Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ:PLL) stock jumped nearly 23% over the weekend after the mining company got a mining permit . As of early trading this morning, PLL stock is up over 30%.
The company hopes to provide lithium hydroxide from a mine in , west of Charlotte.
PLL stock opened April 15 at $15.80 per share, a market capitalization of over $300 million.
The Lithium Gold Rush
Piedmont believes it can extract billions of dollars from its lithium mine. It is a supplier of lithium to Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA).
Tesla broke ground for a lithium refining operation near Corpus Christi, Texas. China currently of the world’s lithium supplies, but there are also mines operating in Chile and Australia.
wants to inshore production. Its strategy is to mine lithium ore in rock and then take it through a chemical operation .
For now, Piedmont remains largely pre-revenue. It lost $21.7 million, $1.14 per share, in 2023 on revenue of . It owns 25% of its North American Lithium project, with Sayona Mining (OTCMKTS:SYAXF), an Australian company, . The joint venture predicts that projects due to open in May will dramatically increase production and lower per-unit costs.
Lithium carbonate prices skyrocketed in 2022, but they are now at of about $16,000 per ton. Piedmont’s project will likely compete with one . There, an called Ioneer (OTCMKTS:GSCCF) is seeking rights to a site .
A major deposit, the McDermitt caldera, was also near the Nevada-Oregon border. Large deposits are also reportedly near .
PLL Stock: What Happens Next?
The lithium gold rush is underway worldwide, but there may be a lot more of it than previously believed. Environmental costs will also have to be addressed.
On the date of publication, Dana Blankenhorn did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
