Investing in Lithium Stocks Shares - Lithium Analyst - Initial Public Offering of Lithium Mining Junior 2020
TRU Group Lithium Investor Due Diligence Checklist - Lithium Stock Investing
Stock Market IPO Private Market Invest Lithium Salt Lake Mine Junior Stocks Lithium Shares Investment Prospectus Issue ETFWith over 150 person-years years of lithium experience, TRU Group has been undertaking lithium investigations for more than twenty-five years as well as a number of due diligence assignments on junior lithium mining companies in particular. You as a lithium investor are NOT adequately protected against incompetence, dishonesty and scams! In the last five years alone there has been over forty new public or private brine-based and mineral-based lithium companies looking for investment. (TRU Group in 2021 is following over 150 brine projects in the "Lithium Triangle" and has used a unique evaluation criteria to evaluate and rank them). During this period a large number of listed lithium companies obtained hundreds of millions of dollars from unsuspecting investors only to disintegrate or at minimum leave the lithium space. Yet to TRU Group knowledge no-one (management, directors, consultants, promoter, investment banks, stock brokers, etc) has been held accountable.** The investor "hustling" by some of these actors is far from over: The old-timers including a few top-ranked juniors have been joined by a new wave of start-ups emerging today banking on the recharged lithium hype 2017-2020 spurred by the Tesla factor - some of these new lithium juniors are shockingly managed by the same people responsible for previously under-performing entities! These irresponsible actors are spoiling it for the good guys with credible projects! Here is a checklist of items to consider and watch out for in making a lithium investment since they are quite prevalent -
- Management embellishment (We call it "Lithium Fake News") - some of it on the edge!
- Lithium start-ups / renamed / restructured juniors run by management of former failed or flipped lithium or battery material junior or lithium property - there are a number of them!
- Uncalled for lithium space hype, unsupported claims, and withholding material negatives: misuse of required stock exchange cautionary statements as a cover (what does "forward looking statement" mean anyway!)
- Use of designated Canadian NI 43-101 "Qualified Person" reporting but who are shockingly far from it - most are NOT adequately lithium-qualified. In particular, any "expert" geologists by background claiming lithium chemicals processing expertise.
- "Independent" lithium advisors / experts that are not independent - few are fully independent
- Management, geologist, engineers, stock promoters and investment advisors that do not recognize the uniqueness of salar salt-flat geology for lithium brine projects or indeed the tricky intricacies of lithium processes whether brine, clay, spodumene, mica or other mineral.
- Even still today entering 2021 the 2012 CIM NI 43-101 Best Practice Guidelines for lithium reserve estimation (originating in Canada but used worldwide) needs urgent modification as recommended by TRU Group in 2012**
- Misleading Securities Exchange documents - NI 43-101, JORC, reports, feasibility studies, approved press statements - many have fundamental errors, some mislead and in instances are technically unsound! This shockingly applies to some top-tier juniors - even when management have known for years (or certainly should have known) about fundamental invalidating errors in their feasibility study!
- Lithium resource property ownership that could never support economic lithium chemical production - yet investors paid millions for mines and lithium chemical plants to be built but which never operated and closed!****
- Lithium exploration in the most unlikely places for significant lithium occurrence - be especially wary of of the new 2015-16 lithium "discoveries" in Clayton Valley Nevada USA and any company attempting to capitalize on the Tesla NV hype!
- Outlandish claims of lithium engineering breakthroughs - lithium technology is tricky! Especially true in lately in 2020 with technology start-ups who then claim to "validate" their "innovation" using the big engineering companies who have little experience in front-end engineering or the practical implementation of new lithium technology.
- Feasibility studies based on unrealistic lithium strategy and/or ignorant business or operations plan and just plain non-bankable low-standard technical work - most are and doomed for failure!
- Overly optimistic lithium price assumptions for financial projections - most are, some outrageous!
- Unrealistic timeline claims with respect to lithium salar and plant development or even construction of plants doomed to fail or be uncompetitive
- There has been only one successful new plant start-up since the lithium push began in 2009 and a number of complete failures. There have been about 100 attempts by mining juniors to get into lithium production – but nearly all have not met promised targets and most demonstrated minimal progress. Despite this, there is little obligation on lithium companies to explain (let alone fix) errors in their documents. Lithium juniors are permitted to block investors from selecting their own due diligence consultants with no consequences and, similarly, lending banks allow borrowers a say in due diligence consultant selection. Consultants are supposed to be independent but appear on junior websites as advisors.
Over a decade 2010-2020 of Lithium Investment related interview quotes of Edward R Anderson, TRU Group Inc President -
High Country News, USA: August 14, 2017: On the lithium claims in the Paradox Basin . . "it was the result of one small but consequential error"- Hunting for lithium near Moab, Utah - PDF download
High Country News, USA: June 16, 2015: Of American Lithium Minerals Inc "prime example . . . ripped-off American and international investors" Why rare-earth mining in the West is a bust - Tim Heffernan - PDF download
Fortune Magazine, USA: April 26, 2015: "Anderson’s lithium predictions have been largely vindicated" The era of the electric car promises a lithium mining boom, but new lithium startups are floundering - PDF download
Reno Gazette-Journal, NV USA: April 6, 2014: "American Lithium . . the savior of American lithium supply . . just vanished" Tesla factor: Recharging Nevada's lithium industry - PDF download
Wall Street Journal, USA: July 18, 2010: ". .more than 80% of them will never come into production . ." Lithium - New Global X Lithium ETF Exchange Traded Fund Charges Up - PDF download
The New York Times, USA: March 14, 2010: "There are a lot of people throwing money into this, and a lot of people are going to lose their money." The Lithium Chase - PDF download
Mining Markets Magazine, Canada: March 2010: ". . there is a huge amount of misinformation about this. As an investor, you have to be extremely careful." Lithium A Moody Market Darling - PDF download
Business News America, Chile: January 22, 2010: "Investors need to be careful because most don't realize they are putting in money now that they likely will never see again" Interview - PDF download
* August 8, 2017 TRU Group exposed a key (obvious) lithium data-error in Paradox Basin, USA quoted by many
* *TRU Group Inc advises that the Dr Ihor Kunasz paper recommending vital required fundamental modifications to the CIM Lithium NI 43-101 Best Practice Guideline has been published in the October 2013 edition of the Mining Engineering Magazine of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) in the United States.
II Download TRU Group Press Statement Nov 26, 2012 "New CIM NI 43-101 lithium reserve estimation guidelines falls short" II
** In 2014 - Just where has American Lithium Minerals Inc AMLM:OTC US gone? The lithium junior company in Nevada only in and for America. And those associated with it: high profile directors, top management, lithium consultants, lithium stock promoters, lithium investment brokers and banks? Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) alone invested invested $4 million! Thousands of Americans, others and even "sophisticated" corporate entities also invested heavily in this junior.
*** 2014 - "Byron Capital Markets Ltd. has ceased operations, effective immediately" byroncapitalmarkets.com. Probably the most high profile battery materials lithium (rare earths and graphite) investment advisors. What of all the the lithium investors? (Ouch!).
**** In 2014 Canada Lithium Quebec fully commissioned Lithium Carbonate Plant (with spodumene mineral processing) start-up, near Val d’Or, PQ Canada bankrupt: never operated - mothballed through 2020 (IRR reported by consultants 37%!)
In 2012 Jiangsu China lithium carbonate plant (Australian spodumene feed from Mt Cattlin and Greenbushes), starts but underperformed (including an explosion with two dead), not profitable and sold to Tianqi Lithium for US$170 million in 2013.
In Oct 2019 Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Corporation (QSLIC) in Golmud, China recent start-up potash, lithium and magnesium metal Magontec's Chinese partner declares bankruptcy.
****** Bottom line = from world's lowest cost producer SQM website September 2016 "confirmed reserves of the salar that belong to SQM, will last at least for 30 more years"
TRU Group Lithium & Brine Team members, with experience at all the majors - SQM, FMC, Rockwood, Chemetall and in China - have managed lithium operations, evaluated, designed, pilot-tested, engineered, specified equipment, developed and built successful lithium plant facilities. See:
List of Lithium Salar Salt Lake Brine Projects / List of Spodumene Lithium Mineral Based Projects
Argentina: Antofalla Arizaro Lithium Americas Lithium Nevada Corp. Salars Cauchari-Olaroz, Argentina Centenario Diablitos Diamante Lagoon Hombre Muerto Incahuasi Jama Llullalliaco Mar Muerto Olaroz Pastos Grandes Pocitos Pozuelos Pula Ratones Rincon Rio Grande Salinas Grandes Taca Taca Bolivia: Salar de Uyuni Coipasa Empexa Pastos Grandes Chile: Aguas Calientes I Aguas Calientes II Aguas Calientes III Aguilar Ascotan Atacama Azufrera Bellavista El Laco El Tatio Geothermal Fluente de Antuco Gorbea Grande Huasco La Isla Lagunas Las Parinas Lejia Li3 Lithium Maricunga Miscanti Pajonales Pedernales Pujsa Pular (Pula Argentina) Punta Negra Purisunchi Quisquiro San Martin Surire Talar Tara Tuyacto USA: Big Smoky Clayton Valley Fish Lake Great Salt Lake Salton Geothermal Searles Lake Silver Peak Pure Energy Minerals Limited NV Smackover Oilfield Brines Mexico Cerro Prieto Geothermal / Greenbushes Tanco Jiajika Lantta Maerkang Jadar Kings Valley Mt Cattlin Manono-Kitotolo Koralpe Bikita Quebec Lithium Big Whopper Cyr,James Bay Chubb Kenticha Godslith Raleigh Lake Alto Lighona Greenbushes spodumene Mount Marion Pegmatites Piedmont Lithium Savannah Resources Barroso Lithium Project Portugal Mt Cattlin, Pegmatite Spodumene Georgia Lake Berland River Bernic Lake Manitoba Chubb, PQ Cyr, James Bay Falcon Lake, ON Godslith, ON Greenbushes Mavis Lake Niemi Brazil Lake Zigzag Phoenix Project NW Whabouchi La Motte Raleigh Lake Separation Lake Big Whopper Seymour Lake Li-Ta-Be Sirmac, Chibougamou Val d'Or North Lefroy Aluobo Sichuan Manono-Kitololo Ethiopia: Kenticha Finland: Lantta Project Mocambique: Alto Alto Ligonha Serbia: Jadar Spain: Doade-Presqueira USA: Albemarle-Rockwood, Big smokey Valley, NV USA: Clayton Valley, NV USA: Kings Valley, NV USA: NC near Kings Mountain tin-Spod Paymaster, NV Zimbabwe: Bikita. High Profile Lithium Juniours 2016: Orocobre Pilbara Minerals Galaxy Resources Neometals Nemaska Lithium Altura Mining Bacanora Minerals Lithium Americas Lithium X Energy Corp Rare Earth Minerals Pure Energy Minerals European Metals Red River Resources Dajin Resources Sirios Resources Aberdeen International International Lithium Corp Ultra Lithium Nevada Sunrise Gold Corp Paradox Basin lithium junior miners American Potash Corp, Anson Resources Limited, Liberty One Lithium, MGX Minerals Inc, Power Metals Corp, Scientific Metals - US Cobalt, Standard Lithium, US Cobalt Inc, Voltaic Minerals Corp, Mesa Exploration Corp, Bikita
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