Canada-focused Patriot Battery Metals CEO Ken Brinsden has cautioned that current lithium demand forecasts are underestimating the future needs of the energy transition, likening the forecasting failures to earlier miscalculations in the solar sector.

“We are definitely being too cautious on demand,” Brinsden told delegates at the Diggers and Dealers conference in Kalgoorlie, Australia.

“Nobody got solar application rates anywhere near right. Year-on-year, everybody was upgrading their outlook, and they still did not get it right. This is exactly what is happening in the battery world.”

According to Brinsden, most analysts are projecting about 20% growth in lithium demand in 2025, yet real-world data is already running well ahead of those estimates. Electric vehicle (EV) sales rose 28% in the June quarter, and stationary energy storage surged by more than 50%.

“There is a reasonable chance that in stationary energy storage, we are actually still accelerating. This market is going to be much bigger than the EV market,” he said, adding that batteries would play a crucial role in stabilising global energy networks.

A ‘GREENBUSH-CLASS’ DISCOVERY IN QUEBEC
Patriot is developing Corvette, part of the Shaakichiuwaanaan project in north-central Quebec – a remote, yet infrastructure-rich region that hosts the company’s CV5 deposit. Brinsden described the project as one of the most important hard rock lithium developments in the world, with a resource size and grade rivalling that of Australia’s Greenbushes, the largest hard rock lithium mine globally.

“There’s 25-million tonnes of contiguous resource inside our CV5 resource at 2% lithia as mined – that is after mining dilution,” Brinsden said. “Today, at Greenbushes, they mine something like 1.8% lithia. It really is that good in the lithium world.”

The lithium-only feasibility study for CV5 is due in the current quarter, with additional value upside to come from co-products caesium and tantalum in later engineering phases.

Brinsden described the caesium discovery at the CV13 deposit, west of the main CV5 area, as “game changing”. The discovery includes two key zones – Rival and Vega – with extremely high-grade pollucite mineralisation.

“In the Rival zone, you have got about 160 000 t of just over 10% caesium oxide. That is direct shipping pollucite. It is already bigger than the next biggest caesium resource globally,” he said.

Caesium is currently a tightly controlled market, with nearly 100% of supply, and 80% to 90% of chemical processing, dominated by China. Brinsden said this concentration risk had stifled new applications, especially in next-generation solar technologies that required caesium-based perovskite crystal structures.

“There is an opportunity to completely change the game,” he said. “You could potentially grow the market 10 to 20 times.”

The company plans to engage downstream industry players to unlock value from this caesium opportunity, with further updates to follow.

JURISDICTIONAL ADVANTAGE
Brinsden praised Quebec as a premier mining jurisdiction, citing its infrastructure, clean hydro power and model First Nations engagement – describing it as “French-speaking Western Australia”.

“In Australia, we should be paying attention to what is happening in the James Bay region with respect to First Nations engagement. It is a giant leap forward,” he said.

Patriot’s project is located about 40 km from a major hydroelectric facility and is supported by roads, an airstrip and a purpose-built exploration camp.

While drilling activity has slowed from previous peaks, Brinsden said there was strong potential for further discoveries across the Corvette trend. The current focus remained on completing the CV5 feasibility study and advancing the project toward development.

“We have the right geology and now we are incredibly focused on the discipline in delivering the project,” he said. “We are going to keep pushing forward with CV5, but with more blue sky to be opened up with the other critical minerals that are there in abundance – caesium and tantalum.”