PodcastCommodity CultureRob Shewchuk

LITHIUM is About to Wake Up - Massive Upside for Prices & Stocks in 2026

Management frames the U.S. 'Project Vault' (~$200 billion) and restocked Canadian funding under Mark Carney as potential sources of government‑backed demand and project capital, while Alberta's regulator can permit wells in under two years. They describe a large Alberta in‑situ resource, an SLB partnership that covers the full flow sheet, and a modular DLE approach targeting an initial 10,000 tpa build with ~$40M already spent on pilot work and a feasibility study planned. Against extreme lithium price volatility and a global supply base of ~1.5 million t LCE set to roughly double by 2030, management argues North America faces a meaningful supply shortfall and is prioritizing partnerships to limit dilution.

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Key Takeaways

Federal support is increasing: the U.S. 'Project Vault' is a roughly $200 billion pool to buy and stockpile critical minerals and Canada is explicitly eligible, while Canadian federal funding has been 're‑restocked' under Mark Carney and Alberta's regulator can permit wells in under two years, materially lowering permitting and development risk for eligible projects.

The Alberta assets combine high‑quality reservoir characteristics with provincial scale — Lithium Bank's Alberta property is road‑accessible ~120 miles from Edmonton in a brownfield oilfield with a very thick (~230 m), high‑permeability reservoir, and the company's Alberta projects together total roughly 23 million t LCE across Boardwalk and Park Place.

Management has materially de‑risked the project to date, spending over $40M largely on pilot work with SLB, completing two preliminary economic assessments, and planning a feasibility that will convert inferred resources into measured categories and incorporate higher‑confidence technology absent from the PA (which cited 34,000 t LCE).

The SLB development agreement meaningfully reduces execution and technology risk: SLB provides binding licensing for its full flow sheet through production (flat licensing fee), has demonstrated capability (a Nevada demo plant produced ~13 tons of battery‑grade carbonate), and the licensed DLE approach is modular (5,000 tpa increments) with a contemplated initial 10,000 tpa build, ~93% water recycling, and piloting/optimization targeted to wrap by H1 2027.

GEO-POLITICS

Project Vault — The U.S. federal program 'Project Vault' is described as a ~$200 billion pool to buy and stockpile critical minerals (copper, lithium, rare earths). It creates explicit government demand and a potential source of project development funding for eligible projects; Canada is named as eligible.

“Of course, we've got the US administration taking a direct stake in lithium Americas, launching Project Vault to stockpile critical minerals including lithium.”—

TECHNOLOGY

Alberta Asset — Lithium Bank's Alberta asset is described as one of the largest in‑situ resources in North America, road‑accessible about ~120 miles from Edmonton in a brownfield oilfield area with strong infrastructure. Management reports a very thick reservoir (~230 m) with high capacity and permeability that can support pumping large brine volumes over sustained periods.

“The other thing that lithium bank has is has a large resource. It's probably one of the largest insitu resources in North America…”—

Pilot Spend — Management says the company completed pilot testing on both brines with SLB, ran two preliminary economic assessments, and has spent over $40M largely on pilot work and de‑risking. They expect a feasibility study to move the resource into the measured category to support build‑ready decisions.

“We have done pilot testing on both we saw very similar characteristics for both brines with our technology partner that is slumberge known as SLB now and we've completed two…”—

PA vs Feasibility — The prior Preliminary Assessment used an inferred resource and lower‑confidence technology and cited 34,000 t LCE. Management says the new feasibility will include advantages and updated technology omitted from the PA that could materially alter project economics.

“The PA was for 34,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent. it was done on an inferred resource. and it was done with a completely different technology…”—

MARKETS

Trend Investing — Management attributes past successful exits to identifying and riding metal trends rather than picking a single 'best' property, citing uranium as an example that produced large gains for shareholders.

“I wasn't really looking at any one type of deposit…”—

Early Mover — The speaker says he was an early entrant into lithium salars and solar plays in Argentina around 2010, positioning ahead of EV and battery demand growth and informing his lithium project experience.

“I was probably one of the first people involved in looking at lithium, looking at Solars and that was in Argentina and I thought that was the future the future…”—

Water Rights — The speaker cites Potash One, where control of half the adjacent water resource made the project viable and attracted strategic interest, leading to a sale to K+S for $450M.

“Sometimes it's for instance podash one probably that what you know other than the commodity price was the fact that I managed early on to own control of half of…”—

Introduction

Host Jesse Day introduces Lithium Bank executives Rob, Paul, and Kevin and frames the episode around lithium trends and company developments.

Following Metals Market Trends

Paul recounts his track record in junior mining takeouts, stressing trend-driven investing and targeting well-capitalized, resource-rich juniors to unlock outsized returns.

Where is the Lithium Price Headed?

Rob explains lithium demand drivers have shifted toward grid-scale battery storage and solar buildup; with global supply ~1.5Mt LCE set to double by 2030, he argues prices face upside.

CUSMA and Government Support for Lithium

Kevin describes growing Canadian and Alberta government support for critical minerals, notes re-stocked funds under Mark Carney, and says Canada is eligible for the US Project Vault.

LithiumBank's Strategy

Rob outlines Lithium Bank’s strategy: focus on Boardwalk—a large, high-grade in-situ Alberta resource with crown tenure and SLB partnership to de-risk the full flow sheet.

Main Projects

Kevin details main assets: Boardwalk (~8Mt LCE M&I + inferred), Park Place (~15Mt), plus Saskatchewan prospects; the company has spent ~US$40M on pilots and testing.

Boardwalk Feasibility Study

They say the May 28 feasibility/FEED launch will convert inferred to measured categories, analyze a modular SLB DLE flow sheet and target an initial two-module (10,000 tpa) build.

Final Words on LithiumBank

Rob emphasizes a protected cap table (~68M shares), ~40% insider ownership, preferred partnerships over in-house tech spend, and focus on advancing Boardwalk toward production.

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Important Disclaimers

Not Investment Advice: For education only — not financial, tax or legal advice.

AI-Generated: Made by AI from source transcripts and may contain errors.

No Guarantees: Past performance does not predict future results; investing carries risk.

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