The Brazilian company in question is currently valued at more than $3 billion.
Lithium is an important material for the manufacture of electric car batteries, and at a time when car companies seek to produce batteries themselves, Tesla is said to be considering buying a Brazilian company specializing in lithium mining in order to help produce batteries and supply a key component for a lithium refinery that has not yet been built. near Corpus Christi, Texas.
According to Bloomberg News, people familiar with the situation say Tesla is in initial talks with A10 Investimentos, a Brazilian private equity fund that owns 46% of Sigma Lithium.
- According to the unnamed source, the discussions may not lead to a deal because the value of the mine has tripled in the past year due to high demand for lithium from the electric car industry, as well as higher price expectations from the owners. The Toronto-listed company's shares are currently worth $3.1. Billion dollars.
- Moreover, neither Tesla nor Elon Musk, CEO of the company, commented on this information, and a representative of Sigma Lithium refused to comment on the news being circulated as "rumors".
- The mining company is currently developing a large deposit of shale lithium in Brazil known as Grota do Cirilo and stated in December that it is considering tripling lithium production at the aforementioned site in the next year 2024 after revealing that mineral reserves are 63% higher than they were. expected, in order to work to meet the growing demand for lithium for the manufacture of electric car batteries.
- Previously, Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk made claims about the company entering the mining business by purchasing lithium claims in Nevada and patenting a method for extracting lithium from ore using table salt, but none of these claims have been confirmed or implemented.
- Having said that, Tesla will build a lithium refinery outside Corpus Christi, Texas, in order to process lithium from the company's suppliers before it hits the battery assembly lines.
- By buying this Brazilian mining company, Tesla will be able to get direct access to its resources without the need for middlemen, which could lead to lower production costs for the cars it produces, and most importantly, the most famous American car company will be the most prepared for the looming lithium crisis. The horizon, which will hit the car manufacturers who are not prepared for this crisis in a difficult way, may hinder production operations, to be a new crisis added to the series of crises facing the industry.