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Vulcan finds comfort in European embrace

ulcan Energy Resources Ltd will use its
V European location as a springboard rather
than an obstacle to break into the continent’s
fledgling EV supply market.
In its Upper Rhine Valley lithium project in
Germany, Vulcan has almost everything you
need for a successful battery mineral de-
velopment in Europe; it is on the doorstep of
lithium end-users, it boasts a high-class tech-
nical team and will have no carbon footprint to
speak of.
Managing director Francis Wedin told Pay-
dirt the combination of the three elements had
left Vulcan in pole position to take advantage of
Europe’s shift to a carbon-neutral future.
“We are in the middle of a 1-in-100-year
transformation with the transition to decarboni-
sation and the European Green New Deal,”
Wedin said. “There is undersupply of the raw
materials needed for this transformation and
car manufacturers are wanting to secure local
supply and the regulatory environment is dic- A central European location means Vulcan is ideally placed to meet demand for the
tating the need for local, sustainable produc- proliferation of new battery manufacturing capability across the continent
tion. The manufacturers will treat sustainability
on a par with price. You will be a non-starter
if your project is not sustainable, and they will Conversion of lithium chloride to lithium hy- rector of HSBC] said he hadn’t seen anything
also look at things like jurisdictional risk and droxide using an electrolysis process is not like this appetite so is confident we will get it
corruption. Customers don’t want to be in- common in lithium at the moment but it has funded.”
volved in anything tainted.” been used by the chlor-alkali industry for more With Upper Rhine Valley advancing rapidly
Fortunately for Vulcan, the Upper Rhine Val- than 100 years.” and investors warming to the non-mining ele-
ley lithium project has strong ESG credentials Vulcan has designed, built and is now oper- ment to the story, Vulcan has chosen to re-
thanks to a project mix of geothermal power ating a DLE pilot plant, results from which will package the rest of its asset suite into a new
and direct lithium extraction (DLE) methods. feed into design of a larger demonstration plant float, Kuniko Ltd.
“We had the lithium expertise to know which in turn will inform the project DFS. Kuniko closed its IPO in late July at $7.88 mil-
that zero-carbon lithium was possible In May, the pilot plant achieved target speci- lion after the offer was heavily oversubscribed.
using modern extraction methods, provided fication for DLE feed into the plant and report- With Rezos as executive chair, Kuniko will
a deep geothermal brine reservoir could ed target recovery of more than 90% for lithium take on Vulcan’s 262sq km nickel, cobalt and
be found which had the right geological con- chloride from brines. copper portfolio in Norway.
ditions of renewable heat, high lithium grades The next step – test-scale conversion of the While Vulcan has developed an approach
and a high brine flow rate,” Wedin said. lithium chloride to lithium hydroxide – will be which assuages traditional mining in Germany,
Customers and regulators are now recog- crucial in proving to potential customers the Wedin said the company was comfortable to
nising the project’s green credentials. quality of Upper Rhine Valley’s lithium product. taking a more standard approach in Norway.
“We are going up the curve quickly, which Vulcan has already signed offtake agree- “Scandinavia is a good place to focus,” he
speaks to the unique nature of the product – it ments with LG Energy Solution (10,000 tpa said. “The region has a rich mining heritage
is zero carbon and there is nothing else like it, lithium hydroxide) and Renault (6-17,000 tpa and active mining industry, so it is a logical
there are no fossil fuels in the flowsheet at all.” battery grade lithium chemicals) but Wedin place to go and there is also a very strong fo-
The development plan envisages Vulcan said there was always several steps to any cus on the environment and on renewables.”
building a binary cycle geothermal plant, DLE offtake contract. Kuniko has three projects covering each
plant and lithium hydroxide plant. The geother- “Offtakes are an iterative process, and an of the three battery metals. At Feøy, there is
mal wells are drilled into the deep, hot, lithium- agreement is just the start of the process,” he historical nickel-copper mined grades of 2.6%
rich brine resource and pumped to surface to said. “With LG, it is now about product qualifi- copper and 2.1% nickel with opportunities for
produce electricity. Renewable heat, electricity cation right up to the first commercial produc- PGMs and VMS deposits as well.
and brine is then transferred to the DLE plant tion. The Skuterud cobalt project produced more
for processing into lithium chloride before be- “All potential customers have intense due than 4mt of ore between 1773 and 1893 with
ing sent to the final stage of conversion to diligence processes for offtake. It’s not down Vulcan’s maiden drilling identifying multiple
lithium hydroxide. to price alone, it is also production capacity, zones of mineralisation.
While never done in tandem, all three tech- technical merits and the credibility of the team.” Historical production has also been record-
nologies are well established. Offtake discussions will inevitably stretch ed at the Vangrøfta, Undal and Nyberget cop-
“We don’t underestimate the challenge, but through the DFS process and beyond and the per projects.
we are bolting together three understood tech- same is likely for financing. Wedin said the IPO would afford the pro-
nologies,” Wedin said. “The geothermal plant “We have to go through the DFS before we jects the attention they deserve.
is pretty plug-and-play, although there’s always start discussing financing,” Wedin said. “But, “It is a good project but Vulcan can’t afford
an exploration risk because your first explora- there is enormous appetite, particularly from to be distracted,” he said. “It deserves its own
tion hole is also your first production well. European development banks who are very team.”
“DLE is a method common in lithium brines keen on the project. Gavin [Rezos, Vulcan – Dominic Piper
and we are simply adapting it to our brines. chairman and former investment banking di-

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