Wealth Minerals Ltd. is a mineral useful resource firm targeted on the acquisition and improvement of lithium tasks in South America. It has pursuits in Chile, Canada, Mexico, and Peru. The corporate’s exploration and analysis belongings embody the favored Valsequillo Silver Challenge.
In an e mail dialog with AlphaStreet, the corporate’s CEO Henk van Alphen mentioned the varied points of the enterprise and new tendencies within the {industry}. Alphen has based and operated a number of service-related corporations early in his profession. Right here is the total interview:
Are you able to talk about Wealth Minerals’ mission and imaginative and prescient?
Wealth’s imaginative and prescient is to unlock the numerous potential worth of its lithium belongings in Chile utilizing the ability set of its administration crew for the advantage of the Firm’s shareholders. Our license place in Atacama has true world-class potential given its geological traits and neighboring operations. Moreover, Wealth’s Kuska venture is a peer to different tasks with valuations a number of multiples larger than the place the Firm at present trades. We view Wealth as a deep-value firm with glorious belongings and a administration crew with the know-how to maneuver the whole lot ahead towards improvement.
Are you able to share your views on present tendencies within the lithium {industry} as we speak and your outlook for the following few years?
The lithium {industry} garners plenty of media protection as it’s a basic proxy for the shift in direction of electrification globally. Nonetheless, the lithium enterprise house is sort of small in greenback phrases. As such, it displays plenty of volatility. In 2022 there was huge exuberance adopted the following 12 months by an enormous correction. Solely now could be the {industry} popping out of those swings and recovering to stability. Nonetheless, the bigger pattern continues to be intact whereby the projected consumption of lithium far exceeds projected manufacturing. Persistent provide points will be sure that lithium demand and pricing stay sturdy and rising properly into the longer term.
What do you assume are the primary near-term challenges and alternatives for Wealth Minerals?
One of many points going through any pure useful resource firm is that incredible useful resource belongings nearly inevitably grow to be politicized. Our Atacama asset has tier-one traits, i.e. the potential to singlehandedly change world supply-demand dynamics. Due to that, Wealth has taken explicit care to be a superb company citizen and preserve a powerful “stakeholder” tradition in order that nationwide and native governments are a part of the event course of, together with native indigenous individuals and different teams. This does make for a sluggish course of, however it additionally ensures long-term worth. Our conversations with future companions and collaborators have satisfied us that our method is greatest. Nonetheless, being affected person is definitely a problem.
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Are you able to elaborate on the Firm’s progress and improvement technique? Do you’ve gotten plans to guage tasks in different markets exterior of Chile?
Wealth is targeted on its lithium belongings in Chile. And whereas we do have a battery steel venture in BC, Canada that’s early stage and does match the overall theme of Wealth’s publicity to the battery steel {industry}, administration stays targeted on Chile. The Firm’s progress will come not from “extensive” M&A, however from “intensive” improvement of the prevailing asset base.
How is Wealth Minerals looking for to embrace innovation in lithium mining to enhance effectivity and decrease environmental affect?
Wealth Minerals could be very proud to have been a primary mover in embracing the environmentally pleasant Direct Lithium Extraction (or “DLE”) expertise. It was clear to us from the start that the environmental value of photo voltaic evaporation for lithium restoration was very excessive. Moreover, the entire idea of photo voltaic evaporation is at odds with shoppers of lithium attempting to decrease the {industry}’s environmental affect. Wealth has had previous offers with each solvent extraction and sorption expertise companions, and now with the big progress made with DLE expertise, the Firm is poised to undertake the best-in-industry sorption expertise throughout its improvement of the Kuska venture.