Tech Metals

European governments in ‘dreamworld’ on lithium supplies, Africa has the solution says AfriTin

By David Whitehouse

Reserved for subscribers

Posted on October 5, 2022 07:45

© Technicians work at the production line for electric car models of the Volkswagen Group, in Zwickau, Germany, April 26, 2022. REUTERS/Matthias Rietschel — Technicians work at the production line for electric car models of the Volkswagen Group, in Zwickau, Germany, April 26, 2022. REUTERS/Matthias Rietschel

European governments aiming for mass conversion to electric car use by 2030 are divorced from reality and need to wake up to the need for more lithium exploration for battery use, AfriTin Mining CEO Anthony Viljoen tells The Africa Report.

With the exception of Australia, which dominates hard-rock lithium mining, “the world has not woken up to the huge disparity in supply and demand” for lithium, Viljoen says in Johannesburg. Europeans are in a “dreamworld. There’s no way your cars will be all-electric by 2030,” or any time soon after.

There's more to this story

Get unlimited access to our exclusive journalism and features today. Our award-winning team of correspondents and editors report from over 54 African countries, from Cape Town to Cairo, from Abidjan to Abuja to Addis Ababa. Africa. Unlocked.

Subscribe Now

cancel anytime

Already a a subscriber Sign In

More Business

The Husab uranium mine in western Namibia. 11 May 2018. Wu Changwei/Xinhua/REA

multiple agreements

From DRC to Madagascar, Japan weaves its web with critical metals From exploration to exploitation, Japan has signed a series of contracts with three African countries to secure its supplies of critical minerals.

View shows trucks queuing with sacks of grains at the grain market in Merkato neighbourhood of Addis Ababa © African Renaissance sees Ethiopian logistics as a key growth market. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

Problem Solvers

African Renaissance considers second East Africa venture capital tech fund African Renaissance Partners believes venture-capital investment is set to take off in east Africa.

© Edward Gyambrah, the officer-in-charge of the Domestic Tax and Revenue Division at the Ghana Revenue Authority. Photo supplied

taking a gamble

Ghana: Betting tax stirs public anger, experts’ doubts over economic impact Controversy is brewing in the West African nation as the government’s recent introduction of a 10% withholding tax on betting and lottery winnings ign...

© Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) (Photo by SIMON MAINA / AFP)

predicted decline

IEA-OPEC clash ‘beginning of the end’ of fossil fuels? According to the International Energy Agency the decline of oil, gas, and coal is imminent. Producer cartel OPEC has hit back, calling the forecasts ‘...