{"id":14177,"date":"2016-08-14T13:27:13","date_gmt":"2016-08-14T17:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/?p=14177"},"modified":"2016-08-14T13:27:13","modified_gmt":"2016-08-14T17:27:13","slug":"why-investing-in-potassium-lithium-can-be-lucrative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pgmcapital.com\/nl\/why-investing-in-potassium-lithium-can-be-lucrative\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Investing in Potassium &#038; Lithium can be Lucrative"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/why-investing-in-potassium-lithium-can-be-lucrative\/fac-sqm\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14215\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-14215\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/fac-sqm.jpg\" width=\"450\" height=\"190\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/why-investing-in-potassium-lithium-can-be-lucrative\/likes_li_k_es_lithium_potassium_einsteinium_png_postcard-r4035e8a845d4489b9cd4249435a9fb04_vgbaq_8byvr_324\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14216\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-14216 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/likes_li_k_es_lithium_potassium_einsteinium_png_postcard-r4035e8a845d4489b9cd4249435a9fb04_vgbaq_8byvr_324.jpg\" width=\"147\" height=\"108\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Dear\u00a0<strong>PGM Capital<\/strong>\u00a0Blog readers,<\/p>\n<p>In this weekend&#8217;s blog edition, we want to elaborate on the increasing usage of Potassium and Lithium\u00a0in our modern society and the best way to invest in them.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>POTASIUM:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><b>Potassium<\/b> is a chemical element with symbol <b>K, <\/b>with atom number 19,<b>\u00a0<\/b>and is<b>\u00a0<\/b>an alkali metal used mainly in the fertiliser industry.<\/p>\n<p>The principal use of potash is as an agricultural fertilizer (plant nutrient) because it is a source of soluble potassium, which is one of the three primary plant nutrients required for plant growth and maturation; the others are fixed nitrogen and soluble phosphorus.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/why-investing-in-potassium-lithium-can-be-lucrative\/6794f01-1\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14204\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-14204 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/6794f01-1.gif\" width=\"360\" height=\"306\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In addition to its use as a fertiliser, potassium chloride is important in industrialised economies, where it is used in aluminum recycling, by the chloralkali industry to produce potassium hydroxide, in metal electroplating, oil-well drilling mud, snow and ice melting, steel heat-treating, and water softening.<\/p>\n<p>Potassium hydroxide is used for industrial water treatment and is the precursor of potassium carbonate, several forms of potassium phosphate, many other potassic chemicals, and soap manufacturing.<\/p>\n<p>Potassium carbonate is used to produce animal feed supplements, cement, fire extinguishers, food products, photographic chemicals, and textiles.<\/p>\n<p>It is also used in brewing beer, pharmaceutical preparations, and as a catalyst for synthetic rubber manufacturing.<\/p>\n<p>Generally, these nonfertiliser uses have accounted for about 15% of annual potash consumption in the United States.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Top 3 Producing Countries:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span>The top 3 potash-producing countries are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Canada:<\/strong><br \/>\nTotal mine production of 11\u00a0million\u00a0Metric Tons in 2014-2015, for which the country is home to the world\u2019s largest fertiliser company by capacity, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, (POT.TO) or PotashCorp.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/why-investing-in-potassium-lithium-can-be-lucrative\/potashcorp\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14210\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-14210 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/potashcorp-300x114.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"114\" \/><\/a>However, the company has recently been forced to shutter two of its potash mines in Canada due to low prices.<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Russia:<br \/>\n<\/strong>Russian potash production also stayed fairly flat from 2014 to 2015, rising an estimated 20,000 MT to 7.4 million MT.\u00a0The country\u00a0is home to some of the world\u2019s largest-known potash reserves.<br \/>\nLast year, Industrial Minerals reported that Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (1398.HK) and China Construction Bank (0939.HK) engaged in a loan deal\u00a0worth over $500 million\u00a0with Russian potash company Uralkali\u00a0(OTCMKTS:URAYY).<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/why-investing-in-potassium-lithium-can-be-lucrative\/uralkali_logo\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14212\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-14212 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Uralkali_logo-300x210.png\" width=\"300\" height=\"210\" \/><\/a>The move gave China greater control over global potash production, as Uralkali is responsible for\u00a020 percent of the world\u2019s potash output.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Belarus:<\/strong><br \/>\nBelarus boosted its 2015 potash production to overtake China as the world\u2019s third-largest potash producer in 2015. It put out a total of 6.5 million\u00a0Metric Tons of potash for the period.<br \/>\nThe country\u00a0has historically been a major player in the global potash market. In 2014, marketing agreements between Belarusian and Russian producers dissolved, according to the USGS. This shift lessened potash producers\u2019 collective bargaining power, and contributed to the recent decline in the potash price.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/why-investing-in-potassium-lithium-can-be-lucrative\/17349232-14464996895448413-roadmap2retire\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14207\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-14207\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/17349232-14464996895448413-Roadmap2Retire.png\" width=\"500\" height=\"320\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>LITHIUM:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><b>Lithium<\/b> is a chemical element with the symbol <b>Li<\/b> and\u00a0atomic number\u00a03. belonging to the alkali metal group of chemical elements.<\/p>\n<p>Lithium production has greatly increased since the end of World War II. The metal is separated from other elements in igneous minerals. Lithium salts are extracted from water in\u00a0mineral springs, brine pools, and brine deposits.<\/p>\n<p>Worldwide identified reserves in 2008 were estimated by the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"US Geological Survey\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/US_Geological_Survey\">US Geological Survey<\/a> (USGS) to be 13 million tonnes,\u00a0though an accurate estimate of world lithium reserves is difficult.<\/p>\n<p>Deposits are found in South America throughout the Andes mountain chain. Chile is the leading producer, followed by Argentina, for which the company &#8220;Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A.&#8221; (NYSE: SQM) is world biggest producer of Lithium.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/why-investing-in-potassium-lithium-can-be-lucrative\/sqmlitio1elmer_0\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14219\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-14219 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/SQMlitio1elmer_0.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Late in the 20th century, lithium became an important component of battery electrolytes and electrodes, because of its high electrode potential. Because of its low atomic mass, it has a high charge- and power-to-weight ratio.<\/p>\n<p>Below table shows the world&#8217;s top eight producers in 2015 and reserves in metric tons by country:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/why-investing-in-potassium-lithium-can-be-lucrative\/productie_lithium-1\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14227\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-14227\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/productie_lithium-1.jpg\" width=\"450\" height=\"294\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>PGM CAPITAL ANALYSIS AND COMMENTS:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Potassium:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span>The potash price has been on the decline since 2013\u2032s cartel breakup between Russia and Belarus, but the amount of potash on the world market is still expected to increase over the next few years.<\/p>\n<p>Specifically, the US Geological Survey (USGS) sees global potash production capacity reaching 61 million MT\u00a0by 2019, up from 52\u00a0million MT\u00a0in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>The demand for the fertilizer is expected to increase over the long term. In 2015, the world consumed 35.5 million MT\u00a0of potash, and that number should grow to 39.5 million MT\u00a0over the next four\u00a0years.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/why-investing-in-potassium-lithium-can-be-lucrative\/diesel-loader\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14231\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-14231\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Diesel-loader.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"287\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Potassium is associated with movement of water, nutrients, and carbohydrates in plant tissue. If potassium is deficient or not supplied in adequate amounts, growth is stunted and yields are reduced. Various research efforts have shown that potassium:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stimulates early growth<\/li>\n<li>Increases protein production<\/li>\n<li>Improves the efficiency of water use<\/li>\n<li>Is vital for stand persistence, longevity, and winter hardiness of alfalfa, and<\/li>\n<li>Improves resistance to diseases and insects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These roles or functions are general but all are important to profitable crop production as can be seen from below table.<\/p>\n<table class=\"basicTable\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"3\"><\/td>\n<th style=\"text-align: center;\" colspan=\"5\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Interpretation<\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Crop<\/span><\/th>\n<th><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Part<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"> Sampled<\/span><\/th>\n<th><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Time of<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"> Sampling<\/span><\/th>\n<th><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Deficient<\/span><\/th>\n<th><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Low<\/span><\/th>\n<th><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Sufficient<\/span><\/th>\n<th><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">High<\/span><\/th>\n<th><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Excessive<\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"3\"><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"5\" align=\"CENTER\">&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; % K &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>alfalfa<\/td>\n<td>top 6 inches<\/td>\n<td>bud<\/td>\n<td>&lt;1.8<\/td>\n<td>1.8-2.4<\/td>\n<td>2.5-3.8<\/td>\n<td>3.9-4.5<\/td>\n<td>&gt;4.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>barley<\/td>\n<td>whole plant<\/td>\n<td>head<br \/>\nemergence<\/td>\n<td>&lt;1.25<\/td>\n<td>1.25-1.49<\/td>\n<td>1.50-3.00<\/td>\n<td>&gt;3.00<\/td>\n<td>&#8211;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>corn<\/td>\n<td>ear leaf<\/td>\n<td>silking<\/td>\n<td>&lt;1.30<\/td>\n<td>1.30-1.70<\/td>\n<td>1.80-2.30<\/td>\n<td>2.40-2.90<\/td>\n<td>&gt;2.90<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>soybean<\/td>\n<td>most recently<br \/>\nmatured trifoliate<\/td>\n<td>early<br \/>\nflower<\/td>\n<td>&lt;1.30<\/td>\n<td>1.30-1.70<\/td>\n<td>1.80-2.50<\/td>\n<td>2.60-4.50<\/td>\n<td>&gt;4.50<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>wheat<\/td>\n<td>whole plant<\/td>\n<td>head<br \/>\nemergence<\/td>\n<td>&lt;1.25<\/td>\n<td>1.25-1.49<\/td>\n<td>1.50-3.00<\/td>\n<td>&gt;3.00<\/td>\n<td>&#8211;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Lithium:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span>A typical lithium-ion battery can generate approximately 3 volts per cell, compared with 2.1 volts for lead-acid or 1.5 volts for zinc-carbon cells. Lithium-ion batteries, which are rechargeable and have a high energy density, should not be confused with lithium batteries, which are disposable (primary) batteries with lithium or its compounds as the anode.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/why-investing-in-potassium-lithium-can-be-lucrative\/lithium-battery-stack-image\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14221\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-14221 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/lithium-battery-stack-image-300x181.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"181\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Other rechargeable batteries that use lithium include the lithium-ion polymer battery, lithium iron phosphate battery, and the nanowire battery.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"http:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/doi\/abs\/10.1021\/es903729a\" target=\"_blank\">recent study looked <\/a>in great detail at how Lithium is used to produce batteries, and the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/files\/2010\/08\/life-cycle-analysis-lithium-ion-batteries-electric-cars.php\" target=\"_blank\">entire life cycle of the batteries<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The findings were compared to the environmental impact of conventional internal combustion cars. The study measured environmental impact in a number of ways, including <em>global warming potential<\/em>, <em>cumulative energy demand<\/em>, an <em>Ecoindicator 99<\/em> and an <em>Abiotic Depletion Potential <\/em>that measures resource depletion.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, the study found that the environmental impact of Lithium was relatively small, but that other elements of these batteries have a higher impact.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">For example, lithium batteries take a tremendous amount of copper and aluminum to work properly. These metals are needed for the production of the anode &amp; the cathode, cables and battery management systems. Copper and aluminum have to be mined, processes and manufacturing which takes lots of energy, chemicals and water which add to their environmental burden.<\/p>\n<p>Based on their fundamentals we have a <span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>BUY<\/strong><\/span> rating on the producers of Potassium and Lithium mentioned in this article.<\/p>\n<p>Last but not least, before following any investing advice, always consider your investment horizon, risk tolerance and financial situation and be aware that prices of metals and the stock of their producers might be very volatile and\u00a0that sharp corrections may happen in the short term.<\/p>\n<p>Until next week.<\/p>\n<p>Yours sincerely,<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Suriname-Times-foto.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9925 \" src=\"http:\/\/www.pgm-blog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Suriname-Times-foto-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Suriname Times foto\" width=\"96\" height=\"96\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Eric Panneflek<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear\u00a0PGM Capital\u00a0Blog readers, In this weekend&#8217;s blog edition, we want to elaborate on the increasing usage of Potassium and Lithium\u00a0in our modern society and the best way to invest in them. POTASIUM: Potassium is a chemical element with symbol K, with atom number 19,\u00a0and is\u00a0an alkali metal used mainly in the fertiliser industry. The principal<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pgmcapital.com\/nl\/why-investing-in-potassium-lithium-can-be-lucrative\/\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,9,24,10,19,20,26,13,15,21,1,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commodities","category-emerging-markets","category-energy","category-eric-panneflek","category-financial-news","category-general-information","category-logistic","category-market-volatility","category-pgm-capital","category-technology","category-uncategorized","category-world-economic-outlook"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pgmcapital.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pgmcapital.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pgmcapital.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pgmcapital.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pgmcapital.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pgmcapital.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14177\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pgmcapital.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pgmcapital.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pgmcapital.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}