European Lithium

The lithium mining project on the Koralpe in Frantschach-St. Gertraud/Austria has reached a new milestone. After an intensive review, the company ECM Lithium AT GmbH has now received a decision from the Carinthian provincial government that the project is not subject to an environmental impact assessment (EIA). This is an important step towards realising the project and establishing a European battery supply chain for electric mobility.

In the case of underground mining, where the surface area required for the above-ground facilities is less than 10 ha, as is planned for lithium mining on the Koralpe, no EIA is required by law. Nevertheless, on 21st July 2020 ECM Lithium AT GmbH, a subsidiary of European Lithium, applied to the EIA authority to examine whether an EIA should be carried out for the lithium mining project in Koralpe. More than a year later and after intensive examination by the authorities on the basis of numerous documents submitted, it has been determined that this is not the case.

Dietrich Wanke (Figure 1), CEO of both ECM Lithium AT GmbH and European Lithium, as well as President Operations of Critical Metals, a company resulting from a merger with Sizzle Acquisition Corporation, of which European Lithium is the largest shareholder, says of the decision taken by the Carinthian state government on 26th November 2024 : “The finding that our lithium project at Weinebene, for which we have fully pre-financed all the complex preparatory work and project development for more than a decade, does not require an EIA, is based on the review by independent and highly experienced experts from a wide range of environmentally relevant fields. Although the process of determining this took over a year, it has paid off. Now we have it in black and white that our project does not require an EIA. In this regard, we were already extremely confident beforehand, because underground mining is arguably the most environmentally friendly method of lithium extraction.” “The decision of the EIA authority has now clarified the responsibility of the mining authority for the approval of the project, and we can rule out delays due to a possible objection to an EIA requirement at a later project phase, e. g. shortly before mining begins. This is a major milestone in the environmentally friendly and sustainable production of the critical raw material lithium from Austrian mining in an integrated European supply chain, located in the heart of Europe. In view of Europe’s dependence on raw materials, it would be nice if the European Union also recognised that mining does not have to be dirty per se, but is eligible for funding and worthy of investment – and above all necessary,” says Dietrich Wanke.

The EIA authority’s review covered the entire project on the Koralpe, including the planned underground mining, the surface mining facility for producing a spodumene concentrate, the energy supply lines and necessary deforestation, as well as the backfilling of the empty mining chambers with the excess mining material, and an assessment of interactions with other projects. The review was carried out by official experts in the fields of forestry, nature conservation, geology, hydrogeology, waste management, chemistry, process engineering, aquatic ecology and water management, as well as torrent and avalanche control.

On the basis of this comprehensive case-by-case examination, in which all the relevant facts of the EIA law were taken into account, the EIA authority came to the conclusion that an EIA is not necessary. The conclusion of the decision of the Carinthian provincial government states: “In summary, it can therefore be stated that the conditions for the obligation to carry out an environmental impact assessment are not met for the project “Lithium Mining Koralpe”, as described in more detail in the operative part of this declaratory decision, and that therefore no environmental impact assessment is to be carried out for this project in accordance with the provisions of the UVP-G 2000.”

The focus of the project is now on financing the start of mining and continuing to pursue approval of the plant and the extraction plan. The decision that no EIA is to be carried out could now have a positive effect on financing. To date, more than 70 M AUS$ (approximately 43 M €) has been invested in exploration and preparation. So far, the project has not received any funding for mining. Despite the positive final feasibility study and numerous discussions, European banks have so far been reluctant to provide financing. Therefore, Critical Metals is primarily looking for US investors. (European Lithium/Si.)

The merger between European Lithium Ltd. and Sizzle Acquisition Corp. to form the newly founded Critical Metals Corp. has been finalised. Critical Metals began trading on the US technology exchange Nasdaq on 28th February 2024 under the symbol CRML (Figure 1). Critical Metals will advance the construction and commissioning of the lithium mine in Frantschach-St. Gertraud in the Wolfsberg district of Austria. European Lithium continues as an ASX-listed company and is the largest shareholder of Critical Metals.

The Wolfsberg Lithium Project is a significant step closer to becoming a major source of battery-grade lithium for the lithium-ion battery supply chain in Europe. Critical Metals, which was formed from the merger of European Lithium and Sizzle, is focussing on the construction and commissioning of the mine in Frantschach-St. Gertraud.

The successful completion of the transaction and the listing of Critical Metals on the Nasdaq supports the development of this planned flagship project for the green energy transition in Europe. With the completion of the transaction, which enables the project to access the US capital markets, Critical Metals expects to raise significant additional funds to achieve these goals. This is particularly important as the first phase of mining needs to be financed upfront, as is standard in the industry, as returns are not expected until the final product is processed and ready for battery production.

The managing director of Critical Metals is mining engineer Dietrich Wanke, who has been managing the project in Wolfsberg for several years and is also the managing director of European Lithium. For the realisation of the project, the company is relying on the results published in the course of European Lithium’s Final Feasibility Study.

European Lithium continues to exist following the transaction and trading of European Lithium shares on the ASX Australian Stock Exchange resumed with the release of an official stock exchange announcement on 1st March 2024. European Lithium received 67,788,383 ordinary shares in Critical Metals, re­presenting approximately 83 % of the issued capital, following completion of the transaction approved by European Lithium and Sizzle shareholders. Based on Critical Metals’ closing share price of 12.38 US$ per share as at 29th February 2024, European Lithium’s current investment in Critical Metals is valued at approximately 839 M US$.

European Lithium will continue to monitor the development of the Wolfsberg project and expects to benefit from the future successes of Critical Metals as it executes its strategy. European Lithium is focused on advancing its European exploration projects, including the Austrian Bretstein-Lachtal, Klementkogel and Wildbachgraben projects, in which European Lithium holds 100 % of the rights, title and interest. In addition, the company is examining further potential exploration projects. (European Lithium/Si.)

European Lithium, West Leederville/Australia, is expanding its portfolio in Austria: The Wolfsberg lithium project in Carinthia, which is already well advanced, will be joined by three further exploration projects in Styria (Figure 1). The company is thus taking into account the increasing demand for lithium in the coming years.

European Lithium has signed a binding contract with the Canadian company Ontario Inc, a subsidiary of Richmond Minerals Inc. According to the agreement, all rights to the three lithium exploration projects Bretstein-Lachtal (districts of Murtal and Murau), Klementkogel (district of Voitsberg and Wolfsberg) and Wildbachgraben (district of Deutschlandsberg) will be transferred to European Lithium.

The three projects, summarised under the name “Austrian Lithium Projects”, have a total area of 114.6 km². The acquisition of the projects is associated with 245 exploration licences. From a geological point of view, the lithium deposits are comparable to the one near Wolfsberg. They show similar vein-like mineralisation and there, as there, spodumene is the primary lithium-bearing mineral.

The Bretstein-Lachtal project accounts for the largest part of the licences (191) and is clearly the largest with 89.2 km². It will be the focus of further exploration by European Lithium and is also the most advanced of these three newly acquired exploration projects. According to geochemical analyses, the most recently collected rock chip samples have a lithium oxide content of up to 2.67 %.

In contrast, the Klementkogel (22 licences, 10.5 km²) and Wildbachgraben (32 licences, 14.9 km²) projects have only been explored to a limited extent so far.

“With the acquisition of the three projects, we are expanding our portfolio in Europe. We can do this very efficiently by building on the experience of the Wolfsberg project and benefiting from the geographical proximity. By exploring further deposits, we can position ourselves even more broadly and make a stronger commitment to building a European battery supply chain,” says Dietrich Wanke, CEO of European Lithium and ECM Lithium AT GmbH.

In March, European Lithium published the figures of the Definitive Feasibility Study for the Wolfsberg lithium project. According to the study, about 12.9 Mt of lithium-bearing ore have been proven as an initial raw material resource in the first of two possible mining zones on the Weinebene. From this, a total of 129,000 t of lithium hydroxide monohydrate in battery quality for the electric car industry are to be produced during a mining period of about 15 years. The study supports previous expectations that the project is very profitably feasible.

“We are very positive about the progress at Wolfsberg. The figures from the Final Feasibility Study support our high expectations for the project. The expected after-tax NPV has increased to 1.5 bn US$, almost double the value of the previously conducted pre-feasibility study. Against the background of increasing demand for lithium combined with a structural undersupply, we are therefore convinced that the project has a high return potential,” says Wanke.

Lithium mining in Wolfsberg can begin in 2025 at the earliest, and further processing into battery-grade lithium could start in 2026. A first purchase agreement with BMW has already been signed. Currently, European Lithium is preparing a transaction together with the US company Sizzle Acquisitions Corp. that is to result in the foundation of the new company Critical Metals Corp. The new company will be the sole owner of the Wolfsberg project and is expected to be listed on NASDAQ. European Lithium will be the largest shareholder in Critical Metals Corp.
(European Lithium/Si.)