This Lithium Penny Stock Could Explode ($LTMCF + Lithium Chile) - YouTube

Channel: Tyler McMurray

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With the coming boom in electric vehicles, you might be tempted to invest in EV companies
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or even electric battery manufacturers.
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But I think the safer and more profitable strategy will be investing in lithium, an
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element that is essential to the lithium-ion batteries used in EVs and other energy storage
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solutions.
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The easiest way to do this is with lithium mining and manufacturing companies, which
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there are quite a few of across the globe.
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But in this video, we’re focusing on the one that I believe to have the greatest potential
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of them all, and that’s Lithium Chile, ticker LTMCF.
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To get us started, we’re going to take a look at the overall lithium market and landscape.
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This will help us better understand why Lithium Chile is perhaps the best pure-play lithium
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investment on the market.
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Then we’ll dive into Lithium Chile and what sets them apart from other businesses in the
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lithium space.
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Make sure you stick around for this, because they are incredibly well positioned for the
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future of lithium.
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Next, to round out this analysis, we’re going to discuss some potential valuations
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for the stock.
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I don’t usually talk penny stocks, but with all things considered, I think Lithium Chile
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could produce some life-changing returns.
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And as with all investments, there is some risk involved here, so last we’ll be taking
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a look at a few things you’ll want to consider before investing in this stock.
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Let’s get started.
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The transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy storage is accelerating faster than
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previously predicted, with analysts upgrading EV expectations from 20%, to 40%, to even
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70% annual growth.
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Lithium is one of the key materials used in these technologies, so as they become more
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widespread, the need for lithium increases.
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And because lithium is forecasted to be so integral to our energy needs in the coming
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decades, it’s even being called “the new oil”.
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According to the United States Geological Survey, over 70% of the world’s lithium
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supply is being used for batteries, up from about 50% in 2019.
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This shows that Lithium Ion batteries are single-handedly driving demand for lithium.
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With the continued penetration of electric vehicles, lithium demand is expected to more
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than double by 2024.
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And it’s at this point in 2024 that the demand for lithium is expected to exceed the
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available supply.
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By the close of the decade, demand will be far greater than the available supply and
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put pressure on lithium prices, which have already started soaring back as of December
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2020.
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So as an investor, lithium looks like an attractive commodity to be involved in.
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But not all lithium is created equally, because there are many different geographies and materials
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it’s found in around the world.
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So we’re going to take a look at the three main sources of lithium, which are clay deposits,
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hard rock deposits and brines, which are underground saltwater deposits.
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Clay makes up the smallest portion of the world’s lithium reserves, at an estimated
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3% of our total lithium supply.
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Most of these deposits are found in North America, specifically in Mexico and Nevada.
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Because of this, a lot of domestic companies are aggressively chasing after ownership of
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these clay deposits.
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Tesla has announced plans to produce lithium in Nevada, and Lithium Americas, ticker LAC,
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has gotten some publicity lately for securing Thacker Pass, which is believed to be the
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biggest clay deposit in the U.S.
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The first problem with clay deposits is that many believe they are the least economical
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source of lithium.
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According to Jade Cove research, this could change in the next decade, but for now, clay
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is not believed to be economically feasible because it contains lower grade lithium than
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other sources.
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Additionally, it’s not yet believed that extracting lithium from clay will have any
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environmental benefits compared to other extraction methods.
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Since environmental concerns are part of this EV shift, the carbon footprint of lithium
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extraction is something we’ll have to keep in mind.
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So by focusing on clay extraction, businesses are probably paying more to go after a smaller
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supply of lithium without any clear benefits other than its location within the United
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States.
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Hard rock mineral deposits are the next biggest source of lithium, with an estimated 30% of
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our world’s total lithium supply.
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This lithium is found within other minerals, the most common being a mineral called spodumene.
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This and similar lithium sources are the most evenly distributed around the world, with
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some of the biggest operations taking place in Australia, China and Canada.
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In addition to their widespread availability, rock deposits generally have higher concentrations
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and quality of lithium than other sources.
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Unfortunately, this advantage is offset by the costly mining process required.
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Mineral ores are mined using traditional methods, simply digging into the earth’s surface.
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Then, the lithium has to be extracted from the mineral ore, which is both an expensive
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and heavily carbon-intensive process.
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In fact, hard rock mining is expected to produce four times more carbon emissions than the
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next extraction method we’re discussing, brines.
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This has some serious implications for the future of lithium hard rock mining, despite
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it being an efficient, accessible and high quality source for lithium.
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The final source of lithium is in brines, which again are underground saltwater deposits.
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These are estimated to make up over 60% of the world’s lithium supply.
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The vast majority of these brines are located in what’s known as the lithium triangle,
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an area that covers Bolivia, Argentina and Chile.
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The lithium triangle is estimated to be home to 50 to 60% of the world’s lithium supply,
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making it the most concentrated area of lithium reserves on the globe.
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This ownership is largely dominated by Chile, which is estimated to have about 50% of the
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world’s lithium supply within its borders.
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To extract this lithium, the saltwater is pumped to the surface and distributed into
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shallow pools.
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In the dry climates, this water is evaporated over time until only dry minerals are left.
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Then, the lithium can be easily extracted.
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Lithium extraction from brines is cheaper and easier than previous methods, but it also
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takes the longest at about 12 to 18 months for the evaporation process to complete.
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While it’s also less environmentally taxing in terms of carbon emissions, there are some
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concerns that this process drains the natural water supply of the surrounding regions.
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So to quickly review, Clay is not currently an ideal source, but it has some US based
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businesses excited.
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Hard rock deposits have higher costs and carbon impacts, but may offer higher quality lithium.
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Brines are the largest and most efficient source of lithium, especially in Chile, but
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they’re not without their own issues.
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With so many different ways to mine lithium, there’s a huge variety of lithium producers
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to invest in.
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However, I think Lithium Chile makes a case for being perhaps the most attractive investment
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opportunity.
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This is thanks to their geographic positioning and properties, their partnership with summit
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nanotech and of course their current valuation.
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Lithium Chile has a portfolio of 13 properties throughout the country of Chile, which as
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we know holds more economical lithium reserves than anywhere else in the world.
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They own 100% of this land, meaning they owe no rights or royalties to anyone else.
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With this ownership, they are the largest land owner of lithium reserves in Chile, except
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for the Chilean government and SQM, a chilean lithium producer that happens to be one of
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the largest in the world.
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However, it’s worth noting that SQM currently mines lithium in only one location - the Salar
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de Atacama.
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This salar alone produced 36% of the world’s lithium in 2017, which shows how powerful
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a single one of these resources can be.
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So with the properties that Lithium Chile possesses, it’s possible that they’re
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sitting on reserves that could also supply massive amounts of lithium.
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And what they’ve done is perform sampling and analysis on their properties to determine
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which ones are the most prospective candidates for large amounts of lithium.
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With these results, they’ve identified the most valuable properties based on their size,
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their ease of access or how deep the lithium brine is underground, and the concentration
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of the lithium samples in each location.
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I’m not going to cover each of their properties here, but pretty much all of their properties
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look incredibly promising.
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I’ll link their investor presentation below as well as an interview with CEO Steve Cochrane
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if you want to learn more about the distinct advantages of each one.
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We’ll talk more about their properties when we discuss valuation, but the big idea here
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is that Lithium Chile has massive ownership in the lithium capital of the world.
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Just a single property could enable them to become a leading producer of lithium, and
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they have 13 properties to further explore and develop as lithium demand grows.
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This gives them a huge advantage over other producers who have significantly less land
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ownership and are in less advantageous geographic locations.
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In addition to having the land ownership, being located in Chile gives them the absolute
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cheapest cost of lithium production.
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Because they’re able to extract from brines instead of clay or hard rock, most of the
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work is done by the Chilean climate.
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With this advantage, they estimate their cost of lithium production per ton to be approximately
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one half the cost of lithium produced anywhere else in the world.
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Additionally, they’ve found resources like gold, silver, copper and even cesium among
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these properties, which will add some extra value and diversity to their portfolio.
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In fact, Lithium Chile has already stated that they’ll allow other companies to mine
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these non-lithium resources, which will allow them to cash flow off of these properties
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without having to put in any work themselves.
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The next huge advantage that Lithium Chile has is their partnership with Summit Nanotech.
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Summit Nanotech is pioneering a new method of lithium extraction known as Direct Lithium
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Extraction.
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I’m paraphrasing the CEO Amanda Hall, but she says they’ve designed this technology
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to mimic the human kidney.
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The idea here is they’ll use a sponge-like device to instantly soak up the lithium directly
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from the brine, eliminating the need for the lengthy evaporation process.
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This will substantially reduce the extraction time and costs to improve the efficiency of
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lithium extraction.
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Of course, one of the most significant benefits here is that it also completely eliminates
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any environmental concerns associated with brine lithium extraction, since they’re
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not evaporating the natural water supply or expending other resources.
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So this technology can dramatically cut costs and improve production for Lithium Chile.
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Their partnership with Summit Nanotech is non-exclusive, so it’s possible that other
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lithium miners will also benefit from this at some point, but Lithium Chile is confirmed
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to be the very first lithium producer to test this new technology.
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They’re expected to get the first unit deployed in July of this year, which could really put
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Lithium Chile at the forefront of the future lithium mining.
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This will give them a big advantage in local communities that are concerned with the environmental
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impact of lithium mining, since they’ll be one of the first to offer this greener
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solution.
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So let’s talk valuation, because this is one of the biggest reasons I see Lithium Chile
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as a huge opportunity in lithium.
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My thesis here isn’t that Lithium Chile will become the world’s largest supplier
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of lithium, although it could be possible in several years.
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Instead, I see the opportunity in Lithium Chile being that they’re so criminally undervalued
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based on the assets they currently own, with a current market cap of approximately $60
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million at 50Âą a share.
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Considering their portfolio of properties and the lithium reserves they hold, I believe
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they should have a higher valuation that reflects their properties and future supply capabilities.
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So let’s start with Salar de Coipasa, which the CEO has stated is one of the most exciting
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prospects that Lithium Chile has.
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About one third of this lithium source is located in Chile, while the other two-thirds
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is located in Bolivia.
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Lithium Chile owns about 70% of the property on the Chilean side.
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In 2019, Chinese electrical equipment manufacturer Xinjiang TBEA Group invested $1.3 billion
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for approximately 50% ownership of the Bolivian side of this salar.
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At that price, the entire salar would be worth approximately $4 billion.
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Lithium Chile’s ownership equates to just under 25% of the entire salar, which suggests
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that their ownership of this property alone could be worth as much as $1 billion.
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In total, the company has ownership of 166,150 hectares of property.
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They acquired this property at $3 per hectare.
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In 2018, amidst the previous lithium boom, hectares were trading hands around at $1,000
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each.
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This puts the potential value of Lithium Chile’s portfolio over $150 million, which is still
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more than double their current market cap.
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Plus, given that their exploration has already discovered probable prospects of lithium and
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other metals, it’s likely that their portfolio is worth even more.
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At this point, I’d also like to draw a comparison to Lake Resources, a similarly positioned
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lithium junior mining company.
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They’ve gotten a lot of attention lately for their technology partner’s direct lithium
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extraction method, which is similar to that of Summit Nanotech, and has been famously
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backed by Bill Gates.
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Their portfolio is also located in the lithium triangle, mostly in Argentina, and includes
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roughly 50% more hectares than Lithium Chile.
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However, 90,000 of these hectares are not brines, they are hard rock deposits, so they
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actually have ownership of less brine than Lithium Chile.
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Their flagship project makes up more than half of their brine ownership, where they
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have found lithium concentration around 200 mg/L. For reference, Lithium Chile’s best
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properties range up to 1,400 mg/L, making their lithium sources considerably more concentrated
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and potentially more valuable.
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Just like Lithium Chile, Lake Resources plans to get their direct lithium extraction technology
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deployed on-site at some point in 2021 before moving into production in 2023 or 2024.
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So by direct comparison, these companies are at very similar stages with comparable technological
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advantages.
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But considering hard rock lithium resources aren’t a priority in this geography, you
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could argue that Lithium Chile still owns a superior portfolio of properties.
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Yet, Lake Resources has been called undervalued with a market cap of approximately $300 million,
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which is 4 to 5 times greater than Lithium Chile’s 60 million.
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Purely based on the potential value of Lithium Chile’s portfolio, and the valuation that
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similar lithium miners are getting, I’m confident that this stock is easily worth
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one to two dollars based on nothing more than the properties they own.
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Plus, as more people discover the significance of what Lithium Chile has, it’s possible
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that investors will pay a premium over other lithium miner stocks for their more attractive
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portfolio of properties.
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Leading lithium miners are valued in the billions, so if Lithium Chile can evolve into an operation
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like those, then we could really see some life-changing returns from this stock.
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Of course that’s a more speculative idea, and something that will require a closer look
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once they begin mapping out their production plans.
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Let’s wrap up by discussing some risks, because as a junior lithium miner, there are
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some very important ones to consider.
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First, like we’ve said, they’re still exploring and they haven’t yet started producing
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lithium.
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Given their location in Chile and the exploration and sampling they’ve already done, I think
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it’s a pretty safe bet that they’ll have some economically viable lithium sources on
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their hands.
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So whereas other junior lithium miners might be exploring at the risk of finding nothing,
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I do feel confident that Lithium Chile has located and acquired substantial lithium reserves.
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The risk at this stage will be any setbacks in their ability to get started with lithium
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production.
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Again, their prospects with locating the lithium and their partnership with summit nanotech
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look good, so I think any setbacks here will come from the Chilean government.
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Lithium Chile needs to go through the formalities of court approval before they can break ground
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and begin mining.
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Since the pandemic created restrictions throughout 2020, this was something that limited what
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they could accomplish last year.
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Similarly, the disapproval of indiginous communities could disrupt their plans.
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We’ve seen protests surrounding most new lithium projects because people are against
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the environmental impact of lithium mining.
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Again, the partnership with summit nanotech makes me feel pretty comfy here, since that
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should silence most arguments against lithium extraction.
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The CEO has also repeatedly stated that Chile is pro-mining, which is somewhat reassuring.
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But, Chilean citizens recently voted to rewrite the country’s constitution, which gives
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the indiginous people a chance to play a role in the future of lithium mining in their country.
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As lithium has become a more relevant subject in recent years, it’s possible that the
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outcome of this constitution will impact the operations of Lithium Chile.
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However, if things in Chile remain friendly towards lithium, I think it’s only a matter
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of time before Lithium Chile can capitalize on their properties and scale to be one of
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the world’s leading suppliers of lithium.
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Overall, Lithium Chile offers an exciting opportunity to invest in one of the most attractive
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portfolios of lithium reserve properties.
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There are some short-term risks involved, but with their portfolio and strategic partnerships,
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I feel confident that they’ll make it through to production.
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It’s arguably undervalued at current prices, which I think suggests an immediate upside
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of 100 to 200%.
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And while there is some potential for short-term growth, I think it may not be until 2024 or
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2025 where we really see this stock take off.
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This is when many forecasts predict lithium demand to exceed supply, by which time I hope
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we’ll see Lithium Chile actively producing lithium.
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So for me, this is an exciting hold for any time frame, and as a penny stock, the potential
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for explosive returns are there for anyone with the risk tolerance.
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Before I wrap up, I gotta shout out Whoopensocker over on Twitter, I dug up a lot of great information
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looking through their tweets.
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So if you wanna check out that account or anything else I talked about
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in this video, I’ll link everything in the description.
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Thanks for checking out this video, if you liked it please consider clicking like and
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subscribing to the channel.
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I’ll see you next time.