Suzhou CATH has agreed to invest more than $400 million to become a partner in the Australian explorer’s Manono project in southern DRC.

Lithium hydroxide prices are up 162% year to date and average lithium use per electric vehicle basis, including hybrids, jumped 19.5% year over year.

The Kachi lithium brine project is expected to produce 25,500 tonnes a year from 2024 with possible expansion to 50,000 tonnes.

Calculations show that a single week’s worth of water from hydraulic fracturing in Texas’ Eagle Ford Shale has the potential to produce enough lithium for 300 EV batteries, or 1.7 million smartphones