More Lithium Juniors Could Get Swallowed by Majors in 2018

NEW YORK, January 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The lithium industry could be in for a big M&A consolidation in 2018. Lithium X Energy Corp. (TSX-V: LIX) (OTC: LIXXF) ended 2018 with an announcement of a definitive agreement with Nextview New Energy Lion acquiring all of the issued and outstanding shares and warrants of Lithium X. Other junior and major lithium miners to potentially keep a close eye on are Standard Lithium Ltd. (TSX-V: SLL) (OTC: STLHF) (FRA: S5L) (STLHF Profile), Nemaska Lithium Inc. (TSX: NMX) (OTC: NMKEF), NRG Metals Inc. (TSX-V: NGZ), and Lithium Americas Corp. (TSX: LAC) (OTC: LACDF).

As reported by Forbes, U.S. electric vehicle sales jumped by a record 37 percent in 2016 (http://nnw.fm/0bL77), adding EV companies into an already-strained space and putting lithium supply and demand at an even greater imbalance, with supply for lithium already having trouble supporting the needs of the laptop and smartphone industries.

According to an interview with Chris Berry, president and founder of House Mountain Partners LLC, an energy and natural resource research company, 2018 will be the year of consolidation for the lithium market. This could be in the form of some of the more junior mining companies joining forces to amp-up production or even the major mining companies coming together to work on evolving technologies and improving techniques to increase the production of lithium. Consolidation in this manner will help to add a long-term supply of lithium.

As lithium production companies begin to join forces, the market will become more aggressive: companies that once had a multitude of focuses will begin to zero in and focus solely on lithium. This will help to create a pure play lithium market that is better equipped to handle the increasing demand for lithium that will result from the growing EV industry. As companies grow through consolidation, their grip on the lithium market will expand and their resulting ability to produce more lithium will drastically help to find a balance between supply and demand.

Junior Miners in The Mix

Standard Lithium Ltd. (TSX-V: SLL) (FRA: S5L) (OTCQX: STLHF) launched in 2017 and is led by a management team harboring decades of experience in the lithium mining space. Standard Lithium stands out in this market because SLL is one of the few small cap investment options available in lithium mining that offers a pure play in the U.S. lithium market. This gives Standard Lithium a key strategic advantage when the U.S. market begins to seek domestic sources of metals like lithium, as per Trump's executive order .