Lithium Scarcity Pushes Carmakers Into the Mining Business

Established mining companies don’t have enough lithium to supply the industry as electric vehicle sales soar. Ford Motor has made lithium deals with SQM, a Chilean supplier; Albemarle, based in Charlotte, N.C.; and Nemaska Lithium of Quebec. With a few exceptions, Western carmakers have avoided buying stakes in lithium mines. Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest mining companies, recently reached a preliminary agreement to supply lithium to Ford from a mine it was developing in Argentina. “I think it’s a necessary strategy.”The post Lithium Scarcity Pushes Carmakers Into the Mining Business appeared first on New York Times.