Ambitious energy transition policies are running into mining constraints, noted Matt Watson, founder of Precious Metals Commodity Management.

This week Matt Watson recorded Green Rush and looked at lithium with guest Chris Williams, an analyst at Adamas Intelligence.

The two discussed 'base case' and 'high case' adoption scenarios and the impact on lithium demand.

The two reviewed historical lithium prices and the factors influencing the recent spike. Water consumption is impacting production. Direct lithium extraction is making in-roads, but the technology still requires significant development. Supply is challenged due to long development times for mining.

Last week Matt Watson and Andrew Miller of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence recorded an episode of Green Rush to dissect the challenges facing the clean energy revolution, particularly in the realm of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.

While policymakers target aggressive timelines for zero-emission vehicle adoption, the industry faces significant hurdles in scaling the battery supply chain. The biggest obstacle is the lengthy development process for new mines, which can take up to 17 years. This directly impacts the availability of lithium, nickel, cobalt, and other crucial metals. Benchmark's analysis reveals that to meet lithium demand alone by 2035, the equivalent of 74 new large-scale mines would be needed – a questionable feat.

Automakers, including Tesla, are placing increasing emphasis on responsible mining and minimizing the environmental impact of battery production. This means choosing less polluting extraction methods, reducing cobalt content in batteries, and addressing water scarcity and pollution concerns associated with lithium production. The clean energy transition hinges on the industry's ability to balance ambitious growth targets with environmental and social responsibility.

The industrial demand for iridium and ruthenium is outstripping mined supply, pushing the need for recycling, says Green Rush host Matt Watson.

On April 24, Watson recorded an episode of Green Rush with Steven Hazelbaker, COO of Furuya Metals America, a PGM manufacturer and recycler. The topic was the platinum group metals - iridium and ruthenium - and the hydrogen economy.

Watson kicked off the discussion with a chart showing that iridium and ruthenium represent a relatively small part of the PGM basket, around 11%. Iridium is worth USD$1.7 billion, and ruthenium is just over $1 billion, out of a total precious metals value of $395 billion. However, the two so-called "minor" PGM metals are essential to the hydrogen economy.

Ruthenium's catalytic properties make it effective in proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, along with platinum. Iridium acts as a catalyst in a PEM electrolyzer.

Furuya Metals specializes in ruthenium and iridium manufacturing/ recycling. It dominates the hard-drive sector and manufactures ruthenium sputtering targets and iridium crucibles, which are utilized, for example, in medical lasers used to remove tattoos.

Furuya refines much of the world's iridium and ruthenium. Only 8.5 to 10 tonnes of iridium are mined yearly, yet Furuya recycles 10 tonnes yearly. "Your recycle rate is more than is being mined," said Watson. Furuya recycles about three times as much ruthenium as is mined, 60 tonnes a year versus 20-22 tonnes.

Hazelbaker noted that prices drive high recycling rates. "[Iridium is] $5,000 per troy ounce, $465 per troy ounce for ruthenium. It's a key component for our customers to be competitive in their markets," he said.

Watson pulled up a chart showing around 750,000 ounces of ruthenium are mined per year, yet the demand is more than 2 million ounces.

"The gross demands are much higher than people realize," he said, adding, "I think both these secondary recycle markets are going to be pressed to grow further over time."

Listen to Kitco Mining's Green Rush to understand and profit from a once-in-a-century event: the clean energy transition. Each week, host Matt Watson, founder of Precious Metals Commodity Management, will take a deep dive into a metal that will underpin our new electrified world. Green Rush explores the vital role of nickel, copper, lithium, cobalt, silver, platinum group metals, rare earth elements and other metals that power the batteries driving our sustainable future.