"We need to secure our own resources to meet our own future demand," stated Matthew Worrall, Chief Executive Officer of AmeriLithium, in response to the recent announcement that the country of Afghanistan could potentially contain large Lithium deposits. "We can’t afford to become reliant on unstable and volatile relations with other countries for Lithium like we’ve done with oil."
According to a June 13, 2010 New York Times article, Afghanistan’s "war-bedraggled economy" is largely based on narcotics trafficking and opium production, while representing a GDP of only ~$12 billion. The article reports that, politically, the country’s government continues to be plagued by charges of corruption and favoritism, while its leader, President Karzai, "seems increasingly embittered toward the White House."
In contrast, AmeriLithium currently holds Lithium properties in the US, Canada and Australia, each representing first-world economies marked by long-term stability and prosperity. As well, Canada and Australia have well-established and friendly commercial relations with the US.
Successful Lithium exploration and production, as with any commercial venture, requires a location conducive to production and product delivery. In the case of Afghanistan, a United Nations report released on June 19, 2010 describes a nation marked by an average of one assassination per day, and one suicide bombing every second or third day, which is triple 2009’s suicide bombing rate (New York Times, 06/19/10).
As for infrastructure, a June 16, 2010 National Geographic News article points out that Afghanistan is known as "the Graveyard of Empires." The article quotes Michael T. Klare, author of Resource Wars: The New Landscape of Global Conflict, who points out that Great Britain, India, and the Soviet Union all previously attempted to tap Afghanistan’s potential with little success: "In the past we were unable to get at it because of the constant warfare and lack of infrastructure such as railroads." The June 13, 2010 New York Times article noted: "With virtually no mining industry or infrastructure in place today, it will take decades for Afghanistan to exploit its mineral wealth fully," and quoted US Geological Survey geologist Jack Medlin as saying, "This is a country that has no mining culture".
By comparison, AmeriLithium’s properties in the US, Canada and Australia, represent peaceful, industry-friendly locations with established infrastructure.
Australia already benefits from growing commodity exports to neighboring Asia, and is ideally located to satisfy Asia’s expanding demand for Lithium in electronics and electric vehicles, such as the lithium-ion powered model built by BYD Co., one of China’s fastest-growing independent auto makers and the world’s second-largest producer of lithium-ion batteries. BYD has announced plans to begin selling the electric car in the US by the end of 2010, according to the company’s website.
Likewise, AmeriLithium’s holdings in Canada and the US benefit from ready-made infrastructure that ensures reliable delivery routes and easy delivery to those nations’ main industrial areas for both electronics and auto manufacturing. Furthermore, by taking advantage of existing industry infrastructure, Lithium exploration, production and delivery can be achieved at a more economical rate due to not requiring the extensive costs of creating new infrastructure, as would be required in a nation such as Afghanistan.
In addition, AmeriLithium’s Nevada-based Paymaster Project is adjacent to proven Lithium production in Clayton Valley, home to the only US-based Lithium producing plant, operated by neighboring Chemetall Foote Corporation, a subsidiary of Rockwood Holdings, Inc. The plant has been in production since 1967, producing an estimated 50 million kg (55,000+ tons) of Lithium to date from the region’s rich brines.
Lithium is a lightweight metal used in a wide range of consumer products the world over: the medical industry uses Lithium as an anti-depressant; industrial uses include glass, ceramic and porcelain enamel manufacture; the aviation industry uses Lithium in alloys.
Of particular interest is the use of Lithium for battery production, which has expanded significantly in recent years due to rechargeable Lithium batteries being used increasingly in electrical tools and in the rapidly expanding portable electronics market.
Furthermore, the next generation of hybrid and electric vehicles are being designed to use high-capacity Lithium-ion batteries as environmentally-friendly fuel alternatives while the Obama administration has introduced $5 billion in funding and incentives for the development of a secure, domestic battery industry with special focus on Lithium-ion batteries.
AmeriLithium is a publicly traded (NASD OTC BB: AMEL), mining company committed to progressively developing into one of the leading American players in the global Lithium industry. The Company is headquartered in Lake Tahoe, NV. AmeriLithium has amassed a Lithium portfolio consisting of ~724,000 acres, including three Nevada-based projects nearby the only Lithium producing plant in the US, a large project in Alberta, Canada, and a project in Western Australia.
