An aerial view of the brine pools and processing plant of the Soquimich (SQM) lithium mine on the Atacama salt flat, the world’s second largest salt flat and the largest lithium deposit currently in production, with over a quarter of the world’s known reserves, in the… Climbing demand for the metal lithium at a time of broader commodity weakness has Canada’s Nemaska Lithium Inc and Western Lithium USA Corp confident they can soon obtain scarce capital even as other junior miners struggle. A scramble to secure lithium has accelerated as prices have risen, driven by demand for smartphone, laptop and electric car batteries. “Everyone can see the writing on the wall as we move toward 2020, and a need for new deposits to get into production,” said Jon Hykawy, president of consultancy Stormcrow Capital. “Problem is, the capital really isn’t there.” But Western, which aims to bring the world’s […]