E55: Live In Tesla's Backyard

The Global Lithium Podcast adapts the format for the "Lithium Decade".  One host, with co-hosts from time to time, same focus on high quality  guests on the long version and answering your questions on Q&A episodes. For now, Anchor will be the podcast home but we will remain available on Apple, Spotify and other major platforms. This episode was recorded in Reno, Nevada. My guests are Dr. Rene LeBlanc, CTO of Lithium Americas and Alexi Zawadzki, President of Lithium Nevada. We discuss recent developments at the Cauchari and Thacker Pass Projects before delving into other areas.  I ask and Rene explains why it is a misnomer to say "it is too difficult to make battery grade carbonate at altitude".  We both worked for FMC Lithium (now Livent) in a day when Hombre Muerto produced an excellent battery quality product above 4,000 meters in Catamarca Province Argentina.  I provide some comments on Livent's recent earnings guidance and make some brief comments on pricing and other pertinent topics. We have a cameo appearance by long time friend of the podcast Randall Burns of LAC while I ride across Reno in his EV and am chastised by Alexi for not owning a Tesla yet. Things get loud during the "five guys in a bar segment" when Alexi asks a broader group if you could go back an be alive for any one day in history - what would it be? This episode was recorded on my IPhone - please keep that in mind as you listen. I did not travel with a mic or recording software but didn't want to miss the opportunity to record the first long form episode of the new decade. Sponsorshi