The appeal of lithium stocks is obvious, given the critical mass reached in EV sales. Manufacturers are bound to require ever more significant volumes of the necessary lithium to produce EV batteries. The numbers behind the growth substantiate that idea. Between 2022 and 2030, the size of the lithium market is expected to increase by 22% annually.
Lithium is required for current-generation lithium-ion batteries. Demand could run even higher because solid-state batteries could need more lithium for their anodes. That’s in addition to current supply shortfall expectations. The result is that lithium prices have the potential to increase dramatically. Thus, firms that extract the most lithium will be in the best position.
Lithium Americas (LAC)
Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) is the closest thing to slam dunk stock as there is in the lithium space. The company owns the rights to the Thacker Pass project, which houses the largest lithium deposit in the Americas and is the second-largest deposit globally.
The firm is developing the site in anticipation of 40-plus years of production and impressive rates of return. It isn’t easy to articulate how important Thacker Pass may become for the domestic EV sector. It could legitimately shore up domestic supply chains, making U.S. EV production more economically viable. It will serve as a powerful geopolitical bargaining chip advantageous to the U.S. for apparent reasons.
The company is so convinced of Thacker Pass that it has decided to split it into separate entities to isolate its value. That split is scheduled to occur in early October. Thus, it’s likely that there will be money to make at the time that split is affected. That makes it one of the top lithium stocks to hold, in my book.
Allkem (OROCF)
Allkem (OTCMKTS:OROCF) is a lithium stock that doesn’t get much attention. It should, but perhaps it doesn’t simply because it trades over the counter while the major companies tend to trade on the major exchanges.
Regardless, Allkem is a relatively new firm born out of a merger between Orocobre and Galaxy in August of 2021. The company has a vast geographic footprint with brine and hard rock lithium sources throughout South America, Canada, and Australia. It also owns a lithium hydroxide conversion facility in Japan.
Both revenue and EBITDA reached record levels during the firm’s fiscal year 2023. There’s a lot to like about Allkem overall. The company produced record revenues from its Mt. Cattlin operations in Western Australia and its Olaroz operations in Argentina. Allkem also began production of battery-grade lithium at the Naraha, Japan plant, which has a 75% ownership stake. Allkem’s James Bay hard rock site is also located close to the heart of North American vehicle production.
Atlas Lithium (ATLX)
Atlas Lithium (NASDAQ:ATLX) is a U.S. mineral exploration firm with a breadth of projects all within Brazil encompassing multiple minerals, including lithium.
The firm’s properties include:
- Approximately 75,542 acres of lithium.
- 137,883 acres of nickel.
- 30,009 acres of rare earths.
- 22,050 acres of titanium.
- 13,766 acres of graphite.
The firm’s primary focus is its Minas Gerais Lithium Project, which consists of 54 mineral rights spread over 59,275 acres.
The company essentially remains in the pre-revenue stages. It did report a few thousand dollars of revenue in 2022, but none in 2023. Atlas Lithium racked up more than $13 million in losses in the first half of 2023.
That said, the four analysts covering ATLX shares expect it to double in value from its current $24 price. It appears that it is a mere matter of time before Atlas Lithium begins to produce significant income, given its price and predictions about that price from Wall Street. That’s why I believe it is one of the top lithium stocks to hold.
On the date of publication, Alex Sirois did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
