Co.'s Modular Lithium Plant Finalist in Sustainability Contest

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Atlas Lithium Corp. (ATLX:NASDAQ) announced its modular dense media separation (DMS) lithium processing plant design has been selected as a finalist for a contest being held by a nonprofit civil society organization in Brazil.

Participants in the contest are being recognized for their environmentally sustainable approaches in the industry in the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais. The winner is to be announced on November 14.

"Atlas Lithium's modular plant represents an exciting refinement and optimization of dense media separation (DMS) technology as applied to lithium processing," said Atlas Vice President of Lithium Processing Raimundo Almeida Jr. "Its reduced height, weight, and overall physical footprint will make it an environmentally friendly design that maximizes water recycling. We believe that it will use the lowest amount of water of any other lithium plant currently operational. Its modular design also significantly reduces its physical footprint compared to traditional designs."

The modular plant is entering the final phase of fabrication for its remaining components. The company said 48 out of more than 100 expected containers are ready and awaiting shipment from South Africa.

The plant will be the first of its kind for Brazil. It uses a modularized and optimized version of the long-used and proven DMS method of processing lithium. Using a heavy liquid medium, several times denser than water, materials are efficiently separated by density, for example, heavier lithium minerals are isolated from lighter waste materials.

H.C. Wainwright & Co. analyst Heiko Ihle has a Buy rating on Atlas and raised his target price recently to reflect a 316% gain.

The plant's modular design "streamlines transportation, installation and commissioning while its significantly reduced height, weight and overall physical footprint make it an environmentally friendly solution," wrote H.C. Wainwright & Co. analyst Heiko Ihle in a July 9 research report. Further, the plant's reduced water requirement sets a new standard for water conservation in lithium production, the release noted.

"Atlas Lithium's modular plant represents a significant step for Brazil's lithium industry," Brian Talbot, an expert lithium consultant and member of the company's Operations Committee, has said.

Atlas Lithium's Minas Gerais Lithium Project is comprised of more than 468 square kilometers of mineral rights and is one of the largest exploration projects for lithium in Brazil, a premier mining jurisdiction. These claims are located mostly the country's Eastern Pegmatitic Province, known for its hard rock formations, or pegmatites, containing lithium-bearing minerals like spodumene and petalite, according to the Brazilian Geological Survey.

Earlier this year, Atlas signed an offtake agreement with Mitsui & Co. Ltd. (MITSY:NASDAQ) for future production from Neves. Mitsui is one of the largest global companies with headquarters in Japan; Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is one of its largest investors. Mitsui invested US$30 million in purchasing common shares of Atlas Lithium. In parallel, Mitsui also signed an offtake agreement with Atlas Lithium, which will get 15,000 tons of lithium concentrate from phase one of production and 60,000 tons annually for five years from phase two.

The Catalyst: Sparking the Energy Transition

Lithium is considered a critical metal around the world as it is vital in the energy transition for its use in batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and other applications. It also is used in electronics, medicine and other industries.

Global demand for lithium is expected to maintain the steady climb it commenced in 2020 to at least 2035, Statista data show, reaching 3,829,000 metric tons of LCE from 917,000 metric tons in 2023.

This increasing demand will continue to spur growth in the global lithium market, which is projected to hit US$6.4 billion in value by 2028 from US$2.5 billion in 2023, according to Markets and Markets. This change reflects a 20.4% compound annual growth rate.

EVs and battery storage primarily will fuel future growth of the lithium market, Marin Katusa of Katusa Research wrote recently. He pointed out that all major electric vehicle batteries require lithium, about 1.55 pounds per kilowatt hour of battery capacity, on average.

"I think the data speaks for itself that there's more growth and opportunity on the horizon," Katusa wrote.

Ihle has a Buy rating on Atlas and raised his target price recently to reflect a 316% gain.

"This change acknowledges our view that management's recent advancements have effectively derisked the Neves project over the last few months," Ihle wrote.

Ownership and Share Structure

About 36% of Atlas Lithium is owned by management and insiders. About 13.5% of the shareholders are institutional. The rest, about 50.5%, is retail.

Other top shareholders include Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. with 4.47%, Mitsui & Co. Ltd. with 12.64%, and Candace Shira Associates LLC with 1.44%, according to Reuters.

Its market cap is about US$159.06 million. It trades in a 52-week range of US$34 and US$8.37.