Cornish Lithium finds “globally significant” grades at UK project

It also noted it was considering another round of crowdfunding, after raising £1.4 million ($1.8m at today’s exchange) through the internet platform in 2019.

Rob Bowell, from SRK Consulting, which provides services to mining and exploration companies, also used the term “globally significant” to refer to lithium grades reported from the deep geothermal waters at United Downs.

“Coupled with the low salinity of the waters, they should be highly amenable to lithium extraction using cutting-edge DLE technology,” Bowell said in the statement. “This is a fantastic opportunity for Cornwall to lead the charge on environmentally-responsible extraction of this critical raw material in Europe and beyond.”

Cornish Lithium recently decided to also begin exploring for other battery metals, such as cobalt and copper.

The junior revealed in 2018 that it needed about £5 million ($6.2m) to go ahead with its plans. Since then, it has secured more than £2m ($2.5m) from private backers and it’s already aiming at listing on the London Stock Exchange by 2022.

Good timing
The timing couldn’t be better. The European Union is currently rebuilding their automotive supply chains around battery metals, and incentivizing the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).

China, which was originally planning to wean customers away from EV subsidies by 2020, recently announced a two-year extension through the end of 2022.

Cornish Lithium founder Jeremy Wrathall
Beijing made a 10% cut to subsidies this year and also limited the scope of subsidies to EVs costing less than 300,000 yuan ($44,318).

Cornwall is a historic mining district, stretching back to the early bronze age. Copper, tin, zinc, silver and arsenic have all been exploited for centuries.

The area around St. Day and Gwennap was the richest copper-producing region in Cornwall (and the world) in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Most lithium is produced in South America, Australia and China, but the UK government designated it last year a metal of strategic importance to the country.