An old mine in the Czech Republic could reopen in two years.
Cinovec, a small town in the Czech Republic, has been a coal mine since the 14th century. The coal is gone, but the wealth is barely tapped.
The Cinovec mine sits atop Europe’s largest lode of lithium, said Jaromir Stary from the Czech Geological Survey. “That is about 3 percent of lithium world resources. In this lode reserves have not been evaluated yet, we are only talking about possible resources.”
Lithium batteries power everything from cellphones to cars. Global demand for the metal is expected to triple by 2025.
Australia’s European Metals bought exploration rights around Cinovec in 2012 and plans to spend $393 million developing the site.
The company still needs permits from the Czech State Mining Administration and the Environment Ministry. Neither seems like an obstacle, though the permitting process might take a year or more. The government wants the mine to develop the resource—and pay the associated taxes.
“The permitting process is going along as it should be, everything is happening in an orderly fashion in the right sort of timeline,” said European Metals Chief Executive Keith Coughlan.
Customers are already lining up. Czech startup battery producer HE3DA has signed a statement of intent. Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz, is building a battery plant 56 miles away.
The question is whether the ore is concentrated enough to make mining profitable. The lithium is only a quarter as concentrated as in many other mines. European Metals did the math, estimated future prices, and decided to risk was reasonable.
With demand growing so fast, European Metals was happy to gamble.
