Ford is investing $50 billion in EVs as it aims to produce two million units annually by 2026, as well as 600,000 all-electric vehicles by the end of 2023. The biggest obstacle in reaching those goals is securing the raw materials needed to build a large quantity of EV batteries, which has prompted FoMoCo to begin utilizing lithium iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, which don’t use nickel or cobalt in their construction, secure those materials from a wide range of places, and form a joint venture with SK On. Now, it seems as if the supply of one of those raw materials is getting a major boost, as a company called Snow Lake Lithium has announced that its new mine will supply enough lithium to power up to 500,000 EVs per year.
Snow Lake Lithium is based in Manitoba, Canada, and plans on having its new mine ready to supply the North American market with that highly sought-after material by 2025. The mine will transport lithium to U.S.-based automakers via the Arctic Gateway railway, which cuts transportation from thousands of miles by road and boat to just several hundred by train.
To help speed up this process, the company plans to establish a joint venture to create a lithium hydroxide processing plant and is seeking a partnership with an automotive OEM or a battery manufacturer. The 55,000-acre site will be located in CentrePort Canada in Southern Manitoba, where a a scoping study is currently underway, and will be powered by nearly 100 percent renewable, hydroelectric power.
“As we rapidly transition to electrification, it’s essential for the future of the North American automotive industry that we build a rock to road battery supply chain,” said Philip Gross, CEO Snow Lake Lithium. “Local sourcing of critical raw materials, such as lithium, is the only logical step to create a vertically integrated domestic supply chain. Snow Lake Lithium has access to a rich lithium resource and is on the doorstep of North American manufacturers. This is enough lithium to power 500,000 electric vehicles a year produced in North America, which would significantly reduce logistics and emissions that would be created by importing raw materials from China.”
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Comments
Gee, the photos of the area look great. Curious how long it’ll stay that way…
So ruin the planet in one area to make batteries for rich people that live in another country.
We are doing more damage to the planet, mining, refining, transporting, manufacturing, etc., material to make EV batteries, then we are just keeping doing what we are doing. Everyone is blaming ICE vehicles for destroying the planet, what about gas water heaters, furnaces, stoves, BBQs, yard power equipment, etc., little alone fossil fuel power plants, and what ever else uses fossil fuels. If the 1000s of billions of dollars that all the auto companies in the world are spending on EV vehicles ( or at least half of it ), was spent elsewhere on greener tech, we might be better off.
It took about 40 years for the US to go from mostly coal mines to natural gas for power plants. I wonder how many years it will take to go from Lithium mines to whatever is next to replace lithium.
WE SHOULD BE DEVELOPING MORE HYDROGEN TECH. MOST OF THE CURRENT ICE’S COULD BE CONVERTED TO RUN ON HYDROGEN. MOST;Y JUST FUEL SUPPLY AND DELIVERY MODIFICATIONS. OXYGEN AND WATER OUT THE TAIL PIPE. WAT SIMPLER THAN ALL THIS ELECTRIC B.S.
‘Lithium extraction causes surface water contamination. It also destroys other water sources. So, it’s partly responsible for the creation of toxic rain.
Since lithium is mined in hot, dry and mountainous areas, the water cycle largely depends on the limited forests. The trees extract underground water and release it into the atmosphere for this process to continue. Therefore, lithium mining hinders the water cycle from providing adequate rainfall in the affected areas. The impacts are severe.’ — From ecojungle.net/