs and low start-up Capex requirement (US$40m)
• Exploration potential both down-dip and in region
• Value add product of metal or battery-grade sulphate demonstrated and pilot and feasibility study step to start. Separate financing planned
• Expert project development team with African operating experience, proven mine restart capabilities and a track record of delivering superior shareholder
returns
• Financing of restart underway
25 WWW.CNMPLC.CO.UK
Pure-Play Exposure To Cobalt Cobalt 27 TSX: KBLT
COBALT 27
Anthony Milewski – Chairman, CEO & Director
Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. (“Cobalt 27”) is a minerals company that offers pure-
play exposure to cobalt, an integral element in key technologies of the electric Justin Cochrane – President & COO
vehicle and battery energy storage markets. Cobalt 27 has acquired one of the Cindy Davis – CFO
world’s largest stockpiles of physical cobalt and intends to manage and grow Frank Estergaard – Director
a cobalt-focused portfolio of streams, royalties and direct interests in mineral Nick French – Director
properties containing cobalt. Cobalt 27 identified cobalt as a commodity with John Kanellitsas – Director
attractive supply-and-demand fundamentals driven by the rapidly growing Candace MacGibbon – Director
electric vehicle and battery energy storage markets.
ADVISORY BOARD
Cobalt 27’s management team evaluated various opportunities to invest in
Jonathan Hykawy – Managing Director, Stormcrow
cobalt and decided the most attractive structure would be to create a company
Phil Day – 20 years focused on mining operations and design
with an asset base underpinned by physical cobalt material and enhanced with
Andrew Ferguson – Executive Director and CEO of APAC Resource
growth opportunities in the form of streams, royalties and direct interests in
Robert Mitchell – Managing Member of Portal Capital, Portfolio Manager of
mineral properties containing cobalt.
Green Energy Metals Fund and Co. , and Odysseus Fund
Neil Warburton – Non-Executive Director at Independence Group
Vincent Metcalfe - Vice President at Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd.
COBALT 27 STRATEGY
Ted Miller - Ford Motor Co. senior manager of energy storage and materials
Cobalt 27’s strategy of holding physical cobalt, streams and royalties will strategy and research
avoid the operational, environmental, closure, capital risks and the binary Mark Selby - President & CEO of RNC Minerals
upside/downside associated with typical mining companies. Similarly, Cobalt Dr. Prabhakar Patil - Former CEO of LG Chem Power Inc.
27 will not be exposed to any operational and competitive risks borne by the Andrew Ham - PhD Structural Geology; 20+ years mining investment
automakers and battery producers. By holding physical cobalt and cobalt
streams and royalties, the Company will be able to participate in cobalt price
appreciation while minimising exposure to risks. 11/01/18 Cobalt 27 announces Andrew Ham joins advisory board
22/12/17 Cobalt 27 announces full exercise of over-allotment option
21/12/17 Cobalt 27 appoints two new directors as it focuses on
Pala Investments Ltd. (Switzerland) 18.6% streaming
19/12/17 Cobalt 27 closes $85M bought deal offering
Portal Capital 11.1%
11/12/17 Cobalt 27 announces filing of prospectus supplement and
Blackrock 8.8% purchase of additional cobalt
Fir Tree Partners 3.7% 07/12/17 Cobalt 27 announces $85M bought deal offering of common
shares
Sovereign Wealth Fund 2.9%

INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Physical cobalt position with stream royalty upside potential Share Price C$13.12

• Direct leverage through physical cobalt
PURE PLAY COBALT • Growth through streams and royalties Market Capital C$450.6m
INVESTMENT VEHICLE • Limited exposure to operational and capital risks
• Few investment alternatives providing exposure to cobalt Cash C$20m
STRONG COBALT Debt 0

• Growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and
FUNDAMENTALS- energy storage expected to drive demand for battery Year High-Low C$13.75-7.42
materials, particularly cobalt.
DIRECT EXPOSURE TO • Strong cobalt demand coupled with challenged supply
EV ADOPTION supports potential cobalt price appreciation SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE
• Opportunity to accretively grow value of cobalt holdings

GROWTH THROUGH
and cash flow per share
STREAMS AND • Agreements to acquire cobalt royalities on 8 properties
• Ongoing discussions with potential streaming
ROYALTIES
counterparties
TRANSPARENT PLAN • Intends to hold physical cobalt and grow a portfolio of

streams and royalties
TO BE EXECUTED • Experienced management team and Board with
BY EXPEREINCED significant streaming, royalty and capital raising
experience; advisory board and industry experts
MANAGEMENT • Low overhead expenses
Direct Interests
Physical Cobalt Streams & in Properties
Material Royalties Containing Cobalt
Cobalt 27 Focus
INCREASING COLBALT DEMAND STREAMS AND ROYALITES

• Majority of cobalt’s expected demand growth is attributable to Cobalt 27 intends to enhance its exposure to cobalt through the acquisition of
rechargeable batteries new or existing streams and royalties in producing mines, development projects
• 100 million EVs by 2030 targeted by the Paris Declaration on Electro- and exploration properties. Cobalt 27’s management has significant streaming
Mobility and Climate Change and royalty experience and is actively pursuing streams and additional royalties.
The focus will be on streaming opportunities that could provide the Company
• Requires an increase of >4x current annual cobalt production
with near-term cash flow and royalties on exploration-stage cobalt properties
• Robust demand expected — forecasted 6.9% CAGR from 2016 to 2020 that will provide longer-term optionality on the price of cobalt.
• Cobalt demand in Li-ion batteries is expected to grow at a 11.7% CAGR
The Company has acquired seven net smelter return (NSR) royalties on
from 2016 to 2022
exploration-stage properties containing cobalt. These royalties on potential
future cobalt (Co) production are summarised in the following table:
PHYSICAL COBALT MATERIAL

Property Owner Location Royalty
• Cobalt 27 provides an investment alternative for investors interested
in investing directly in cobalt. North Canol Golden Ridge
Yukon 2% Co NSR
• Cobalt 27 invests in physical cobalt and does not intend to actively Properties* Resources Ltd.
speculate with regard to short-term changes in cobalt prices.
Triangle New Found
Ontario 2% Co NSR
Property Gold Corp.
PHYSICAL COBALT HOLDINGS
Rusty Lake New Found
• Cobalt 27 currently holds 2,158 tonnes of physical cobalt at Ontario 2% Co NSR
Property Gold Corp.
C$185million
• 1,487 tonnes of premium-grade cobalt Professor New Found
Ontario 2% Co NSR
• 671 tonnes of standard-grade cobalt & Waldman Gold Corp.
• All cobalt owned by Cobalt 27 is insured and stored at secure
warehouses located in Baltimore, Antwerp and Rotterdam. Sunset Mineral Three British
2% Co NSR
• Warehouses are certified by the London Metal Exchange and meet Property individual Columbia
its international standards of warehousing. These standards provide
*two separate mineral properties to which a Co NSR applies
requirements for security, size, rates, logistics, accessibility, material
handling, delivery points, and permitting.
CORPOR ATE OFFICE

MINERALS PROPERTIES
Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. Tel: +1 604.410.2277
Cobalt 27’s initial growth strategy will focus on physical cobalt, streams and 4 King Street West, Suite 401 Fax: +1 604.410.2275
royalties; however, the Company may also seek the acquisition of interests in Toronto, Ontario Email: info@co27.com
producing mines, development projects or exploration properties. Interests Canada, M5H 1B6
may be pursued in both primary cobalt deposits, as well as properties in
which cobalt is a by-product or co-product with other metals. The Company
believes investments in such properties could leverage the Company’s industry
expertise and broaden the scope of potential growth opportunities.
27 WWW.CO27.COM
Cobalt Shifts From
Metal To Chemical
Markets
By George Heppel, Consultant, CRU International
George joined CRU in 2017 as a Consultant within the Nickel, Stainless Steel and Special Alloys team.
He is responsible for reporting on the Cobalt and Molybdenum markets, including annual market out-
looks, quarterly updates and monthly monitors. George worked in pricing analysis and forecasting in
the energy industry, focusing on sulphur and its end-use markets. After that, he moved into the minor
metals trading sector with a primary focus on nickel-cobalt superalloys, as well as alloy addition ele-
ments (Re, Ta, Hf, W, Mo) and rare earth elements. George has experience working with minor metals
in the USA and the UK, and his scientific background has been a particular benefit in analysing minor
metal end-use markets. George has Masters in materials science from Oxford University.
C obalt demand is expected to exceed 100kt

this year, and CRU forecasts total demand of
cobalt materials to increase at a CAGR of 11.6%
over the next ten years. Alongside this large increase in
demand, CRU also expects changes to the way refined
The Cobalt Market Has Two Main
Categories
Metallic cobalt is used for the manufacture of
high-temperature superalloys, stainless steels, medical
cobalt is traded and produced. This is primarily due to a prosthetics, hard-facing products and other niche
shift in cobalt demand from metallic products to chemical applications. It is normally sold in the form of 99.8% and
products. 99.3% purity cobalt ingot or cut cathode on the LME, or
priced according to price discovery from a wide range of
sources.
Cobalt chemicals have many applications, but their most

prominent use is in the manufacture of Li-ion batteries.
28
www.theassay.com
Other key uses include the manufacture of catalysts,

How will the market adjust to this
pigments, polymers and tyres. The most widely used
change?
cobalt chemicals are cobalt oxide, cobalt sulphate and
cobalt acetate, as well as other more niche compounds for Despite the increasing importance of chemicals in the
rarer applications. cobalt market, there is currently no widely-accepted
benchmark price for any refined cobalt chemical products.
The majority of cobalt chemical manufacturing occurs in
How Is This Likely To Change In The China, where concentrates are imported primarily from
Future? the DRC, processed into chemicals and intermediates and
then sold on into various sectors. Chemical manufacturers
Cobalt metal has historically been the largest traded
without the ability to process cobalt concentrates are
segment of cobalt products due to its application in
forced to purchase 99.3% cobalt ingot or broken cathode
aerospace and performance steels. However, in the
and then use acid dissolution techniques to form cobalt
past ten years cobalt chemicals have eclipsed cobalt
intermediates.
metal in terms of total demand, primarily due to the
standardisation of Li-ion batteries across consumer As battery chemistries become standardised across the
electronics – most notably in the market for electric EV market, we believe that cobalt chemicals will begin to
vehicles. In 2009, refined chemicals comprised 55% of
total cobalt demand, with cobalt metal making up the rest.
In 2017, CRU estimates that they will comprise 63% of the
market, and this is expected to steadily increase to over
two thirds of the market by 2026.
Due to this strong increase in cobalt demand for chemical

applications, CRU estimates that in 2017 there will be a
world deficit of 4,000 tonnes for refined cobalt chemicals
become commoditised and more widely traded as opposed

to cobalt in metal form. In addition to this, we believe
that many integrated production projects will begin to
shift from producing metallic cobalt to producing cobalt
chemicals. Assuming that these producers can supply the
chemicals to a standardised commodity grade which is
accepted in the market (in the same way that 99.8% cobalt
metal is widely accepted), this could effectively simplify
and over 1,000 tonnes for cobalt metal. CRU expects
the supply chain and allow producers to trade directly
that the cobalt metal deficit will narrow in the mid-term
with end users in the battery and chemicals industry.
(2017-2021), while the refined cobalt chemical deficit will
remain at high levels. The relative availability of cobalt
metal compared with cobalt chemicals over the next five
years could result in a price arbitrage opening between
the two products, as current acid dissolution capacity
struggles to meet chemical demand.
29
THE ASSAY
Which Cobalt Chemicals Are Best Suited to

Commoditisation?
"...we believe that cobalt
chemicals will begin to
Most cobalt chemical demand in recent years has come from
become commoditised
the handheld electronics industry for high-charge density
applications such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops and other
and more widely traded as
electronics. The industry standard battery chemistry for these opposed to cobalt in metal
applications is LCO (lithium cobalt oxide) which uses cobalt form"
oxide as a raw material, and as a result cobalt oxide currently
represents over half of all cobalt chemical demand.
Conclusion
However, the electric vehicle and energy storage system markets
The increasing importance of cobalt chemicals for the battery
are expected to be the principle drivers of cobalt demand growth
sector has led to a substantial market deficit in 2017, as well as
over the next ten years. These industries require much larger
strong price increases y/y. The current cobalt supply chain of
battery sizes and as a result, manufacturers are keen to limit
producers selling broken cathode to third parties for dissolution
cobalt dependency in order to reduce costs and limit the risk
is inefficient, and some producers may seek to produce refined
of running into issues acquiring raw materials. Consequently,
cobalt chemicals in the mid- to long-term.
NCA (Nickel Cobalt Aluminium) is fast becoming the industry
standard for EVs and ESS as opposed to LCO for conventional This smoothing of the supply chain may lead to the
electronics. NCA chemistries typically have a far lower cobalt commoditisation of several key cobalt chemicals, as chemical
content by weight and require cobalt sulphate as a raw material trading volumes begin to eclipse metal trading.
- as opposed to cobalt oxide for LCO.
CRU believes that cobalt sulphate is the most viable cobalt
As a result, CRU expects cobalt sulphate to be the most widely intermediate for commoditisation due to its importance in
traded cobalt chemical in the long-term, with total demand battery chemistries associated with EVs and ESS. CRU estimates
reaching just under 60,000 tonnes by 2026. that total cobalt sulphate demand will reach just under 60,000
tonnes in 2026.
30
Vanadium -
Another Important
Battery Option
By Gavin Wendt, Founding Director & Senior Resource Analyst, MineLife
Gavin is the Founder of MineLife and the Senior Resource Analyst. He is the author of both the Resource Bulletins
and the Weekly Reports. Gavin has been involved in the Australian share market for the past 20 years as a re-
source analyst, employed in the stockbroking and finance industries. He specialises in researching and evaluating
mining and energy companies for clients of all types.
Firstly, Why Vanadium?

Well you would almost certainly have heard a lot about lithium of renewable energy over recent years, especially wind and
of late. Whether it’s related to high-profile entrepreneur Elon solar. One of the largest issues with wind and solar energy
Musk and his lithium-ion battery initiatives, his Tesla electric sources is the need to store and release the electrical energy
vehicles (EVs), or the numerous mentions that lithium-ion produced. Lithium fulfils this storage role in its use in lithium-
batteries receive in the media related to new-age energy ion batteries.
generation and storage, lithium is certainly a conversation-
Vanadium however is an energy option that I believe we should
starter. But many investors however know very little about
be watching more closely, as it is utilised in a promising storage
vanadium.
technology known as vanadium redox flow batteries, which
Returning to lithium, its price rise (refer to graphic on p.22) has will boost overall demand for vanadium. We’ll discuss this
been spectacular and is directly correlated with the expansion more in a moment.
31
THE ASSAY
In supply terms, the three largest

The Real Opportunity for
vanadium-producing nations at present are
Demand Growth is in Energy
China, South Africa and Russia. Vanadium
Storage
is currently produced as a by-product of "Lithium-ion
Lithium-ion batteries have taken the lion’s
steel-smelter slag, but it is also mined in
share of the energy storage market so far,
batteries have
two different types of mineral deposits –
disseminated in carbon-rich deposits and however technological advances in flow taken the lion’s
shales, as well as in magnetite (iron oxide) batteries are both bringing down costs and share of the energy
deposits alongside titanium. improving their safety and environmental storage market
Vanadium’s main use at present is as a
profile.
so far, however
steel additive in high-strength steel, which Compared to lithium-ion batteries, technological
accounts for about vanadium redox flow batteries (VRB) are
advances in flow
non-flammable,
92% of the current global demand batteries are both
of ~100,000t of contained vanadium environmentally friendly, have estimated
bringing down costs
life-spans in excess of 10,000 cycles and
(~180,000t V2O5 equivalent). Vanadium
maintain 90% of their capacity over 20
and improving
is used in the creation of metal alloys
that withstand extreme conditions, such years, thereby lowering the total cost of their safety and
as those used in jet engines. Around 5% ownership. By comparison, getting 1,000 environmental
of vanadium’s usage is in catalysts and cycles of use out of a lithium-ion battery profile."
chemical applications. with full depth of discharge would be
ambitious.
Deutsche Bank price forecasts for 99.5% and 98.5% lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide and 6%
spodumene concentrate
32
www.theassay.com
VRBs are ideal for “grid-constrained” solar and wind-farms what they were three years ago and are set to come down
that currently struggle to sell their electricity at times of further. VRB can be stacked up to increase storage capacities,
peak production, but find other forms of storage to be whereas lithium-ion storage capacities are somewhat boxed-
uneconomical. Furthermore, VRBs boast a longer continuous in by initial design. Unit cost for large-scale VRB goes down,
discharge run time (6-10 hours versus 2-5 hours) than whereas it goes up for lithium-ion batteries. This means on
lithium-ion batteries. The downside however for VRB is their a large-scale deployment, VRB is already likely competitive
relatively lower round-trip efficiency (measured by power with lithium-ion batteries today.
out over power in) of 70% compared to 85% with lithium
The cost of energy storage is, roughly, the up-front capital cost
batteries.
of the storage device, divided by the number of cycles it can
From a cost perspective, Tesla’s current battery costs are be used for. If a battery costs $100 per kwh and can be used
estimated to be ~$150 to ~$200 per kilowatt-hour – well 1,000 times before it has degraded unacceptably, then the cost
below the industry average pack costs of ~$350 per kilowatt- is one tenth of a dollar (10 cents) per cycle. This compares
hour – and could reach its <$100 per kilowatt-hour target in with the cost of base-load power generation from wholesale
the intermediate term as Gigafactory production ramps up. natural gas electricity from a new plant, which costs roughly
7 cents per kwh (not including the cost of carbon emitted).
By comparison, the VRB cost is slightly behind the curve at
$300/kWh to $500/kWh – however these costs are half of
33
V2O5 micro-tubes produced by laser evaporation
www.theassay.com
Enhancing the Reliability of Base-Load "...by combining VFBs with

Power renewable energies such as
Batteries won’t compete with base-load power generation wind and solar, inherently
alone. Batteries deployed by utilities allow them to reduce the intermittent energy supplies
use of (or entirely remove) expensive peaker plants, which
can be regulated from moment
only run for a few hours a month. They allow utilities to reduce
spending on new transmission and distribution lines that are
to moment."
(up until now) built for peak load and which sit idle at many
other hours. Strong Vanadium Price Outlook
In a world with batteries distributed close to the edge, utilities Vanadium metal price charts are not readily available to
can keep their transmission lines full even during low-demand the public, so I have provided ferro vanadium price trend
hours, using them to charge batteries close to their customers information as it is a good proxy to the vanadium metal price.
– and thus cutting the need for transmission and distribution
Vanadium accounts for between 30% and 50% of the cost of
during peak demand.
VRB, making it essential for VRB manufacturers to secure
So by combining VFBs with renewable energies such as vanadium supply. Billions of dollars have poured into VRB
wind and solar, inherently intermittent energy supplies can research and development over the course of the past decade,
be regulated from moment to moment, allowing the grid to with inevitable mass utility-scale VRB adoption.
balance the amount of energy being put into the wires with the
Thus, I believe the long-term vanadium price outlook is
demand arising from consumers. As a result, VFBs make for a
promising, which will inevitably generate increased interest in
new and growing demand for vanadium. Annual production is
companies that explore for and produce vanadium metal.
~180,000t V2O5 equivalent. Vanadium is used in the creation
of metal alloys that withstand extreme conditions, such as
those used in jet engines. Around 5% of vanadium’s usage is in
catalysts and chemical applications.
35
Vanadium-Titanium TNG Ltd ASX: TNG

and Processing Technology
TNG LTD
TNG is an Australian resources company focused on the evaluation and Paul Burton – Managing Director
development of its Mount Peake Vanadium-Titanium-Iron project. TNG’s main Rex Turkington – Non-Executive Director
focus is the evaluation and development of its 100%-owned Mount Peake Stuart Cow – Non-Executive Director
Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Project, located in the highly prospective Arunta John Davidson – Non-Executive Director
Geological Province some 80km north-east of Alice Springs in the Northern
Territory. COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS
TNG & MOUNT PEAKE OVERVIEW 25/01/2018 Mount Peake Project EIA approval
• EIA approved 21/12/2017 TNG signs agreement with EMC to evaluate alternative
power sources for Mount Peake
• Simplified corporate structure enables focus on Mount Peake and TIVAN
18/12/2017 Mine Site EIS on track for completion
• Focus has been on de-risking and locking down final designs:
24/11/2017 TNG Receives Research and Development Rabat
»» Engineering Designs and layouts for mine nearing completion 20/11/2017 Updated Feasibility Study Results
»» TIVAN process flow sheet completed 15/11/2017 TIVAN Patent Update
»» Mine area cleared by Traditional Owners for construction 09/11/2017 Final EIS Addendum Submitted
»» LOM water aquifer secured
• Updated Feasibility Study confirms a robust, high-value project KEY FINANCIALS (JANUARY 2018)
• Permitting anticipated: mine site EIS expected to be approved in Q1,
2018; plant site EIS expected to be approved in Q2 2018 Share Price A$0.16
• Final Investment Decision targeted mid-2018
• Darwin land site for TIVAN processing facility secured
Market Capital A$128.7m
• Successful demerger and listing of Todd River Resources (ASX:TRT)
Cash/Equiv A$5.1m
MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS Debt 0
WWB Investments P/L 9.94% Year High-Low A$0.18-0.11
Aosu Investment 6.99%

Ao-Zhang International Mineral Resources 3.88%
SMS Investments SA 1.82%
Institutional Ownership - 23%
Management - 4%
Retail - 73%
MOUNT PEAKE PROJECT

Mount Peake is TNG’s flagship project. Discovered
by TNG in early 2008, the Mount Peake Project
comprises a current JORC Indicated Resource of
160Mt grading 0.28% V2O5, 5.3% TiO2 and 23% Fe,
making it one of the largest of the known vanadium
projects in Australia.
The project is strategically located close to existing
infrastructure, including the Alice Springs-Darwin
Railway, Stuart Highway and the new LPG pipeline,
20km to its east.
TNG: SIMPLIFIED CORPORATE STRUCTURE TNG NEW BUSINESS: VANADIUM ELECTROLYTE
• Vanadium able to store and retain electric charge
TNG LTD • Advances in Vanadium Battery Technology
• Vanadium flow batteries store energy in the electrolyte fluid
• Life of a commercial lithium-ion battery = 5 to 8yrs
• Life of a vanadium flow battery is 20+yrs
100% 100% Cawse-Extended • At the end of that life the contents of the vanadium battery can be re-used
Mount Peake Mine TIVAN Ni/Co Mine
• Vanadium Electrolyte successfully produced by TNG from Mount Peake V205.
V/Ti/Fe Technologies (20% Free Carried
• Opens significant new business potential for TNG
TIVAN ®
STRATEGIC PARTNERS
TNG’s 100% owned TIVAN® process has been under development by TNG and its
Binding LOM WOJIN Vanadium – Binding Term Sheet for metallurgical consultants in Australia since 2009.
Off-take LOM Off-take Agreement
• Process designed primarily for extracting vanadium, preferably as vanadium
Agreements pentoxide, from a titano-magnetite ore body (a geological igneous rock
GUNVOR Iron – Binding Term Sheet for LOM Off- formation that with iron, titanium and vanadium)
take Agreement • Separates the titanium and iron preferably as ferric oxide and titanium dioxide.
• Existing processes cannot extract all three of these elements at industrial-
Project SMS Group • European-based global
commodity-grade commercial products.
Development engineering giant
• Conventional methods of extracting vanadium from titano-magnetite ore
Agreements • Binding agreement for deposits is through a salt roasting energy-intensive, pyro-metallurgical process,
engineering, design and suitable for only a narrow range of selected ore compositions and water leach
construction of the TIVAN™ route to recover a water soluble vanadium compound.
refinery in Darwin • The fundamental difference and innovation introduced by the TIVAN® process
route is that the vanadium is recovered entirely through a hydrometallurgical
Downer • Global engineering and services route incorporating leaching and solvent extraction.
provider • Benefits: with the same flow-sheet hematite and titanium dioxide are separated
• Pre-Mine development, and recovered as saleable by-products in addition to vanadium pentoxide.
operations and investment TIVAN™ PROCESS: THE KEY INGREDIENTS
Processing • Use of abundant and low-cost raw material:

MOUNT PEAKE UPDATED FEASIBILITY (NOV 2017) polymetallic ores titanomagnetite
The updated Feasibility Study includes the result of optimisation work • Extraction of three target metals: Fe, V and Ti
undertaken since the original July, 2015 Study. The overall strategy is similar
Uses well-proven • Based on an innovative reconfiguration of
to the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) from 2015. The DFS forecasts Mount
technology proven components
Peake’s nameplate capacity at 17,569tpa of high-purity vanadium pentoxide
(V2O5), 236,00tpa of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and 637,00tpa of pig iron. • Individual process steps successfully
demonstrated at industrial scale
Project life 17 years
Small • Hydrometallurgical process
3Mtpa (Stage 1) expanding to environmental • No smelters involved
Mining rate
6Mtpa (Stage 2) after 4 years footprint
Pre-production capital estimate A$853 million (Stage 2 expected Highly economic • Multiple revenue streams from products with
(including all infrastructure) to be covered from revenue) process one common processing train
• Low operating cost
Total operating costs (including
mining, processing, transport & A$185 per tonne FLOW SHEET
royalties)
Theoretical flowsheet: Primary and Secondary Crushing
Net cash flow (life-of-mine) A$11.7 billion
• High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR)
• Magnetic Separation
Payback period 3 years
• Atmospheric Leaching (leaving a titanium dioxide residue)
Net annual operating cash flow • Counter Current Washing of Residues
A$738M
(pre-tax) • Solvent Extraction
• Ammonium Metavanadate Precipitation, Calcination and Vanadium Petoxide
IRR pre-tax 44% Flaking
• Acid Regeneration
NPV (at 8% discounted) A$4.7 billion
• Iron Precipitation
• Tailings Disposal
• Ammonia Recovery
37 WWW.TNGLTD.COM.AU
Financing Battery
Material Projects
Q&A with Chris Berry, Founder, House Mountain Partners
Based in New York, Chris has been an independent analyst since 2009 with a focus on Energy Metals includ-
ing lithium, cobalt, graphite, vanadium, and rare earths. His research provides strategic insights to institu-
tional clients and has a specific focus on how disruptive trends in energy, strategic metals, and technology
create opportunities. Before shifting focus to analysis of these trends, Chris gained twelve years of capital
markets experience on both the buy side and sell side.
W
hat are the obstacles facing battery materials dollars per year.
companies when trying to raise finance?
Additionally, there is a broad lack of awareness surrounding
The markets for battery metals have traditionally how the lithium-ion battery supply chain works. A lithium
suffered from several challenges. The size and murky pricing molecule travels thousands of miles from when it’s mined to the
dynamics have forced many commodity investors to shun these time when it’s placed in a phone or electric vehicle. The rapid
markets in favour of commodities with more liquidity, such as evolution of the lithium-ion supply chain has forced even the
copper or iron ore. As an example, the lithium market is roughly experts to rethink as the market has expanded. While around
200,000 tonnes in size when measured in lithium carbonate $1.2bn has been raised for lithium project development and
equivalent units (LCEs) and generates perhaps $2bn per year in expansion in 2017, we are going to need to maintain this pace
revenue. Compare that to copper which is roughly 23,000,000 until 2022 to ensure supply and demand can stay balanced.
tonnes and generates revenues in the hundreds of billions of
38
www.theassay.com
Before looking at the potential financial returns of a given a disaster and thankfully it appears that many lithium projects
project, many of the conversations I have with investors focus in existence today have learned the lesson that building a
first on understanding the battery metals market: supply multi-faceted project all at once is unwise.
and demand, end uses, offtake agreements, and supply chain
participants. Companies trying to raise financing for various
projects have had to follow this same approach, as these
metals are still new to many institutional investors.
How do companies win over investors who are hesitant to
invest in battery metals projects?
What risks do companies face when developing their With the rapid price increases in lithium and cobalt, there is a
projects? definite degree of FOMO, or fear of missing out. The hesitancy of
investors can only be overcome through time and experience.
Finding the deposit and building the mine are (almost) the
One of the biggest factors that can help investors get past
easy parts of this process. Getting them commissioned on time
their fears is looking for company management experience.
and on budget and establishing binding offtake agreements are
Does the senior team and board have experience in lithium,
the real challenges that make the battery metals sector unique.
cobalt, or graphite project development and production? Do
During the last lithium boom in 2010-12, roughly $1bn was they have experience with unique processing techniques?
raised in the sector as demand was expected to triple between Has the process been commercialised elsewhere? Does
2010 and 2016. Essentially, leading lithium projects tried to management have relationships with downstream supply
do everything all at once, including establishing a resource, chain participants?
confirming project economics, building the mine, building the
If not, you may want to continue your research and find those
concentrator, and building a conversion facility to produce
companies that do. Many companies are riding the wave of
battery grade lithium chemicals. This strategy turned out to be
high prices and news from countries that are de-carbonising
39
THE ASSAY
their economies or supply chains. This is the beholder with respect to these deposits.
positive long-term, but can muddle the true End users are incredibly careful in terms
potential (or risks) of a given company. of who they enter into agreements with
and spend a great deal of time looking at
various deposits and management teams.
Several companies are developing their Offtake discussions typically take longer
own processing techniques. What are than many people think as established
the risks associated with this approach end users of cobalt, lithium, or graphite
and how does it impact their ability to don’t want to rush into a deal with a junior
"Volkswagen
raise project finance? developer with no history of successfully recently made
Any “black box” technology is risky as
operating a mine. headlines by
much of it is proprietary and will remain There is also a distinction here – it’s announcing its
so in order to protect a company’s not just battery manufacturers that are intentions to
competitive advantage. These companies looking to lock down long term supply of acquire large
must prove that their technology can be these metals. Volkswagen recently made
amounts of cobalt
headlines by announcing its intentions
scaled up to a production level consistent
with traditional mines (25,000 tonnes to acquire large amounts of cobalt over a
over a ten year
per year LCE), though the ultimate size ten year period reportedly worth $50bn. period reportedly
of production depends on the size and The fact that you’ve got multiple players worth $50bn."
flexibility of the company’s balance sheet. along these supply chains looking at long-
Unique processing technologies were term supply contracts is positive for metals
made de rigeur in a previously sleepy prices and a sign that everyone is taking
lithium market where only the lowest cost the shift towards vehicle electrification
producers could even hope to compete seriously – but due diligence is of
with the established players such as SQM. paramount importance.
Despite the high prices buoying the market

currently, I still believe a processing
What should the miners be looking for in
technology can succeed and is necessary,
a potential offtake agreement?
certainly for new entrants into the market
to compete. These technologies save time The structure in the best interest of
and capital and are therefore of interest, shareholders involves a binding multi-year
but must be proven to be scalable. offtake agreement for supply and perhaps
an equity investment by the offtake partner
in the producer. This ensures that the
Battery producing companies are keen offtake partner has ‘skin in the game’ and
to vertically integrate their business by also gives the lithium producer comfort
securing raw materials offtake. Does that there is a reliable customer on the
the race to secure high-grade material other end of the phone.
result in a lack of due diligence being
conducted on projects?
With governments around the world
There is a race to be sure but with respect
keen to push a green agenda, how
to a lack of due diligence, this is a tougher
can governments best support the
question to answer. Beauty is in the eye of
development of energy metals projects?
40
www.theassay.com
Governments can do a great deal with rebates on exploration Like all resources, battery material projects exist in less
or perhaps tax rebates on construction downstream (on developed countries. What jurisdictions would you be
conversion facilities, instance) but can also sometimes push cautious of developing projects in?
too hard with higher royalty schemes in response to robust
Obviously, the Democractic Republic of the Congo comes to the
markets. This is akin to killing the goose that laid the golden
top of mind with respect to cobalt. The DRC was responsible for
egg.
over 60 per cent of cobalt production in 2016, and paradoxically,
This is not an easy problem to solve as much of the supply I see cobalt production from the country increasing rather
chain exists in Asia where labour costs are lower than in other than decreasing in the coming years as the size and grade of
parts of the world. those resources is almost unbeatable. Everyone in the cobalt
world is looking for a pure play opportunity, but this is easier
said than done.
Which jurisdictions are offering incentivised funding
Bolivia has always been problematic in the lithium sector as
opportunities for companies?
producers and offtake partners are concerned about resource
I suppose a blatant example of a government pushing the nationalism. I’ve also heard rumblings about “trillions” of
green agenda would be the State of Nevada offering Tesla an dollars of mineral wealth (including lithium) in Afghanistan.
incentive package worth $1.25bn over 20 years to build the
The robust demand backdrop is a real opportunity for lesser
Gigafactory. Similar types of arrangements are being discussed
developed countries though it remains to be seen how some of
in Chile and South Korea.
these countries handle new interest in their mineral deposits
Given the low-cost advantage that Asian-based manufacturing differently than in past booms. I do see a prime opportunity
has, I would expect to see the majority of this capacity be built for Europe and Canada, in particular, to build projects that can
in that part of the world; however there is a unique opportunity feed these growing battery metals supply chains.
for western governments to establish ‘next-generation’ supply
chains. Let’s hope they don’t squander it.
41
Graphite Battery Minerals ASX:BAT
BATTERY MINERALS
Battery Minerals Limited, an ASX listed company (ASX: BAT), is a diversified David Flanagan – Executive Chairman
mining development and minerals exploration company dedicated to exploring Ben Van Roon – Chief Operating Officer
for and developing mineral deposits in Mozambique. Andy Cardoso – Mozambique Country Director
Tony Walsh – Company Secretary & GM Corporate
The Company’s core commodity targets are graphite, zinc/lead and
Jeff Dawkins – Chief Financial Officer
copper. BAT is maintaining a focus on its two graphite development
assets located in Mozambique, Montepuez and Balama, which are
expected to come into production in late 2018 and 2021 respectively.
22/01/17 Battery Minerals signs offtake agreement with Keshuo
MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS 19/01/17 Battery Minerals signs 3rd binding offtake agreement with
Farjoy Pty Ltd. 12.55% Qingdao Black Dragon
18/01/17 Battery Minerals signs binding offtake agreement with GEM
Mitchell Group Holdings 3.45% 19/12/17 Battery Minerals signs binding offtake agreement
BAS Investments Pty Ltd 2.75% 07/12/17 Battery Minerals exploration update Montepuez and Balama
Pacific Development Corporation 2.00% 01/12/17 Battery Minerals prepares to develop Montepuez Graphite
Project
INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS KEY FINANCIALS (JANUARY 2018)
Battery Minerals completed a $20m placement via a $19.5 share placement Shares on Issue (post Nov17/Jan18 capital raising) 763.5m
in January, 2018. The placement was strongly supported by Battery Mineral’s
largest shareholder, which has maintained its 12.55% interest in the Company, Board and Management >10% fully diluted
and institutional investors. Share Price (as at 22 January 2018) 8.5cps
The Company is now fully-funded for its next phase of growth, including: Market Cap (post Nov17/Jan18 capital raising) A$55m
• Significant drilling programme underway at Montepuez, with results due
Enterprise Value A$33m
shortly
• Planning, design and early development works at Montepuez including Top 20 Shareholders 44.7%
orders placed for the crusher and detailed engineering
Unlisted Options and Performance Rights 407m
• Accelerate a DFS on Battery Mineral’s Balama graphite project with
expected completion June 2018
PROJECTS
MONTEPUEZ GRAPHITE PROJECT
Advanced Graphite Project (DFS and Value Engineering Study completed
and published)
• Proven Logistics: bulk sample delivered to port in 2017 means
260km logistics chain now proven
• Port Allocation Approved: at Pemba Port for 100,000tpa of
graphite concentrate
• Huge Resource/Reserve Inventory:
»» Probable Ore Reserve 41.4Mt @ 8.8% TGC @ 4%
TGC cut-off for a 30+year mine life
»» Indicated & Inferred Resource 105.9Mt @ 7.74% TGC
@ 2.5% cut-off
»» Significant exploration potential
• Fast Development Timetable
»» Approvals expected in March Quarter 2018 - Construction started
in early 2018
»» First shipment March Quarter 2019
»» Concentrate production of 50Ktpa @ 96.7% TGC
• Initial production of 45,000 - 50,000tpa of graphite concentrate
growing to 100,000tpa.
• Low Capex of US$42.3M, lowest quartile Opex of US$337 per
tonne.
• Short payback of less than 2 years
• Able to expand to 100ktpa:
»» US$25-29M for additional 45-50ktpa capacity 42
BALAMA GRAPHITE PROJECT
Concept study justifies move to feasibility study
• Balama Total Resource of 16.3Mt at 10.4% TGC2
(6% TGC cut-off), for a 20+ year mine life, based
on Montepuez type production parameters
• Additional resource potential down-dip, along
strike
• Preliminary test work concentrate recovery 93%,
with 63% of product plus 150 micron high value
flake
• Favourable flake distributions - September 2017
Benchmark Minerals published basket price
US$1217/t
UBS Electric Vehicle sales (millions)

HOW MUCH GRAPHITE IS NEEDED FOR Rechargeable battery demand by type of use
ELECTRIC CAR TAKE-UP?
• A typical EV or HEV has a 30-100kWh battery

pack (Tesla Model 3 have >60kWh).
• Each battery requires ~1.1kg of graphite per kWh
»» A Nissan Leaf with a 24kWh battery would
need 27kg of graphite
»» A Tesla Model S with a 85kWh battery would
require ~94kg of graphite
»» A Chevrolet Bolt with a 60kWh battery has
63kg of graphite
• UBS assumes on average each EV or HEV contains
50kg of graphite. That means each 1m vehicle
sales per annum need ~50tktpa of graphite in the
anode (45-50% material).
• 2016 Annual car sales ~94m vehicles (72m
passenger) so 1m vehicle sales would represent
around 1% of world car sales. If 30% of current
car sales were Evs, then we need ~1.1Mtpa
of graphite. The current graphite market is
~2.4Mtpa, of which natural flake is ~650ktpa.
Thus if EV + HEVs take up a reasonably chunky
position on the car market then the mine supply Battery anode feedstock demand (ktpa)
of natural flake graphite will likely need to grow
multi-fold.
• UBS model sales of 11.5m BEV, 7.2m HEV & 2.7m
PHEV in 2025e.
• This needs 555,000 tonnes of natural spherical
coated graphite which with production losses
requires 1.17m tonnes of natural flake graphite
concentrates, ie. 95% TGC.
43 WWW.BATTERYMINERALS.COM
Graphite Talga Resources ASX:TLG
TALGA RESOURCES
A PATH TO INDUSTRIAL-SCALE GRAPHENE SUPPLY AND
COMMERCIALISATION - UNIQUELY PLACED WITH MULTIPLE CRITICAL
MINERALS SOUGHT FOR BATTERY SUPPLY CHAIN

Talga Resources Ltd is a vertically integrated technology minerals company Terry Stinson – Chairman
with its own carbon source in multiple high-grade graphite projects in northern Mark Thompson – Managing Director
Sweden. The flagship project “Vittangi” is at development stage and like the Grant Mooney – Non-Executive Director
rest of the projects, it benefits from established high-quality infrastructure in Stephen Lowe – Non-Executive Director
Sweden including low-cost power, road, rail and ports. Ola Mørkved Rinnan – Non-Executive Director
Apart from having the highest grade technical resource in the world, the COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Company’s Vittangi project hosts extremely conductive graphite that supports
16/01/17 Commercial Supply and Development Agreement with Haydale
a unique exfoliation process that allows separation of graphite particle layers
05/12/17 Funding success in UK Faraday Battery Programmes
without the requirement for crushing and grinding. The graphitic materials
24/11/17 Talga graphene technology boosts epoxy resin markets
produced are of a high quality and suitable for a range of large volume additive
09/10/17 Further Talga Li-ion Battery success
and technology applications.
05/10/17 High grade cobalt results from Ahmavuoma Project in Sweden
Talga’s non-graphite assets include copper hosted cobalt as well as iron 11/07/17 Talga MOU with Heidelberg Cement
ore assets which are all to be commercialised to support core graphene 07/07/17 Talga Graphene Boosts Li-ion Battery Performance
developments.

Share Price A$0.64
Smedvig G P Ltd 12.60%
Lateral Minerals Pty Ltd <Thompson Family A/C> 7.05%
HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited 4.11% Market Capital A$129.5m
Pelmer Securities S A 3.76% Cash/Equiv A$16.3 (31/10/2017)

Citicorp Nominees Pty Ltd 3.57% Debt 0
J P Morgan Nominees (Australia) Ltd 3.34%
Year High-Low A$0.90-0.33
Kamberg Investments Ltd 3.30%
Yandal Investments Pty Ltd 2.98% SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE
Two Tops Pty Ltd 1.48%
National Nominees Ltd 1.16%
TALGA STRATEGY
Talga’s strategy will see the company leverage from vertical integration to
commercialise industrial quantities of raw and value-added graphite and
graphene materials/products. During the development phase while feasibility
studies are completed and permits pending, Talga will continue to scale up
its processing facilities, lock in commercial undertakings with customers and
pursue early revenue before full scale mining commences
TALGA OPPORTUNITY • Not constrained to one market - • End users currently validating
big value proposition to remove the products and strategy to
On path to be the world’s largest-
a supply and pricing bottleneck deliver business case
volume, best-margin supplier
across multiple large markets
of graphene and micrographite • Talga’s markets totally different
materials • Business model revolves around to ﬂake graphite players with
• Own 100% of a unique ore body making real world products exception of batteries
in tier 1 mining and technology perform better and with new
• Talga is doing it now, not just
materials destination functionality today
talking about it
Vertically integrated operations provide economic advantages
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP TALGA’S GRAPHENE STATUS
“Technology Readiness Level” reflects where products are in the process • Test processing facility and feed from trial mining in storage
towards validation • Process scaled up several orders of magnitude from conception
• Process output from Germany feeding inventory, process R&D programmes, product
prototyping and samples for industry partners
• Focus on both raw materials and chemically tuned ‘products ‘where the latter falls
into four sectors (construction, energy, composites and coatings)
• Validation on raw materials and products evidenced by multiple collaboration and
joint development programmes
• Ability to produce basket of goods including few layered graphene, graphene
nanoplatelets and micrographite
• First sales of sample quantities into development programmes
• Feasibility study currently underway to supply option clarity to lodge exploitation
permits
• Scale up of test facility continues with Phase 3 being commissioned and engineering
design considerations underway for the process scale up
PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN STATE OF AFFAIRS
TALGA OPERATIONS The principal activities of Talga for the last 12 months have comprised of graphite exploration and development,
including trial mining in Sweden and graphite/graphene research, process and product development through the
Group’s test facility in Germany and technology operation in the UK. Significant changes in the state of affairs of the
Group during the financial year were as follows:
• Strategic shift to manufacture value-added ‘fit for purpose’ graphitic carbon products in addition to raw
materials;
• Commercial undertakings including collaboration and joint development agreements with significant
industrial end users that validate Talga’s products and strategy;
• Commissioning of Phase 2 test facility in Germany;
• Completion of second trial mining campaign in Sweden, followed by completion of rehabilitation exercise;
• Appointment of European project manager and senior product development/technology staff;
• Positive advancements across all graphene process and product research/partnering programmes;
• Increased size, grade and status of Vittangi graphite mineral resource in Sweden;
• Established a graphene product development facility in Cambridge with the incorporation of the UK
subsidiary, Talga Technologies Limited;
• Appointment of new Chairman, Terry Stinson;
• Completed the sale of Talga’s Pilbara based gold projects in Western Australia;
• Capital initiatives raising a combined ~$13.2m; and
• Significant exploration drilling results and commencement of evaluation campaign across Talga’s cobalt and
1. Upstream – Source-Unique Graphite Ores copper projects in northern Sweden.
• 100%-owned Vittangi graphite project near
Kiruna in northern Sweden
• World’s highest-grade graphite resource
(JORC/NI43-101)
• Wide, uniform mineralisation starts at surface
– can support >20 year mine life and more for
industrial scale production
2. Midstream – Processing; Geology meets

Technology
INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS
• Concept demonstration of Talga exfoliating
graphene direct from its Swedish graphite ore Talga is an emerging high-tech minerals company aiming to become a global leader in bulk graphene and graphite supply
• Multi-academic partners and institutions
UNIQUE Two of the high-grade projects have truly unique characteristics (grade, conductivity, gangue
confirm high quality FLG for bulk volume mineralogy, strength) which allows for very simple and cheap separation of both graphite
DEPOSITS and graphene.
additives
Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality graphene direct from raw ore providing robust
3. Downstream – Product Development GRAPHENE margin potential compared to peers.
• Talga has in-house ‘value added’ product Operating in a top mining jurisdiction with producing infrastructure on the doorstep of
SWEDEN European markets. Extremely low-cost power, port agreement in place and direct road/rail
development capabilities – starts with internal options.
prototype testing followed by external
LOW COST Sub $30m capex and strong returns indicated from Vittangi project scoping study.
validation with end users
DEVELOPMENT Advanced down the path to production with scoping level financial metrics published and
• Products developed by Talga are important STATUS trial mining complete and feasibility underway.
to unlock value-add margins (as distinct from Single applications for graphene alone forecast to dwarf the graphite market and strong
DEMAND
‘raw’ graphite and graphene revenue) demand for both products out of Europe and elsewhere.
• Talphene TM, is the brand of Talga graphene SCALE Massive resource growth profile – particularly at graphene producing projects.
enhanced products Dual product stream with majority of forecast revenue coming from graphene which
DIVERSITY uncouples Talga from sole reliance on graphite market.
45 WWW.TALGARESOURCES.COM
Graphite, Lithium, Cobalt, REE Leading Edge Materials TSX:LEM, OTCQX:LEM, FSE:7FL
LEADING EDGE MATERIALS

Leading Edge Materials (“TSX:LEM”) is a Canadian mineral exploration and Blair Way – President, CEO & Director
mining company, with a long-term focus on the Nordic region. LEM’s research Mark Saxon – Director
and investment is directed towards the production and supply of high-value Michael Hudson – Chairman & Director
materials for the emerging lithium-ion battery market. Our extensive experience Nick DeMare – CFO
in minor metals and our European base, place us in a unique position to be a Filip Kozlowski – Director
partner of choice as a European lithium-ion battery supply chain develops. The
Company is well positioned for anode materials with engineered graphite from
our Swedish Woxna mine, and are strategically investing in lithium and cobalt
for battery cathode materials. 10/01/18 Leading Edge Materials intersects high tantalum and lithium
grades at Bergby, Sweden
LEM’s flagship asset is the Woxna Graphite production facility located in central
18/12/17 Leading Edge Materials receives conditional approval for listing
Sweden targeting the supply of specialty materials for lithium-ion battery
on Nasdaq First North in Stockholm
production. LEM currently operates in four divisions; Graphite, Lithium, Rare
07/12/17 Sweden increases focus on improving conditions for the supply
Earth and Cobalt. Our divisions all have assets in Northern Europe.
of innovation-critical metals and minerals
17/11/17 Leading Edge Materials intersects thickest interval of lithium
WHY LEADING EDGE MATERIALS? mineralisation at Bergby, Sweden
LEM presents a unique investment opportunity in European lithium-ion
battery raw materials.
• High-Growth Sector – well positioned to supply critical raw materials to
the high-growth low-carbon energy sector
Share Price C$0.83
• Right Location – well placed to play role in the raw material needs of
Europe with assets and teams in the safe and stable Nordic region Shares Outstanding 88.2m
• Unique Asset Mix – focused on graphite, lithium, cobalt, REEs and Market Capital C$73.2m
tungsten
Cash/Equiv C$3.8m
• Skilled & Experienced Team – highly experienced management and
operating teams. The LEM team have a demonstrated potential to access Debt 0
the capital required for project development Year High-Low C$1.01-0.51

PROJECTS
ASSET COMMODITIES OWNERSHIP

Woxna Graphite Mine & Graphite, High-Purity
100%
Production Facility Graphite, Graphene
REE, Nepheline, Hafnium,
Norra Kärr REE Project 100%
Zirconium, Aluminium
Bergby Lithium Project Lithium, Tantalum 100%
Kontio Cobalt Project Cobalt, Copper 100%
GRAPHITE - Woxna Graphite Mine (Sweden) High Purity Project
• Modern, fully-permitted, operational graphite production facility, with measured and indicated
resource of 7.7Mt @ 9.3% graphite
• Permitted for up to 100Kt per annum feed, producing up to 94% C concentrate
• Test work to produce high purity graphite for emerging markets has been successful. Optimisation
work is on-going
• Excellent infrastructure: road, power, ports, water and services
• Unique ability to underpin a secure and sustainable European graphite supply chain.
• Recent HPC test results on 18,650 cells made using Woxna graphite concentrate has yielded
excellent results for automotive-grade battery material
• LEM is working with graphite end users in the LIB market to align product specification targets with
their requirements
• Engineering and optimisation of the value add process to produce high-value battery-grade
materials is well advanced
RARE EARTH ELEMENTS - Norra Kärr REE Project (Sweden) NUMEROUS VALUE-ADD OPPORTUNITIES
• Norra Kärr is a nepheline syenite intrusion which is 300m wide, 800m long and begins at surface
• One of the world’s largest heavy REE resources, with the capacity to supply all of Europe’s heavy REE
requirements for more than 20 years
• Norra Kärr is a large, well-drilled resource that begins from surface to at least 300m depth
• Extensive metallurgical testwork completed indicating ore can be processed via a simple flowsheet with
high recovery
• Resource grade of 0.61% TREO. 52% HREO/TREO = high basket price
• Comprehensive Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) completed in Q1 2015:
»» 1.18Mt/year @ 0.59% grade REO
»» 20 year mine life
»» Low CAPEX
»» Assuming a 10% discount rate, US$313 million after-tax NPV @ 10%; IRR of 20%; Payback: 4.9 years
»» CAPEX: US$378.2 million; OPEX: US$20/kg REO Ave
LITHIUM - Bergby Lithium Project (Sweden)

• Newly discovered lithium project in central Sweden, less than 100km from the Woxna
graphite mine and close to major infrastructure.
• Bergby lies in central Sweden, 25km north of the town of Gävle, secured by three
exploration licenses that cover a total of 1,903 Ha.
• Assay results from 41 boulders, where Li2O (lithium oxide) averaged 1.06% and ranged
from 0.03% to 4.56%; and Ta2O5 (tantalum pentoxide) averaged 168ppm and ranged from
1 ppm to 499 ppm.
• The site is close to infrastructure, with major roads, rail and power supply passing
immediately adjacent to the claim boundaries.
• Bergby has now been tested by a total of 1525m of drilling in 33 drillholes to a maximum
depth of 131.1m over an approximate 1500m strike length.
• Drilling intersected regular high lithium grades ranging from 1% Li2O over 20m to 2.5%
Li2O over 10 m.
• Some of the lastest holes have also revealed high tantalum grades over 300ppm Ta2O5.
AN ADDITIONAL HIGH PRIORITY BATTERY MATERIALS

COBALT - Kontio Cobalt Project (Finland) PROJECT IN A MINING SUPPORTIVE COUNTRY
• Leading Edge Materials cobalt-copper project
• Four main prospects – Pattasoja, Ristisuo, Maaninkajoki, and Maitokoski – secured
within Leading Edge Materials’ 30,800 Ha Kontio-Sarvivaara reservation
• Numerous indications of high grade cobalt
• Modern geophysical methods provide an excellent opportunity to quickly develop high
priority targets
CONTACT Blair Way

CEO and President
bway@leadingedgemetals.com
47 WWW.LEADINGEDGEMATERIALS.COM
Understanding
Battery Chemistries
Q&A with Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
Simon Moores is Managing Director of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, an online publishing and consultancy
business specialising in critical minerals and metals, disruptive technology and emerging markets. Moores has
also worked as business journalist focusing on non-metallic minerals such as lithium, graphite, rare earths,
potash, TiO2 pigment and feedstocks (rutile, ilmenite).
T
he lithium-ion battery market is clearly growing NMC in particular is being favoured by the majority of electric
rapidly. But what kind of numbers are we talking vehicle manufacturers and we expect NMC to be the dominant
about here? battery chemistry by 2019.
Without a doubt, huge growth is on the horizon. The lithium At present, LCO (lithium cobalt oxide), the cobalt-rich battery
market is expected to grow from 180,000 tpa LCE (lithium in your iPhone or laptop, still accounts for half the market.
carbonate equivalent) in 2018 to more then 700,000 tpa This will shift as EVs take off. Tesla is about the only major EV
LCE by 2027. This represents a huge disruption, that is being producer focused on the NCA chemistry, a Panasonic creation.
driven by the battery EV space. However, Panasonic’s future lies in both NCA and NMC.
What are the main types of lithium-ion batteries, what are

Cobalt is found in three of the five common chemistries
their compositions and what percentage of the battery
used in the lithium-ion battery market (LCO, NMC and
market does each chemistry represent?
NCA). Why is cobalt so important in lithium-ion batteries?
The two mainstream chemistries of the future will be NMC
Cobalt performs a very important stabilising effect for lithium
(nickel manganese colbalt) and NCA (nickel cobalt aluminium).
ion batteries. It is key for safety. However the cost and the
48
www.theassay.com
811
523 The most extreme version of
111 Five parts nickel, two parts
manganese and three parts
the NCM battery which con-
One part nickel, manganese tains very high nickel content
and cobalt is the most common cobalt. On the cusp of and the least cobalt of all. SK
NMC chemistry today. However, commercial use Innovation, the Korean battery
cathode producers have been maker, recently announced it
favouring higher nickel and was using this chemisty howev-
lower cobalt chemistries in a er as Benchmark discovered on
bid to improve energy density a recent trip to Seoul, this is still
and lower raw material risks very much a test phase product
622 but it will be very interesting to
Similar to 523 though not see the real world results which
yet commercialised could define the future of the
battery sector
supply chain for cobalt has forced producers to develop be integral to the EV industry and there will not be an EV
lower-cobalt contained chemistries. industry without DRC cobalt. Opportunities do exist for niche
producers to produce conflict-free cobalt outside of the DRC.
• LCO – Cobalt rich - around 60% of this battery is cobalt.
But the bulk of material will still have to come from the DRC.
• NMC – Nickel Manganese Cobalt - is likely to become
the most common chemistry of the future as most EV
manufacturers are favouring this. Within this NMC What occurs chemically for a battery to be no longer
there are a number of sub chemistries all of which have usable and how does the battery composition affect the
varying amounts of cobalt. longevity of specific batteries?
• NCA – Nickel Cobalt Aluminium – the classic Panasonic The cathode and anode degrade to a level that intercalation is
chemistry that is pretty much exclusively used by Tesla no longer as effective. For the anode especially, degradation
in its EVs and the formation of dendrites is an issue. This is why pure
silicon anodes will just not work as an option, as they break
• LFP – Lithium Iron Phosphate - the classic powerful
down too easily. However, graphite anodes enhanced with
chemistry that is, or best to say was, ideal for e-buses (the
3% silicon are looking to be the most effective option.
chemistry is famous for being in BYD buses). However,
as China moves to higher energy density batteries and
NMC ramps up, LFP’s days are numbered
How recyclable are these batteries? What percentage of
the key materials contained with Lithium-ion batteries
can be salvaged?
Can cobalt be substituted for alternative minerals and at
what price would substitution be considered? The biggest problem with battery recycling is the consistency
of the chemistry and the format of the batteries. For example,
No cobalt can’t be substituted. If you want a cobalt-free
battery recyclers at present are receiving many forms of cells
cathode (which some companies are developing, such as
– from iPhone to laptops to power tools. The cells are small
Nano One in Canada), you need to change the chemistry
and the chemistry differs quite a bit.
fundamentally. It’s Benchmark’s belief that while cobalt
consumption will be reduced in lithium-ion batteries, overall Once much larger EV batteries start entering the recycling
market growth will far outweigh this trend. Cobalt will circuit, they will either be NCM or NCA and they will be
49
THE ASSAY
similar formats – cylindrical cell, pouch or prismatic. This I have discussed lithium and cobalt above, but nickel is also
offers more consistency to recyclers and will help the another key mineral to watch. While nickel is a 2 million
industry take off post 2022. Cobalt, due to its value and tonne business, our data shows that the battery space only
percentage in an LCO battery, is the most favoured material represents 75,000 tonnes of this market. This market is
to recycle. Lithium has been continually discussed as well, set to see lithium-like growth going forward, especially as
with Umicore leading the way in recovering small amounts higher nickel cathodes come into play.
of lithium from batteries.
Any other metals we should keep an eye on in this space?
The four pillars of battery technology are lithium, graphite,

cobalt and nickel. This is what we specialise in at Benchmark
and these four materials will define the future of the battery
industry.
50
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Graphite Mine Development and Battery Alabama Graphite Corp. TSX:CSPG | OTCQB:CSPGF | FWB:1AG
Materials Processing Technologies
ALABAMA GRAPHITE
Alabama Graphite Corp. (TSXV:CSPG | OTCQB:CSPGF) or ‘AGC’ is a Canadian- Donald K. D. Baxter – President & Chief Executive Officer
listed natural, flake graphite exploration and development company, as well as Tyler W. P. Dinwoodie – Executive Vice President
an aspiring US-sourced-and-manufactured battery-materials producer. As the Douglas C. Bolton – Chief Financial Officer & Corporate Secretary
only known graphite development company with its core business based on the Jesse R. Edmondson – Director of Business Development
production of secondary-processed, specialty battery-ready graphite products, Ann-Marie M. Pamplin – Director of Investor Relations
namely, Coated Spherical Purified Graphite (CSPG), AGC does not intend to Randy A. Moore – Strategic Advisor
sell any primary-processed graphite concentrate. AGC intends to divert and Dr. Robert B. Cook – Strategic Advisor
process 100% of run-of-mine graphite into secondary processed, battery-ready
graphite products — specifically CSPG — for use in Li-ion batteries, in addition
to Purified Micronized Graphite (PMG). A highly experienced team leads the 08/01/18 Alabama Graphite announces reporting of financial results for
Company with more than 100 years of combined graphite mining, graphite fiscal 2017 and provides update
processing, specialty graphite products and applications, and graphite sales 13/12/17 Westwater Resources, Inc. to acquire Alabama Graphite Corp.
expertise. 16/10/17 Alabama Graphite provides corporate update
10/10/17 Alabama Graphite announces Letter of Intent (LOI) to supply
As America’s leading graphite development company, AGC is focused on the battery-ready graphite products to U.S. lead-acid battery
development of its flagship Coosa Graphite Project in Coosa County, Alabama manufacturer
— the most advanced flake graphite project in the contiguous United States of 21/09/17 AGC Receives Positive Evaluation Results for ULTRA-PMG™
America. product from RSR Technologies; Improved Dynamic Charge
Acceptance (DCA) by +194%
MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS 24/07/17 AGC Receives Adem permit for final infill trenching programme
for the Coosa Graphite Project Feasibility Study
US-based Investment Fund 3.0%
High-net-worth Investor 2.6%
Shares Price as at October 2017 C$0.08
Donald K. D. Baxter 2.0%
Tyler W. P. Dinwoodie 1.4% Shares Outstanding 145.3m
Market Capital C$10.9m
High-net-worth Investor 0.8% Cash C$1.3m
High-net-worth Investor 0.7% Debt C$0
Year High-Low C$0.22-0.075
Shareholder structure SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE

Top Ten Shareholders 17.5%
Management and Employees 4.2%
Others 78%
FLAGSHIP PROJECT
(Alabama, USA)
Coosa Graphite Project

STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS
• The most advanced stage flake graphite
• AGC has manufactured and shipped numerous tailor-made CSPG
project in the contiguous United States of
evaluation samples to several Department of Defence (DoD) battery
America
contractors (DoD, DOE, and US government agencies strongly
• The only sourced-and-manufactured-in-
USA solution for battery-ready graphite
encourage their contractors and suppliers to source input materials
• Unrivaled technical expertise
from within the USA whenever possible)
• 41,500 acres on private land
• The ‘Buy American Act’ and other legislation may afford AGC a potential
significant competitive advantage over its peers
• No Federal permitting required; Stave-level
• AGC has executed 30 NDAs with potential end users —14 with DoD Li-
permitting only; No First Nations claims
ion battery manufacturers — for CSPG and PMG samples
• Located in the historic, past-producing
‘Alabama Graphite Belt’
Alabama Graphite Corp’s mission is to build and advance the Company as a US-
sourced-and-manufactured Li-ion Battery supply-chain producer
COOSA GRAPHITE PROJECT AGC’S PROPRIETRY PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY

FLOWSHEET
The Coosa Graphite Project hosts an NI 43-101 Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate of
78.5 million tons grading 2.39% graphitic carbon (Cg) — the largest Indicated Mineral
Resource of natural flake graphite in the USA.
Coosa Graphite Project Mineral Resource Estimate @ 1.0% Cg Cutoff

(effective date: October 2, 2015)
Tonnage Graphitic Carbon Contained

Resource Category
(Tons) (Cg %) Graphite (Tons)
Indicated 78,488,000 2.39 1,876,000
Inferred 79,433,000 2.56 2,034,000
PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSSMENT

• CAPEX of $43.2 million — the lowest initial CAPEX requirements in the
graphite development space — with a payback period of 1.9 years (pre-tax) & 2
years (post-tax) from commencement of commercial production
• Base-case pre-tax NPV of $444 million, post-tax NPV $320 million (8%
discount); pre-tax NPV of $329 million, post-tax NPV of $236 million (10%
discount)
• Pre-tax IRR of 52.2%; post-tax IRR of 45.7%
• Base-case pre-tax annual cash flow of $67.5 million; post-tax annual cash flow
AGC’S SILICON-ENHANCED CSPG (SI-CSPG) ANODE
of $49.7 million
MATERIAL FOR LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES
• Life of Mine Gross Revenue (less royalty) of $2.4 billion
• Life of Mine OPEX of $533 million
• Life of Mine plan of 27 years based on mining ~10% of Mineral Resource Estimate
• Primary & secondary processing plants to produce 5,500 tons (5,000 tonnes) of
specialty battery-ready graphite products annually, ramping up to 16,500 tons
(15,000 tonnes) annually in year 7
• PEA is based on selling two specialty, high-value high-purity graphite products
— CSPG (75% of planned production) & PMG (25% of planned production)
• Selling price for CSPG at $8,165 per ton ($9,000 per tonne) & PMG at $1,814 per ton
($2,000 per tonne) for a blended selling price of $6,577 per ton ($7,250 per tonne);
Life of Mine average cash operating costs of $1,410 per ton ($1,555 per tonne) for
final product of CSPG & PMG
Note: All dollar amounts are based in U.S. currency unless otherwise noted
AGC’S CSPG IN LITHIUM-ION BATTERY TESTING AGC succeeded in producing high-performance Silicon-enhanced Coated Spherical
Purified Graphite (Si-CSPG) for Li-ion batteries.AGC’s Si-CSPG was tested, performed
well and exceeded theoretical electrochemical performance of premium-quality
graphite; AGC’s Si-CSPG delivered Reversible Capacity above 405 mAh/g; exceeding
the Maximum Theoretical Specific Capacity for Li-ion Anode Graphite (which is 372
mAh/g).
• AGC conducted independent preliminary electrochemical test results for its CSPG
in lithium-ion batteries. The test results demonstrated that AGC’s CSPG responded
very well in CR2016 lithium-ion battery coin cell (half-cell with Lithium counter
electrode; see above schematic) performance testing.
• The CSPG test results — representing a 94.91% efficient battery — are regarded
as excellent in the lithium-ion battery industry and exceed the specifications of
Due to environmental and cost concerns, management of AGC believes that the
major battery manufacturers.
growing American lithium-ion battery industry requires a US-sourced, cost-
• The Company’s innovative, proprietary specialty CSPG manufacturing process
competitive alternative to current — primarily Chinese and environmentally
which utilises environmentally sustainable processing methods.
unsustainable — sources of CSPG. According to UK-based Benchmark Mineral
• Test results on the Company’s CSPG exceed the performance of the comparison
Intelligence, a leading independent source for data on the Li-ion battery global supply
benchmark of commercially available grade material.
chain, the United States will require more than 150,000 tonnes of anode graphite by
• The test results confirm AGC’s potential midstream capability to manufacture and
2020 (total global demand is forecasted to be more than 780,000 tonnes of anode
tailor lithium-ion battery anode grade graphite in order to create value-added
graphite by 2020).
products to meet highly demanding downstream customer specifications.
53 WWW.ALABAMAGRAPHITE.COM
Baby Steps Into The
World of New
Battery Investings
By Charles Whitfield, Founding Partner, Drumrock Capital
Mr. Whitfield has been on the board of Galaxy since 2013 with responsibilities for corporate finance, M&A and
strategy, taking a lead in the negotiations with creditors, debt holders and new financing parties. He has been
a Director of Drumrock Capital, a turnaround specialist, since 2008 assisting several early stage and distressed
resource and technology companies. Previously he was MD with Citigroup heading Structured Equity for
AsiaPac, and at Deutsche Bank, where he was head of the Strategic Equity Transaction Group for AsiaPac. Mr.
Whitfield received his MBA (Finance and Strategy) from Columbia Business School and BA Economics from
The University of Exeter.
O
ver the last decade in the battery and technical material In the underlying materials market, opinions seem to swing
industry I have got used to the naysayers. People wildly. One moment there is concern that there is going to be
doubted the rise of electrification of transport; the a glut of materials such as lithium; next, it is going to be so rare
need for buffering capacity for renewable energy; the speed of that alternative material technologies will have to replace it.
converting existing battery applications to lithium-ion (Li-ion) These divergences are sure indicators that we are still in an
ones; and the additional applications that would be created by immature market that trades on imperfect data rather than one
the greater energy density of this technology. Now many of the with broad knowledge and understanding. Even research from
same investors are concerned that they have missed the train: established houses has sometimes been so wide of the mark
that everything is fully valued and there are no opportunities that it has been met by those in the industry with a reaction of
to invest. laughter or despair.
54
www.theassay.com
There are many challenges faced by investors new to the space, material makers, specialists who produce cathode, anode,
and this article aims to provide some guidance and highlight electrolyte or separator materials. These relatively small players
opportunities for those looking to get exposure to the technical are highly segmented - without in-depth knowledge it is hard to
materials market. know who to back.
Many of the companies involved in the new battery industry This leads most investors to the most upstream part of the chain:
are broad-based conglomerates with only a small part of their battery minerals and battery mineral producers.
earnings coming from their Li-ion business lines. In addition, the
Unlike commodities such as oil, gold and coffee, battery minerals
industry has historically been made up of a protracted string of
lack a standardised specification which can be traded through
companies undertaking individual processes: extraction, primary
forwards or futures. I would argue that (with the possible
processing, battery chemical, battery material, battery assembly.
exception of cobalt) any standardisation is a long way off
This was compounded by the fact that much of the value chain
because as battery technology changes, so do the specifications
for the production of cathode (lithium based) batteries had little
of the required materials.
or no overlap with the anode (carbon based) supply chain. All
these factors made it hard to anticipate which materials would Hence, a frequent complaint of investors is that the market for
reflect the growth in the sector, and a bewildering choice of these materials is not transparent, so they cannot do proper
where to invest. valuations. I would argue that this is all relative: granted, you
cannot track daily prices of spherodised graphite or lithium
Starting at the end of the process, battery assemblers are large
carbonate on a Bloomberg terminal in the same way that you
conglomerates who have exposure to many unrelated businesses
can many raw materials, but with a little detective work, it is
and revenue streams. Most of the large battery producers such as
possible to track down pricing for certain specifications and
Panasonic, NEC, LG Chem and Samsung SDI are large electronics
at least see trends over time. There is actually an abundance
firms with diverse earnings so investment gives little actual
of research published by some of the Chinese brokers which
battery exposure.
has substantial detail on pricing, industry trends and the
The next step back up the manufacturing chain is the battery performance of Asian participants (but you probably need to be
55
THE ASSAY
able to read Cantonese!). "Investors should take

To get exposure to the underlying minerals, the only real note that forward-looking
choice is through the mineral producers. But which of these companies have started to
are worthwhile and which are duds? look at combining assets
It is crucial to note that the battery material industry is not across different battery
simply a mining business. Yes, all these products come out of materials."
the ground - but this is closer to an industrial chemical industry
than a mining industry. Small discrepancies in the composition
of the ore can make large differences to the applications for the include Galaxy Resources, Orecobre and Neometals, and
product, and hence the price. A frequently noted example of this developers such as Kidman and Tawana.
is the Bolivian lithium brines, which superficially look to be the
As noted, building and commissioning plants takes a long
most bountiful in the world. However, the high concentration
time to get right. Each body of ore is different in its geology
of magnesium in the brine (which is both detrimental to
and chemistry, so no single process fits every plant. There is
battery performance and very hard to isolate given current
also a long lead time in the planning and pilot testing. As a
technology) renders these uneconomic. Similarly in graphite,
result, supply responds slowly to increased demand, so prices
the crystalline structure and in situ impurities will have a
stay high for longer than many would predict. Don’t believe
significant impact on the yield and the viability of a project.
the development companies that tell you they will go from
These factors are a large part of the reason why many greenfield to production in 18 months.
technical materials projects have been substantially late and
Similarly, you should be sceptical about predictions for the
over- budget during the development and ramp-up stages.
future of the lithium market. The DSO model (which assumes
Management teams who have only mining experience may not
ore is able to be shipped to customers prior to beneficiation)
appreciate how demanding the specifications of production
seems unlikely to be viable in the long term as the processes
really are, and investors do not appreciate the risks.
required for removing extraneous material is specific to each
The first step in choosing a battery material producer is, of ore body. Equally, I am doubtful that customers would commit
course, to pick which of the battery materials will provide to building plants at a cost of $50m to $100m without long-term
you the best “tail wind” going forward. Of the several key ownership of raw material feedstocks. Lastly, most lithium ore
materials that go into a battery, each with their different is 1 to 3 per cent lithium, but customers require 6 per cent.
supply dynamics. Below I’ll try to give a brief outline of the That means transport costs for un-beneficiated material are
different materials for cathode (lithium and cobalt) and anode higher. Still, the market at the moment means customers in
(graphite). China will take any material to get secure supplies.
Lithium Graphite
The lithium production industry has been around a lot longer The graphite industry is in many aspects a few years behind
than lithium batteries – it has a history of use in ceramics, that of lithium, but with signs that history is repeating itself
pharmaceuticals and engineering applications. Lithium was in terms of lack of foresight of trends in supply and demand.
often a byproduct and so the longer established producers Again, the industry has been driven by producers in China
are multi-product chemical companies such as SQM (a potash who created cheap, low-cost graphite for a range of industries.
producer), FMC and Abermarle (multi chemical companies). Now, the increasing quality demanded by the battery sector
Solely Lithium-focused producers tend to be younger and and the diminishing supplies in China means alternative
smaller but give you better exposure to the market. These supplies are required. There are large projects underway in
56
www.theassay.com
Africa - However graphite is not a commodity and both the ore elsewhere in the world, most notably Canada. Cobalt is more of
body and the end product must have the correct attributes to a commoditised market and the processing technology is more
meet market needs. established so risks should be lower.
Some of these projects have a large percentage of their

material in amorphous form which, while it can be used for the
Manganese
steel industry, is not applicable to the battery and electronics
industry. Similarly, the impurity profile is also crucial, with Although this is an increasingly important battery chemical,
elements like vanadium and uranium being highly detrimental the total battery related demand at present is around 300,000
to batteries. At the moment, most of the graphite being used in tonnes vs a potential supply in South Africa alone of around
batteries (about 70 per cent) is synthetic. The driver to switch 15bn tonnes. Hard to see a substantial uplift in the pricing,
to natural graphite is cost, but quality and characteristics need given these supply/demand dynamics.
to be maintained, so it is likely that a few high-quality projects
will become key suppliers to the anode market. It’s all about
quality, not quantity. Other industry trends
The top concern in the battery industry at the moment is
security of supply. The large numbers of separate companies
Cobalt
and the disjointed market in the supply chain has meant that
Cobalt is currently the most in vogue of the battery materials. price signalling up and down the chain has been weak. Many
It is also the only one that has a more normal trading market. battery producers had no inkling that there would be supply
Nevertheless it does have its eccentricities as cobalt is largely constraints as demand increased. At the same time, none of
a byproduct, and therefore supply has been determined by the demand pressure was obvious to investors in primary
the pricing and demand for the primary host material, copper. producers to give them the capital to acquire assets and invest
Another problem is that the vast majority of cobalt has been in development. Markets in many battery materials are thin
sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and this has led to nasty surprises for battery producers
which prompts ethical questions and concerns over security of in securing inputs and volatile prices. Now with battery
supply. Several new companies are now seeking out projects producers investing billions in new production facilities,
57
THE ASSAY
they need to know that they can run these at whether it made sense to combine a lithium
capacity with a stable supply of material. and a graphite producer, I would have seen
few synergies. As more consolidation happens
One of the impacts of this search for input
elsewhere, it is now possible that the buyer for
stabilisation is consolidation both up the
lithium carbonate will also be the buyer for
supply chain and across the various materials,
cobalt and graphite. Simultaneously, mining
which in turn is creating a shift in the relative
power of the different stages of the industry.
companies, trading houses and electronics "There is now
companies are looking to add battery material
consolidation
divisions, so companies that can be moved to
at all levels
An example of this has been the shift in relative
power of battery chemical companies and a consolidated model may trade at a premium.
extractors. A few years ago, the price setters of the supply
of lithium were the companies (mainly in
Another market theme is jurisdiction. Security
chain. Their
of supply means not only having a contract that
China) who converted spodumene to lithium
gives you access to material, but enforceability
loss of pricing
carbonate. The scarcity of supply of primary
of that contract. That means that supplies power has
now prompted
lithium feedstock meant that converters had
from stable countries will carry a premium.
little market power, with battery material
companies and assemblers agreeing direct
Western producers also are seeking to avoid converters to
deals with primary producers on future
dependence on China, and certain countries
try to invest
in Africa and South America are less desirable
production, and using the processors to
due to political risk, from export controls to tax
upstream and
convert the material on a set-cost basis (toll
and royalty regimes. The dependence on DRC make company
manufacturing).
for cobalt is the most obvious example, but acquisitions
There is now consolidation at all levels of the there are others: Tanzania recently changed to secure raw
supply chain. Their loss of pricing power has the rules on graphite, affecting producers
materials."
now prompted converters to try to invest there.
upstream and make company acquisitions to
The battery industry is a developing market
secure raw materials. For example, Sichuan
with changing technology and difficult pricing,
Tianqi’s acquisition of half of Talison, and
but that is the opportunity. With constant need
Jiangxi Ganfeng’s 43 per cent investment in
for development capital there will be plenty of
Neometal. At the other end of the process, as
activity and scope for attractive returns.
research and development has become more
expensive, battery producers are cutting out
the intermediary step of battery material
makers and bringing this business in-house.
Investors should take note that forward-

looking companies have started to look at
combining assets across different battery
materials. If you had asked me three years ago
58
Mining Investment
Magazine & Online
Directory
Pick up a print copy of The Assay or visit
theassay.com for fund manager insights, analyst
reviews and mining company profiles. Each
edition focuses on a specific sector of the mining
industry, providing perspectives from the buy side
and opportunities from the sell side.
Company Profiles
Each edition of The Assay showcases a
selection of companies and projects
representing a sector of the market.
Interviews
Enjoy interviews with leading mining
fund managers. Learn about their
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Coming Up
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TSX-V:KBLT
Pure play
exposure to the
cobalt industry
Physical Cobalt
Streams & Royalties
Mineral Properties
Cobalt 27 has an asset base underpinned by

physical cobalt material. This is enhanced by growth
opportunities from streams, royalties and interests in
mineral properties containing cobalt.
Learn more at: co27.com
www.co27.com
Tel: +1 416 504 3978
Email: info@co27.com
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THE ASSAY

121 GROUP MINING MAGAZINE

“There is, no doubt, huge

“…it’s not just battery

“The transformation of our

COMPANY INVESTOR ANALYST INVESTMENT

23-24 APRIL 2018 HONG KONG

17-18 MAY 2018 LONDON

23-24 MAY 2018 SINGAPORE

5-6 JUNE 2018 NEW YORK

FEBRUARY 2019 CAPE TOWN

To become a corporate presenter at a 121 INVESTMENT SUMMIT event please email:

For investor passes: charlie.hastings@weare121.com

Leading arranger of equity

Aaron Constantine Gavin Wates George Garnett

19/f, FWD Financial Centre,

The Team Contributors

Marketing Kevin Ward

T he Assay is a 121 Group initiative that provides a print and online

Each edition of the Assay showcases a range of exploration, development

10. Nemaska Lithium

12. Neometals Ltd

14. Neo Lithium Corp.

20. Piedmont Lithium

22. Infinity Lithium Corp.

24. Consolidated Nickel Mines

36. TNG Ltd

46. Leading Edge Minerals

52. Alabama Graphite

16. Cobalt: Chasing Electric

28. Cobalt Shifts From Metal to

54. Baby Steps Into The World of

48. Understanding Battery

W e have consumed the planet’s oil so quickly

The transformation of our energy infrastructure

In 2015 a total of $329bn was invested in

The development of renewables can be seen

Lithium and Processing Technology Lithium Australia ASX:LIT

CAPITAL STRUCTURE AND SHAREHOLDERS KEY FINANCIALS (JANUARY 2018)

Apollinax Inc. 1.15

Top ten inside holders 16.95%

Institutional ownership 6.02%

Europe Cape York region, Queensland

Sadisdorf – Saxony, Germany Bynoe, Northern Territory

SiLeach® is a hydrometallurgical process, so no roasting is required.

Lithium Mine Development and Nemaska Lithium TSX: NMX, OTCQX:NMKEF

Baring Asset Management Ltd. 0.66% Cash C$40m

Year High-Low C$2.44-0.95

LITHIUM HYDROXIDE PRODUCTION

Life of Mine Revenue

Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

Undiscounted Cash Flow

EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE Average Cost Per Tonne - Spodumene Concentrate

• High-grade reserve WHABOUCHI MINE TO SHAWINIGAN HYDROMET PLANT

3. Hydromet Plant in Shawinigan as per Feasibility Study

Lithium Neometals Ltd ASX:NMT, OTC:RDRUY

Market Capital A$249m

SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE

Combining innovative cost

Into lower-risk, long-life, high-

To develop a portfolio of globally

DOWNSTREAM PROCESSING -Kalgoorlie Lithium

TECHNOLOGY - Lithium Hydroxide Processing Technology

• High-grade reserve WHABOUCHI MINE TO SHAWINIGAN HYDROMET PLANT

• Opportunity to accretively grow value of cobalt holdings

TRANSPARENT PLAN • Intends to hold physical cobalt and grow a portfolio of