Litherium Acquires West Australian Nickel Mine to Explore New Energy Crypto-Commodity Exchange
Litherium follows the giant step of Elon Musk’s new energy strategies in Western Australia
Litherium Australia Mining is a professional mineral exploration and mining broker service company headquartered in Western Australia that seeks new energy-related mineral resources for global mining developers. In 2021, with the support of SMK Partners & Associate, the group issued the Litherium token (LITH).
Litherium Australia Mining successfully acquired a strategically important nickel sulphide mine on January 8, 2022. The new tenement (E69/3371) is located in Rawlinna, Western Australia’s southern region, near the Kalgoorlie main mining site, and is also one of the mining belts in which Nickel West, a subsidiary of BHP Billiton, is located.
Australia has the world’s largest nickel reserves (24%), estimated to be 19 million tonnes. Western Australia is currently Australia’s sole nickel producer. The state’s nickel resources include nickel sulphide ore and laterite nickel ore, and most of the output comes from nickel sulphide ore.
The first major nickel sulphide deposit in Western Australia was discovered at Kambalda, just 400 kilometres from the newly acquired tenements, by Litherium Australia Mining. Litherium Australia Mining laid out nickel sulphide mines on new mining rights as early as 2015. The group’s foresight of energy development trends enables it to quickly grasp the general trend of new energy development and aid in the development of new energy in Western Australia.
The new tenement is located near the large Kalgoorlie exploration area, which is home to world energy tycoons such as BHP, Rio Tinto, and Fortescue Metals Group (FMG).
BHP began acquiring a large number of mineral rights in this area in 2019 and vigorously deployed nickel ore energy reserves.
With the implementation of the global decarbonisation concept, low-carbon and environmentally friendly new energy vehicles have gradually gained prominence, and market demand for lithium batteries used in automobiles has risen tremendously. According to the Deloitte research report, global lithium battery market demand is expected to reach 122.3 billion watt-hours in 2025. The price of lithium battery raw materials continues to rise, the lithium battery sector is growing rapidly, and the development of new energy is unstoppable, with nickel sulphide as the primary raw material ushering in a new era. Nickel is an indispensable raw material in the manufacture of ternary lithium batteries.
In general, the higher the nickel content, the higher the energy density of the battery cell, thereby improving the cruising range of electric vehicles. Nickel resources are relatively scarce when compared to lithium. It is also a hot spot for new energy companies to improve their layout and competition.
Tesla, a world-renowned sustainable energy company, has urged global nickel miners to increase their mining volumes, according to Reuters.
Reuters also quoted sources as saying that Tesla could finance the project, possibly in exchange for equity. All of the above show Tesla’s favour and desire for high-nickel battery materials.
Since then, Tesla has signed major contracts for nickel ore with many mining companies around the world, such as Prony Resources, Giga Metals, Talon Metals, etc.
On July 22, 2021, Tesla and BHP signed a nickel supply agreement. Nickel West, a subsidiary of BHP, supplies Tesla with nickel as a raw material for battery manufacturing. Tesla is a globally recognised manufacturer of electric vehicles and battery energy storage systems. This cooperation is also a recognition of the nickel ore reserves and ore quality in the Western Australia mining area.
Elon Musk has also said that Tesla expects global sales to reach 20 million vehicles by 2030, and is confident of maintaining a growth rate of at least 50% in deliveries. If this target is prepared, Tesla may also need to purchase more nickel to meet its battery production.
In addition to Tesla, LG Energy, a leading Korean battery company, has long cooperated with Australia’s nickel-cobalt smelting company to ensure continuous nickel supply for the next 10 years.
As BHP Chief Commercial Officer Vandita Pant said: “It is estimated that demand for nickel in battery manufacturing will grow more than fivefold over the next decade, primarily to support the world’s growing electric vehicle market.”
Litherium Australia Mining successfully completed the acquisition and transfer of nickel ore mining rights this time, which will provide support for the development of new energy and low-carbon environmental protection, boost market confidence, and lay a good foundation for the company’s long-term business development.
It is reported that in the next stage, Litherium Australia Mining will conduct exploration on this new tenement and determine the drilling target area for preliminary exploration through detailed geological mapping, ground magnetic surveys and gravity measurements.
Litherium Australia Mining first disclosed the tenement layout at the 2022 Metaverse Forum and joins the exploration of nickel mining over the next four years
The 2022 Metaverse Forum was divided into English and Chinese sessions, and held in Crown Perth. Amid the Covid pandemic, more than 120 guests from various fields – including business brokers, financial planners, legal advisers and the local crypto community – came to the venue to experience the charm of the Metaverse. At the same time there was a live webcast, and more than 10,000 users around the world participated.
In the English session in the morning, Mr Keith, Meta brand ambassador of Facebook’s Asia-Pacific region, introduced the development of the Internet since Web 2.0 to the guests and explained the use of blockchain technology and metaverse technology in music and gaming. Applications in finance and other fields showed how international companies such as Meta, Google, Microsoft, etc are deploying the metaverse. The audience also actively participated, and the atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant.
Dr Cheng, Project Director and Senior Partner of SMK Partners & Associate, also addressed the guests. It is understood that the company, under the banner of Meta-Fintech, uses the end of the blockchain as a basic framework to help companies solve their problems. Last year, SMK Partners & Associate assisted Litherium Australia Mining to issue the LITH token. This year, SMK Group also assisted an art organisation to launch Goggles NFT Marketplace, an NFT digital trading platform, to help companies that are keen on electronic arts and chain games to realise their entrepreneurial dreams.
Dr Cheng interacted with both online and offline audiences, answering questions about the metaverse, mining development, cryptocurrency, and so on. His speech and lively conversations often prompted the audience to burst into applause and laughter.
Mr Tony, IT Director of the SMK Team, took the lead with his opening speech. From a technical point of view, he introduced blockchain technology to the audience and how its “unforgeable, traceable, open and transparent” feature can effectively prevent fraud and data tampering, greatly improving the security of transactions.
Mr Xiao Ziqiang, Executive Director of Litherium Australia Mining Pty Ltd, described how the group obtained a nickel tenement in the Nickel West mining belt of BHP with the help of SMK Group, and how to use smart contracts. He also explained the “decentralisation, transparency, and efficiency” advantages of blockchain technology combined with mining exploration, and demonstrated the strategic strategy of Litherium Australia Mining to deploy new energy and new materials such as lithium mines and nickel mines in Western Australia. The plan has created a model that perfectly combines mining entities and blockchain technology.
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(Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice.)