DLE Weekly delivers the latest insights on Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technologies, industry developments, and market trends. Stay tuned to see how DLE is shaping the future of sustainable energy.
DLE Weekly - August 1 2025
Global Business, BICHEM Group
$62M cash were provided for Lithium South assets in Argentina
Lithium South Development (TSXV: LIS) says it has received a $62 million cash offer from South Korea’s POSCO for its portfolio of exploration assets in Argentina’s Hombre Muerto salar.
The offer, presented last week, is non-binding and subject to several conditions, including a 60-day due diligence period, followed by a 60-day period for the negotiation and execution of the definitive agreement.The company’s main asset is the 100%-owned Hombre Muerto North (HMN) project in Salta province, comprising nine mining concessions covering a combined area of 56.9 sq. km.
Lithium South and POSCO are currently partners on the HMN project, having established a 50/50 brine sharing agreement on two of the claim blocks (Viamonte and Norma Edith) that cross over into the Catamarca province, with POSCO assigned to the areas in that province. The South Korean giant is also developing the Sal de Oro lithium project in the Hombre Muerto salar next to HMN, with plans to build a $4 billion plant to anchor its operation.
The lithium carbonate production rate is estimated at 15,600 tonnes per year, based on proven solar evaporation technology and a resource base of 1.58 million tonnes in lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) delineated from three of the mining concessions (Alba Sabrina, Natalia Maria and Tramo).
Chile’s 2025 vote puts mining sector's future on the line
On November 16, Chileans will head to the polls to elect their next president, who will govern until 2030 and, in doing so, set the course for the country’s most important economic engine: its mining sector.
At stake is the future of Codelco, the state-owned copper giant that helped build modern Chile but is now drowning in debt, stuck with aging infrastructure and recovering from years of production declines.
Once a source of national pride, Codelco has been teetering on the edge of an industrial crisis. As of December last year, the company’s debt has ballooned to over $20 billion and production was slowly edging higher after hitting a 25-year low in 2022.
Legal obligations to hand over 70% of its profits and 10% of its sales to the government have choked its ability to reinvest in itself, threatening its future and the fiscal stability of the country.
With rival candidates offering radically different solutions, from sweeping privatization to aggressive state reinvestment, this election is shaping up to be more than just a political contest. It’s a make-or-break moment for Chile’s mining future.
As the world’s leading copper producer and a top supplier of lithium, Chile’s supply is essential to the global push for electrification. If its mining engine stalls, the ripple effects won’t stop at its borders.
EnergyX expands US Smackover acreage to cut lithium costs
When GM-backed lithium technology startup EnergyX bought another 35,000 acres in the Smackover, an underground geological formation stretching from Florida to Texas filled with lithium-rich brine, in a $26 million cash and shares deal this month, it upped the company’s stake to 47,500 acres.
Analysts estimate the Smackover could contain more than 4 million metric tons of lithium, enough to power millions of electric vehicles and other electronic devices.
EnergyX’s latest acquisition places it among heavyweights in the region. Its holdings are surrounded by 125,000 net acres controlled by Chevron and 120,000 gross acres held by Exxon.
The privately-held company has been on a growth tear. Its recent moves include securing a Chilean lithium resource comprising 90,000 acres of mining concessions in 2023, and in 2024 acquiring a 40,000-square-foot production facility in Austin, Texas.
The acquisitions are also pivotal for the firm, which grabbed headlines in 2022 for being disqualified from a race to mine Bolivian lithium, along with Argentine energy firm Tecpetrol, on a technicality.
Bolivia has tried to tap its vast resources in partnership with foreign companies. The Latin American country has the world’s largest lithium resources, but it has struggled for decades to mine them commercially. This week, Bolivia ranked last on mining jurisdiction policies in the Fraser Institute’s latest Annual Survey.Ronbay Technology and Rock Tech Lithium sign Strategic MoU on Extensive Local Battery Materials Partnership in Europe.
The company has been laser focused on advancing its two projects, Lonestar Lithium in the US and Black Giant in Chile. Black Giant is estimated to produce 40,000 tonnes of lithium per year, while its planned project Lonestar Lithium is projected at 25,000 tonnes.
Both leverage the company’s direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology platform, LITAS. EnergyX owns an exclusive, worldwide license to commercialize a process that uses an advanced nanomaterial filtering membrane.
Eramet adjusts 2025 volume targets after H1 earnings dip
French mining group Eramet reported a sharp decline in first-half results on Wednesday and warned that macroeconomic conditions should remain difficult for the rest of the year, prompting a downward revision to its 2025 production targets.
Eramet reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 191 million euros ($219.12 million) in the first half of the year, down 45% from a year earlier.
The earnings exclude Eramet’s New Caledonian nickel subsidiary SLN, which is being propped up by French government loans.
“Our first-half results are not at all in line with our ambition,” Eramet chief executive Paulo Castellari told reporters.
The decline was driven by a 92 million euro cut in contributions from operations in Indonesia, which accounted for nearly two-thirds of the EBITDA decrease, due to lower nickel grades and higher operating costs at new mining sites in Weda Bay, Castellari said.
The company revised its annual production targets, cutting manganese ore guidance to 6.5 million–7.0 million metric tons, from 6.7 million-7.2 million in early February, and lithium carbonate to 4–7 kilotons from 10-13 kilotons, citing operational delays in Argentina.
The revisions reflect challenges posed by a subdued global steel market, declining Chinese demand, and operational bottlenecks.
In contrast Eramet raised its target for marketable nickel ore to between 36 and 39 metric wet metric tons for 2025, from 32 Mwmt seen in February.
Progress in Gabon and Senegal provided some relief, with logistics improvements in Gabon boosting manganese ore volumes in the second quarter, and Senegal achieving a 20% increase in mineral sands production during the first half.
Castellari said he met Gabonese President Brice Oligui Nguema this month after the West African country last month announced an export ban on unrefined manganese from 2029 that would hit Eramet’s massive export-orientated production of the steel ingredient in the country.
Disclaimer: DLE Weekly is original content by BICHEM Research under Bichemical Technology Limited. Sharing requires retaining the original link. All BICHEM Research content is protected, and reproduction, distribution, or publication in any form is prohibited without prior written permission. For authorization, contact info@bichemcial.org. The information is for reference only and not direct decision-making advice. Users are responsible for their own decisions, and BICHEM Research assumes no liability for any outcomes.