Lithium has many commercial uses, such as in batteries. Lithium was nicknamed “white oil” in April 2016 because of its white color and because of its importance to energy (like oil).
 
“A Blue Ocean Opportunity with the White Oil of Lithium” was published by Baystreet on April 21, 2016.
 
   
Wikipedia: Lithium
Lithium (from Greek: λίθος lithos, “stone”) is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silver-white metal belonging to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable. For this reason, it is typically stored in mineral oil. When cut open, it exhibits a metallic luster, but contact with moist air corrodes the surface quickly to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. Because of its high reactivity, lithium never occurs freely in nature, and instead, appears only in compounds, which are usually ionic. Lithium occurs in a number of pegmatitic minerals, but due to its solubility as an ion, is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines and clays. On a commercial scale, lithium is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.
   
Peak Oil
April 20, 2016
Lithium: An increasingly precious metal
While the Australian mining boom is now receding in the rear view mirror, one mining sector that is still attracting enthusiastic investment is the lithium mining industry.
 
Western Australia currently produces about 30% of the world’s lithium supplies, and 20 new companies are scrambling about the state trying to take advantage of the boom in “white oil”. WA Business News has an article on the evolving market for the metal, looking at producers in Australia and South America – A Window opens for lithium hopefuls.
   
Baystreet
Thursday, April 21, 2016
A Blue Ocean Opportunity with the White Oil of Lithium
A rising tide lifts all boats is a fair aphorism for what electric car maker Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has done for companies in the lithium space lately. Lithium prices soared about 200 percent late in 2015 as speculation started rising about an impending supply/demand imbalance, in part due to Tesla’s manufacturing forecast. Lithium has been coined “white oil” and other such terms as a result and lithium miners of all sizes have mostly appreciated in value accordingly. Discussing just how much lithium will be needed for their batteries, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said last year that at current production levels his company would need to absorb the entire world’s lithium ion production if his company were to reach its goal to produce 500,000 cars annually.
 
Twitter
Nadim Maluf
‏@nadimmaluf
@TheTeslaChannel Lithium is not the new white oil as your post of the @OilandEnergy article suggests. Some facts at
8:43 AM - 22 Apr 2016
 
iBankCoin
LITHIUM VS. COPPER – BASIS TRADE
firehorsecaper Sat Apr 23, 2016 11:52pm EST
Lithium vs. Copper – I like Dr. Copper
 
Lithium is certainly the trade du jour, eclipsed only by precious metals year-to-date in terms of return. I think the lovers of “white oil”, as lithium is affectionately know, are well over their skis. A naked short is likely ill advised given the robust current fundamentals for lithium, but as a basis trade versus long copper, I like the current set up. Hear me out.
 
Lithium:
 
Lithium is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. Lithium is a soft metal, used increasingly in lithium-ion or lithium-polymer batteries, with other varied uses: ...