What Neo Lithium does

Neo Lithium Corp. is a Canadian-domiciled, TSX Venture Exchange-listed (NLC) lithium exploration and development company founded in 2016 and headquartered in Toronto, with operational offices in Mendoza and at the project site in Fiambalá, Argentina. The company is a single-asset developer of its flagship Tres Quebradas (3Q) lithium brine project in the Lithium Triangle of Catamarca Province, Argentina — a region representing approximately 40% of global lithium production and 90% of the world's brine resource base. Neo Lithium controls 100% of the 3Q salar under a 99-year mining property grant, with 30-year tax stability from the Argentine federal government and environmental permits in place.

The company's core product is battery-grade lithium carbonate, produced at 99.9% purity through a proprietary 6-step brine process that leverages the project's 3rd-highest globally ranked lithium grade (1,177 mg/l average over the first 10 years) and lowest critical impurity content (SO4 and Mg) of any known salar. Technology is delivered via production-scale pilot evaporation ponds (operational for nearly five years at 1:600 scale) and a pilot lithium carbonate plant, with a commercial-scale Lithium Industrial Park under development in Fiambalá. The Feasibility Study (completed November 2021) supports 20,000 tonnes per annum planned production, a 35-year mine life, 1.7 Mt LCE P&P reserves, 5.4 Mt LCE total resources, post-tax NPV8% of US$1.1B, ~40% IRR, payback of under 2.3 years, OPEX of ~US$2,953/t (lowest quartile), and CAPEX intensity of ~US$18,500/t.

The business model is enterprise B2B: the company is pre-revenue and plans to monetize through direct offtake agreements with major lithium-ion battery manufacturers and electric vehicle producers globally. A September 2020 strategic investment by CATL, the world's largest battery manufacturer, for ~8% equity (including a board position and joint DFS and construction financing), provides a direct channel into the Chinese battery market. Disclosed 'Zijin Arrangement Materials' on the corporate website indicate a pending acquisition or arrangement by Zijin Mining. Cumulative equity raised exceeds CAD $130M equivalent since 2016.

Name

Neo Lithium

Legal name

Neo Lithium Corp.

Website

https://neolithium.ca

Company type

Public

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Neo Lithium Corp. is a Canadian-listed lithium developer advancing the 3Q (Tres Quebradas) high-grade lithium brine project in Argentina's Lithium Triangle, targeting 20,000 tpa of battery-grade lithium carbonate for global battery manufacturers and EV producers, with CATL as a strategic shareholder.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Lithium Mining and Battery-Grade Lithium Carbonate Production

NAICS

Battery Manufacturing (33591)

SIC

Metal Mining (1000)

akta.pro primary industry

Lithium Mining & Brine Extraction (IMAKAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Battery Raw Materials Mining & Refining (Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt, Manganese, Graphite) (EUAFABAA)

Keywords

• Lithium brine mining
• Battery-grade lithium carbonate
• Lithium exploration projects
• Ev battery materials
• Lithium resource extraction

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Lithium Carbonate Sales: Production and sale of battery-grade lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) from the 3Q Project. Planned annual production of 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate. Revenue generated through offtake agreements with battery manufacturers and EV companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Neo Lithium Corp. is a lithium mining and development company that discovers, explores, and develops lithium brine resources at its flagship 3Q (Tres Quebradas) Project in Argentina's Lithium Triangle. The company's primary product is battery-grade lithium carbonate (99.9% purity) produced through a proprietary 6-step brine processing method, with planned annual production of 20,000 tonnes.

Product overview

Neo Lithium Corp. is a lithium mining and development company operating as a single-project entity focused on its flagship 3Q Project (Tres Quebradas) in Argentina's Lithium Triangle. The company produces battery-grade lithium carbonate (99.9% purity) through a process involving evaporation ponds and a pilot lithium carbonate plant, with plans for a commercial-scale Lithium Industrial Park in Fiambalá. The 3Q Project serves as the core asset, with the pilot plant facilities supporting development and optimization ahead of full commercial production of 20,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 3Q Project (Tres Quebradas) Lithium Brine Asset The 3Q Project is Neo Lithium's flagship lithium brine asset located in the Lithium Triangle of Argentina. It is one of the highest-grade lithium brine projects in the world with the lowest impurities, positioned as a preeminent asset for battery-grade lithium carbonate production. 100% owned by Neo Lithium with full control of the entire salar.
• Battery-Grade Lithium Carbonate (Li2CO3) The primary end product of the 3Q Project, produced at 99.9% purity suitable for use in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage applications. Planned commercial production of 20,000 tonnes per annum.
• Pilot Plant and Evaporation Ponds Production-scale pilot evaporation ponds and lithium carbonate pilot plant used for testing and optimizing the lithium extraction and processing process before commercial-scale production. Evaporation proven to produce up to 3.6% Li concentrated brine in less than one year at 1:600 scale.
• Lithium Industrial Park A dedicated industrial facility established in Fiambalá, Argentina, for the future construction of the commercial lithium carbonate production plant.

Quantifiable outcome

• Post-tax NPV of US$1.1B with 49.9% IRR from PFS
• +4 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Ganfeng Lithium: China-headquartered, Hong Kong-listed integrated lithium producer with brine, hard-rock and recycling assets and significant downstream conversion capacity. Comparable as a major lithium carbonate supplier and a strategic Chinese counterparty in the global battery supply chain, like CATL for NLC.
• SQM: Chilean chemical and mining major and one of the world's largest lithium carbonate producers from the Salar de Atacama. Several NLC engineers previously worked at SQM, and it operates a comparable brine-to-Li2CO3 process serving global battery manufacturers.
• Albemarle: Global specialty chemicals leader and one of the largest lithium producers with brine assets in Chile and Australia and a broad downstream chemicals portfolio. Comparable as a large-scale, publicly-traded lithium carbonate supplier to battery and EV customers.
• Livent: US-listed pure-play lithium chemicals producer with brine-based assets in Argentina (Fénix) and global conversion capacity. Comparable as a publicly-traded producer of battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide serving EV and energy storage customers.

Direct peers

• Piedmont Lithium: US-listed lithium developer focused on spodumene (hard-rock) resources in North Carolina with planned downstream conversion. Comparable as a publicly-traded, single-project-focused lithium developer pursuing offtake agreements with major battery manufacturers in the EV supply chain.
• Lithium Americas: Canadian-listed lithium brine developer with flagship projects in Argentina (Cauchari-Olaroz) and the US (Thacker Pass). Directly comparable as a publicly-traded pure-play lithium brine developer using evaporation pond processing to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate for the same global battery and EV customer base.
• Orocobre (now Allkem): Australian-listed lithium brine producer operating the Olaroz facility in Jujuy, Argentina. NLC's CEO and team worked at Orocobre, and the company uses a similar evaporation-pond-to-Li2CO3 process flow targeting the same battery-grade end market.

Emerging players

• Liontown Resources: Australian-listed hard-rock lithium developer advancing the Kathleen Valley project toward production with offtake agreements with major battery makers including Tesla, LG and Ford. Comparable as an emerging, publicly-traded lithium developer with strong strategic offtake positioning similar to NLC's CATL relationship.
• Sigma Lithium: Canadian-listed developer of the Grota do Cirilo hard-rock lithium project in Brazil producing battery-grade lithium concentrate. Comparable as a publicly-traded, single-asset lithium developer targeting battery-grade output for the EV supply chain, though hard-rock rather than brine.

Others

• Mineral Resources: Australian-listed mining services and resources company with hard-rock lithium operations (Mt Marion JV with Ganfeng) and a broader iron ore and mining services portfolio. Comparable as a publicly-traded lithium raw material supplier, although diversified beyond lithium and operating in hard rock rather than brine.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/neolithiumcorp
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCBgVQvWYEMRIM8Lr6b36xhw
• Facebookfacebook.com/NeoLithiumCorp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/12177634

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Neo Lithium