Co. Seeking Lithium in Spain Begins Trading

IberAmerican Lithium Corp. (IBER:NEO) began trading under the symbol "IBER" on the Neo Exchange (operating as Cboe Canada) last Wednesday morning.

Just this month, the company, formerly 1317198 BC Ltd., announced it had completed its reverse takeover transaction with IberAmerican Lithium Inc., a privately held lithium exploration and development company.

"We are very excited to be listing on Cboe Canada, an innovative exchange that aligns seamlessly with our mission to drive clean energy," said IberAmerican Director and Chief Executive Officer Campbell Becher. "The public listing of IberAmerican not only demonstrates our commitment to advancing sustainable solutions but also reflects the growing importance of electrification in furthering the global energy transition."

Lithium is a major component of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, where it's used as a cathode and an electrolyte. The silvery metal with highly reactive and flammable properties is also used to strengthen alloys, as a high-temperature lubricant, and as a drug to treat bipolar disorder.

IberAmerican Lithium is a hard-rock lithium company, meaning the element is mined from lithium-containing rock, such as spodumene. It is focused on its highly prospective 70%-owned Alberta II and Carlota properties in the Galicia region of northwestern Spain.

The global lithium market is expected to grow globally from US$37.8 billion in 2022 to US$89.9 billion in 2030, according to a report by Fortune Business Insights.

"Hard rock spodumene mines have taken the mantle as the largest source of lithium raw materials thanks to the speed with which they've been able to ramp up in response to fast-moving prices and market enthusiasm," Stockhead wrote.

According to Geology for Investors, hard-rock lithium deposits are in minerals hosted in pegmatite intrusions. Pegmatites are "coarse-grained intrusive rocks that are formed during the final stages of the crystallization of a magma."

Grades of above 1% to 1.5% lithium oxide (Li2O) are considered the benchmark, the site wrote.

The company's results in the Iberian lithium corridor have included strikes of 6.52 meters of 1.06% Li2O, 8.5 meters of 1.09% Li2O, and 10.84 meters of 1.24% Li2O.

The Catalyst: Deficits to Widen and Upcoming Drill Results

The global lithium market is expected to grow globally from US$37.8 billion in 2022 to US$89.9 billion in 2030, according to a report by Fortune Business Insights.

"The growing adoption of hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs), high-drain portable electronics, and energy storage systems has had a huge impact on the growth of the overall market," the report said.

Brine makes up nearly two-thirds of lithium resources but only about 40% of production, Goldman Sachs said. Production from the Lithium Triangle (Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina) using brine evaporation has lagged over spodumene sources.

Analysts from Eight Capital also predicted that lithium market deficits will widen this decade, and the shortfalls will be driven by demand in North America.

The United States' EV penetration of 6% lags China's 26% and Europe's 20%, analysts Anoop Prihar and Alex Riazanov of Eight Capital wrote in a recent research note. But President Joe Biden's administration has committed to a target of 50% of new vehicle sales being EVs by 2030.

"We estimate North American lithium nameplate production capacity will be 262,900 LCE (million tonnes lithium carbonate) in 2026 based on projects that currently have completed a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS)," Prihar and Riazanov wrote. "Although this is a significant increase from the current North American production capacity of 6,000 tonnes LCE, it's still more than 128,000 tonnes short of what we anticipate will be required by the battery plants. As such, we anticipate the fundamentals underlying lithium demand to remain robust."

Friendly, Accessible Jurisdiction

The company said Spain's Iberian Pegmatite Belt is a newly recognized spodumene district with more than ten spodumene-bearing pegmatitic outcrops spanning more than 25 kilometers north-northwest to south-southeast across the northwest of the country.

IberAmerican said Gallicia is the fourth-largest mineral jurisdiction in Spain, easily accessible by highway, close to a deep-sea port city, and near three commercial airports.

Spain also has launched multiple initiatives facilitating sustainable energy growth, focusing on giga-factories manufacturing electrification and decarbonization technologies. With four in the pipeline, the country is on track to become one of the largest lithium battery producers in Europe.

Upcoming catalysts this year for the company include drilling at six veins that have only been sampled at the surface, infill drilling, detailed mapping, and a further 15,000-meter drill program of approximately 43 drill holes with two rigs.

The company said it also must relog historical core intercepts from the projects that were misidentified as quartz but were really spodumene.

IberAmerican Lithium Corp. said it will also announced assays of the previous cores this fall and the initial results of its extensive drill program early in the new year. 

Last month, before the reverse takeover closed, IberAmerican Lithium Inc. completed a best-efforts private placement of 36,450,488 subscription receipts at CA$0.25 each for a gross process of about CA$9.1 million.

Ownership and Share Structure

About 36% of the company is held by insiders, including CEO Becher, Director and Chairman Eugene McBurney, and Director Miguel del Campa.

About 25% of the company is in institutions, including Delbrook Resource Opportunities Master Fund LP (Grandy Cayman Islands), Jayvee & Co., CI Resource Opportunities Class, and Delbrook Resources Opportunities Fund (Vancouver).

The rest is retail.

The company is currently trading at time of writing, at  CA$25 million, with about 110 million shares outstanding.

Important Disclosures:

1. IberAmerican Lithium Corp. has a consulting relationship with an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, and pays a monthly consulting fee between US$8,000 and US$20,000. 
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of IberAmerican Lithium Corp. 
3. Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee. 
4. The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

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