Standard Lithium Aims to Propose Royalty This Spring
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Standard Lithium Will Go It Alone, Propose Its Own Royalty
Standard Lithium Ltd. of Vancouver says it will go it alone this time, submitting its own application with the Arkansas Oil & Gas Commission to set a lithium extraction royalty.
The company announced the plan during a Jan. 30 community town hall in Stamps (Lafayette County).
The move follows a failed joint royalty application Standard filed in November with four other companies involved in direct lithium extraction in South Arkansas.
The Oil & Gas Commission ultimately rejected the joint proposal for not meeting the “fair and equitable” standards outlined in state law.
The company plans to apply for both unitization and royalty establishment specifically for its Smackover Lithium joint venture (formerly known as the South West Arkansas Project) in Lafayette and Columbia counties. The project, a partnership with Norwegian energy giant Equinor, is the primary focus, leaving out the Lanxess Project in Union County.
Jesse Edmondson, Standard Lithium’s head of government affairs, told the town hall that royalties are important. But he also emphasized the broader community impact that the industry will create, including job creation, tax revenue and infrastructure investments.
“We’re looking at what we can do with infrastructure improvements, what can we do with emergency services support?” he said. “We’re interested in looking at some of the food scarcity issues in this county, transportation issues, health care issues.”
Edmondson expects the company to file the application sometime this spring.
Water Concerns, New Office
Also during the town hall, which took place in the Lafayette County High School gym, community members raised concerns about potential impacts on drinking water due to well drilling.
The companies, Standard and Equinor, said that protecting the freshwater aquifer above the brine aquifers is a priority for the Arkansas Oil & Gas Commission, which enforces strict well-drilling guidelines to prevent groundwater contamination.
In response to questions about hydrogen sulfide, the companies said they are working with the commission and the Nature Conservancy of Arkansas to minimize environmental impacts.
The companies also announced plans to open a new community outreach office in a former EZ Mart convenience store in Lewisville.
More: Read coverage of the town hall and Standard Lithium’s royalty plans at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the Magnolia Reporter.
PotlatchDeltic Corp. Inks Mineral Lease Agreement for Lithium, Bromine Production
PotlatchDeltic Corp., of Spokane, Washington, has entered into a mineral lease agreement for about 900 acres in Lafayette County.
The agreement grants Tetra Brine Leaseco LLC exclusive exploration and production rights for bromine and lithium on the property.
Production on the site is not expected to begin for another five years, with planning, engineering and construction scheduled in the interim.
PotlatchDeltic expects to receive production payments for bromine, royalty payments for lithium extraction and lease payments once production starts.
Arkansas is familiar territory for the publicly traded forest products company, which owns 2.1 million acres across Arkansas and six other states: Idaho, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina. The company was formed after Potlatch Corp. purchased Deltic Timber Corp. of El Dorado — a spinoff of Murphy Oil Corp. — in February 2018.
The company said it’s exploring similar lease opportunities with other companies. PotlatchDeltic CEO Eric Cremers said the company has 5,000 to 7,000 acres with “lithium-bearing opportunities,” the Journal of Business reports.
More: Read the full report in the Journal of Business in Spokane here.
Chinese Lithium Company Halts Exports Amid Trade Tensions
Chinese company Jiangsu Jiuwu Hi-Tech has halted exports of sorbents, a critical technology for lithium extraction, signaling the impact of Beijing's proposed export controls on battery and lithium technologies, Reuters reported Feb. 18.
Sorbents are essential for extracting lithium from brines. China, the world's top sorbent producer, appears to be leveraging its dominance in critical minerals amid growing trade tensions with the U.S.:
Proposed Export Controls: If implemented, the new rules would require Chinese companies to obtain government licenses to export certain lithium-related technologies, potentially disrupting global supply chains.
Market Impact: Western companies like ExxonMobil and Koch Industries, which have relied on Chinese technology for lithium projects in Arkansas, could face setbacks.
Opportunities for the West: While the export halt opens doors for Western sorbent producers, they currently lack China's scale and expertise.
“We have to completely change the technologies and innovate in production and processing, and we have to do it without being beholden to China,” Brian Menell, CEO of TechMet, told Reuters. The company invests in Western mining companies and lithium equipment producers.
What's next: While Beijing has not finalized the export controls, the proposal alone is already creating uncertainty. Western companies are increasingly looking to develop independent lithium supply chains to reduce reliance on Chinese technology.
More: Read the complete Reuters report here.
