The entry of South Korea’s Pohang Iron and Steel Co. (POSCO), a true industrial giant, into the lithium development sector grabbed many of the headlines last month as the world begins to get to grips with the importance lithium could hold in the coming years in its use in electric vehicle (EV) lithium-ion batteries.
Together with Toyota Tsusho Corp. (22% owned by Toyota Motor Corp.), POSCO has started its lithium source acquisition trail by purchasing a $4.8m. stake in Pan American Lithium (PAL) which owns a geothermal project in Baja California, Mexico, and several brine resources in Chile’s Atacama region (IM February 2010: Industrial giants invest in lithium).
The world’s fourth biggest steel maker has also led a consortium to develop a $13m. research project into...