T5 Smackover, Glencore Join Forces to Make Texas Top Critical Minerals Producer
T5 Smackover Partners and Glencore Ltd. are coming together to increase domestic lithium production and sales.
The pair have signed a five-year binding offtake agreement under which Glencore will market 100% of T5’s Phase 1 lithium production, estimated at 5,000 metric tons annually, for a total of 25,000 metric tons over the life of the contract. T5 will produce lithium carbonate from direct lithium extraction technology.
Deliveries will begin upon first commercial production, according to the June 2 news release.
As part of the agreement, the critical minerals and geothermal energy company will have access to Glencore’s established supply chain and infrastructure.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The companies’ goal is to make Texas the national leader in geothermal energy and critical minerals production.
“Partnering with Glencore brings speed to market for T5 in East Texas,” said Bruce Thompson, T5’s founder and CEO. “Their global lithium presence allows us to focus on production and on getting royalty checks into the hands of East Texas landowners faster. This community made T5, and they deserve to share in that global value as soon as possible.”
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Critical challenges, opportunities
The partnership is intended to advance ongoing development of domestic lithium production in the U.S. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects demand for lithium to rise by more than 1,500% by 2050.
China currently holds a tight grip on the critical minerals market and has cornered the global processing market, creating unease among the U.S. and its allies.
In February, the Trump administration hosted 54 countries and the European Commission in “a club of nations,” as described by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, to focus on developing new sources of supply.
Securing access to and the processing of critical minerals is a “national security issue,” according to U.S. officials.
“There are 60 critical minerals on our critical mineral list. Of the top 25, all but one are controlled by China,” the U.S. Department of Energy’s Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson told Hart Energy in March.
The East Texas Smackover may be among the best opportunities to address those federal security concerns. Based in East Texas’ Smackover Formation—one of North America’s most active areas for lithium production—T5 has access to high groundwater temperatures and lithium-concentration deposits.
But it’s not the only company to identify the region’s rich resources, which hold between 5 million and 19 million tons of lithium reserves, according to a U.S. Geological Survey predictive model.
Ion Minerals has built a project in the Smackover Formation consisting of almost 50,000 mineral acres located between Tetra Technologies’ Evergreen Brine Unit and Standard Lithium’s Reynolds Brine Unit in Arkansas, as well as Standard Lithium’s Franklin Project in East Texas.
Other companies investing in the area include Exxon Mobil, Occidental Petroleum, Chevron, Standard Lithium and Equinor, all of whom are developing projects in the Smackover region of southwestern Arkansas.
“We are pleased to have signed this offtake agreement with T5 Smackover Partners, further deepening Glencore’s North American critical minerals partnerships,” said Robin Francois, Glencore’s head of lithium. “T5’s East Texas project is positioned to deliver a reliable, domestically produced source of battery-grade lithium carbonate, supporting customers across North America and globally.”
Today, less than 1% of the world’s lithium supply is produced in the U.S., said Jesse Edmondson, director of government relations for Standard Lithium.
Several companies have attempted to strengthen their domestic lithium supplies, but the supply chain is constantly being affected by ongoing federal policy. Different federal incentives have allowed for different parts of the domestic supply chain to kickstart, especially at the project level with grants, tax credits and loan programs.
