Albemarle Cuts Debt by $1.3 Billion, Trims Interest Expense by $60 Million

AMG Critical Materials N.V. announced that the European Commission has designated two of AMG Lithium's activities as Critical Raw Materials Act Strategic Projects 2026. The two designations cover AMG's lithium refinery in Bitterfeld, named a European Lithium Refining and Recycling Hub, and Zinnwald Lithium, recognized for Integrated Extraction and Processing. CEO Dr. Heinz Schimmelbusch said the decision affirms AMG's strategy of building an independent lithium supply chain for Europe and reducing dependence on foreign supply chains. The Commission's recognition means the projects will directly contribute to benchmarks set in the Critical Raw Materials Act, which aims by 2030 to increase the EU's competitiveness and resilience while decreasing dependency on any single supplier. AMG, listed on Euronext Amsterdam and Deutsche Börse, employs approximately 3,500 people and operates production facilities in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, China, Mexico, Brazil, and India.

E-Finance Thai news agency reports that Thailand's electric vehicle batteries have begun operations under an integrated Second Life model with full-cycle recycling, marking the first step, or the first button fastened, in the country's EV battery management system. The model aims to link the reuse of used batteries in a Second Life format with a fully integrated recycling process. The report states that this undertaking is an integrated collaboration covering both reuse and the systematic handling of battery waste. The news was published on 9 October 2026, reported by Prakai Dao Baengsanthia, editor of digital asset news.

Elevra Lithium rose 5.5% in Thursday's trading after signing a binding contract to supply spodumene concentrate to South Korea's LG Energy Solution from its North American Lithium project in Quebec. Under the deal, Elevra will deliver 240K dry metric tons of spodumene concentrate over three years, with shipments expected to begin in 2026. In addition to that contracted base quantity, the company said it may supply up to 90K dmt of optional volume over the same three-year term, subject to agreement between both parties. The deal comes as LG Energy looks to bolster its North American supply chain and meet growing demand for energy storage systems in the region. CEO Lucas Dow said securing a leading global battery manufacturer as a customer further strengthens the commercial position of NAL and supports the company's strategy of building a diversified portfolio of high-quality customers as it increases production.

Brunswick Exploration Inc. has reported assays from a 202-metre interval at its Anatacau Main Project in Quebec's Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, returning 1.31% Li2O from 274.25 to 476.70 metres in drill hole AN-26-15. Within that intercept, an 85-metre high-grade core graded 1.73% Li2O, which the company called a substantial jump in grade observed to date at the Anais dyke. The same hole returned two other major pegmatitic intervals separate from the Anais dyke, 1.41% Li2O over 21.5 metres and 1.28% Li2O over 9.2 metres, pointing to a wider mineralized system at Anatacau. The Anais dyke remains open in all directions and has significantly expanded following this hole, which confirmed mineralization to a vertical depth of 300 metres. Four holes totaling approximately 1,700 metres have been drilled in the Anais sector, with all assay results pending except for AN-26-15, and drilling is ongoing.

The Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand, or EVAT, hosted a forum to present the findings of a feasibility study on the technical aspects and sustainable recycling of electric vehicle batteries, under the Thai-German Cooperation on Energy, Mobility and Climate, or TGC EMC. The study forecasts that the volume of all battery types examined that are retired from vehicles will rise from about 1.4 gigawatt-hours, or 9,349 tonnes, in 2030 to about 9.8 gigawatt-hours, or 73,855 tonnes, in 2038. Suroj Sangsnit, president of the Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand, said the growth of electric vehicles is a major opportunity for Thailand, but that the transition will only be sustainable if there is a battery management system covering the entire life cycle. Assistant Professor Dr. Uthen Supatti, head of the EVAT TGC EMC project, said Thailand must prepare systems to support both the assessment of battery condition for reuse as energy storage and the proper channelling of end-of-life batteries into recycling. The study indicates that setting up recycling plants alone may face limitations in terms of cost-effectiveness, while business models that integrate everything from sorting and manufacturing energy storage systems through to recycling have the potential to generate better returns. The study was conducted by a consulting team from the Thailand Development Research Institute, or TDRI, and the event also featured a joint discussion among representatives from the public and private sectors, including the Board of Investment, BMW Group Thailand, SK tes Thailand and PricewaterhouseCoopers FAS.

A Federal Court of Appeals upheld Sigma Lithium Corporation's environmental licenses, allowing the company to resume mining-industrial operations. The decision overturned a September 8 emergency ruling by a local federal judge in Teofilo Otoni that had suspended those licenses, with Senior Federal Judge Mônica Sifuentes granting Sigma Lithium an emergency motion for suspensive relief on the grounds that a prolonged stoppage would cause significant negative economic impact in the Vale do Jequitinhonha region. Sigma Lithium reaffirmed guidance to scale annualized production of lithium oxide concentrate to 330,000 tonnes by year-end 2027, saying it needs no additional capacity beyond its existing Mine 1 capacity in the South Pit operations and its Cleantech Industrial Plant. The court noted the company supports approximately 19,000 direct and indirect jobs and around 80,000 family members across 12 municipalities. The original suspension stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Ngolo, an association acting for local Quilombola communities, though the government official registry showed no Quilombola heritage descendant houses within a 12 km radius of the Grota do Cirilo Project when its current licenses were issued and operations began in 2023.