A 12 MoNTH DIVE
From Perth to Vancouver, through Manchester and Salta, this exploration took me around the globe, to extract the best practices, the “DOs” and “DON’Ts” of the most promising lithium projects across the globe.
And I now genuinely believe, there’s an incredible opportunity to unlock a “Win-Win-Win-Win” in an area where for 25 years, it’s been a “Lose-Lose-Lose-Lose”
A Water Story
This Lithium quest started by accident. As many water companies ventured into Lithium, I prepared a deep dive on the matter in a similar fashion to my previous deep dives (e.g., hydrogen). I’ve interviewed 15 experts for that deep dive across four continents.
A Case Study
I stumbled upon a water analysis of the Alsatian Potash mines’ underground. And while everybody was debating if there was this or that pollutant in these samples, I couldn’t help but notice that there were incredibly high lithium contents in these samples! So, I took that story with me and leveraged numerous expert’s brains to use that story as a case study on how to develop a lithium project.
Too Good to be Ignored
It turned out that this case study was too good to remain only theoretical. With some help from incredible partners, I could put together a technical study of the potential extraction of lithium in Alsace, and it looks too promising to stay as a thought exercise; hence this call to continue the quest!
WHO AM I?
I’m a second-generation Water Professional with a deep interest in all things water and a sound inclination for exploring rabbit holes. Academically speaking, I hold a Master’s in Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering, but most of the things I know come from discussions, interviews, books, and projects I’ve been working on all continents (minus Antarctica, so far). I’m a proud father of three, a TEDx Speaker, a podcast host, and a seasoned business developer.
If you want to formally get to know me, you’ll probably be better off on my podcast’s website. Here, I’ll be a bit more subjective.
I grew up in Alsace with a potash rock on my bedside table, a present I had received from my uncle, who worked down in the mines. I’ve always thought it was just about normal to have such mines around and thought you’d find such infrastructure almost everywhere in the World – I was so wrong.
To me, these potash mines have successfully been the coolest of all places where I was getting funny rocks from, then a beautiful part of the landscape I grew in, then a place that now created so much unemployment and a bit of sadness, then a trouble for the underground water with the salt pollution, then a potential environmental hazard with the ever-going Stocamine debate, and more and more, I questioned why I so subjectively loved them…
But I recently realized I had never really looked into it myself. I had listened to everyone’s opinion but had not forged my own take. And I suddenly got the best of all reasons to do it: all stars aligned to make me look at that historic site again for what it really is: a geological marvel.
Brilliant people have looked at those mines over the past two decades for many reasons, and some of these people have looked for lithium. But I genuinely believe, nobody followed my path, maybe because I’m utterly stupid. Or maybe because they didn’t have this historic and forever link to that soil.
Will I make money with this project? I’d bet you my house I won’t. But I would so much love to see those mines rise again and contribute to the new carbon-free World we’re building. I’d love for my children to grow this same link to that industrial testimony. And I’d love for this region to take pride again in this place that’s made too much of the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
