Kevin Piepgrass

LITHIUM is About to Wake Up - Massive Upside for Prices & Stocks in 2026

• Top takeaway Kevin Piepgrass says lithium has become a headline item at the trade-policy level, citing Premier Danielle Smith championing lithium in Alberta around the CUSMA renegotiation and restocked Canadian federal funds under Mark Carney's government, with which LithiumBank has had favorable funding conversations.
• He details the resource: Boardwalk holds about 8 million tons LCE (5.2 Mt M&I, 2.8 Mt inferred) and Park Place about 15 million tons, together about 23 million tons at roughly 80 mg/L — the highest grades in Alberta — plus two Saskatchewan projects the company may monetize or joint venture to focus on Alberta.
• He explains the May 28 feasibility study and FEED will move the whole area to measured category and redesign the project around two 5,000-tonne SLB modular units (10,000 tonnes per annum) instead of the earlier 34,000-tonne PEA based on inferred resources and different technology, with pilot optimization work expected to wrap up around the first half of 2027.
• He highlights location advantages: beside a major substation with grid access, rivers through the project, Alberta Energy Regulator permitting without federal approval (wells in weeks, everything possible in under two years), a single flat government royalty, and no overlapping carbon sequestration claims because the reservoir is too far from major CO2 emitters.
• He describes the 230-meter-thick reservoir with strong porosity and permeability, consistent grade and impurities from a single formation, and recent test work recycling about 93% of process water.

Lithium carbonate prices up around 170% year over year, with battery energy storage systems overtaking EVs as the main demand driver. Global lithium demand (LCE — lithium carbonate equivalent) is about 1.5 million tons and projected to double by 2030, while North America supplies under 1%. Government support is accelerating: the US is stockpiling critical minerals and Canada is championing lithium in CUSMA trade talks. LithiumBank's Boardwalk brine project in Alberta pairs an 8-million-ton resource with grid power, highway access, and fast provincial permitting. A development agreement with SLB (Schlumberger) covers the full direct lithium extraction flow sheet, reducing execution risk for a modular 10,000-ton start.