Manitoba Could Have Enough Lithium to Make 5 Million EV Batteries by 2035

Lithium is the most important mineral used in electric vehicle battery production and global demand is expected to grow 40 times in the next two decades according to market experts.

The problem, and it’s a major one, is that there likely won’t be enough lithium at the current extraction rate to meet the ambitious EV sales targets set by governments around the globe—some for 2030, others for 2035 (including Canada) or 2040.

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Manitoba-based Snow Lake Lithium now says it can be part of the solution. Even though it has only explored one percent of its 22,000 hectare site, the company believes it can start commercial production in 2025 with the capacity to supply lithium for up to 500,000 locally made EVs annually.

Over 10 years, Snow Lake Lithium’s production could therefore power as many as 5 million EVs—maybe more if additional lithium deposits are found on the remaining 99 percent of the site—significantly reducing logistics and emissions that would be created by importing raw materials from China, CEO Philip Gross claims.

The company has already made a commitment to achieve complete traceability and carbon neutrality by utilizing zero-emission mining machinery running on hydro-electric power.

In its initial assessment of the site earlier this year, Snow Lake Lithium said it could take up to two years for environmental work such as permitting to be complete before commercial lithium mining can actually begin. It’s also looking for a partner among major automakers or battery manufacturers to help process raw material into lithium hydroxide suitable for EV batteries.

Tesla, for one, is open to buying a mining company in order to accelerate EV production. A team recently visited Nouveau Monde Graphite’s mine and processing factory in Saint-Michel-des-Saints, Quebec, which is reportedly sitting on the biggest graphite deposit in North America.