SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Nova Mining Corp. (OTCBB: NVMN): Last Friday, the government of the world’s largest producer of lithium announced that three companies have submitted bids to develop lithium reserves in the country’s northern region. The government of Chile disclosed that one of the bidders was Posco Consortium, made up of South Korean firms Posco and Daewoo International Corporation, Japan’s Mitsui and Santiago-based Li3 Energy. The other two were the Chilean firms Sociedad Legal Minera NX UNO de Peine, controlled by Grupo Errazuriz; and Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile.

“It’s no secret that the last Apple product launch was a tremendous boon for lithium mining and supply companies,” stated Nova Mining President James Dilger. “The iPhone 5 orders sold out in minutes on Friday and analysts are predicting that retailers will see lines as long as the record queues seen for the iPhone’s original debut in 2007. I am glad to say that we have made moves to place Nova Mining Corp in the best possible position to benefit.”

Chile is a halfway around the world from Asia, where the vast majority of lithium ion batteries are manufactured. Even Apple’s current battery supplier is located in South Korea. Nova Mining Corp management has been hard at work to take advantage of this proximity cost opportunity by moving to secure lithium supplies in Mongolia, which is also located on the Asian Continent. Mongolia is connected by rail to South Korea and Chinese battery manufacturing centers as well as being very near to Japan. Nova Mining Corp has also just received written notice that their business associate Mongolian National Mining Consultants Limited (MNMCL) is in negotiations to add several new mining sites in Kazakhstan – which is next door to Mongolia. The Company has already received third-party estimates of the commercially recoverable lithium deposits owned by MNMCL that are under contract by Nova Mining Corp to be in excess of $12 Billion USD.

Nova Mining Corp. (NVMN) seeks out the most potentially lucrative mining projects, supplies and sales of strategic high-demand minerals, such as lithium, as part of its aggressive economic business model. Lithium is in short supply because it is needed for making long life batteries, like those used in Apple’s popular iPhones and iPads, Google’s new Nexus 7 tablet and Tesla Motor’s new performance electric cars.
PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1nyJ4)

SHENZHEN, China , Aug. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ – China BAK Battery, Inc. (“China BAK”, the “Company”, or “we”) (Nasdaq: CBAK), a leading global manufacturer of lithium-based battery cells, today announced that the Company has received a sample order to supply its lithium-ion batteries to FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. (“FAW-Volkswagen”), a major passenger sedan joint-venture of FAW Group Corporation and Volkswagen AG .

China BAK plans to deliver three lithium-ion battery units to FAW-Volkswagen by the end of September 2012. FAW-Volkswagen will utilize the Company’s lithium-ion battery units to power its electric cars and to test the performance and reliability of the battery units.

“FAW-Volkswagen is a leading passenger car manufacturer in China and we look forward to delivering our lithium-ion battery units to power its new electric car. Our cooperation with FAW-Volkswagen demonstrates our technological strength and market recognition. Upon successful testing, we expect to expand the scope of our cooperation and hope to receive additional orders,” commented Mr. Xiangqian Li, CEO of China BAK.
PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1lw0Z)

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Energizer Holdings, Inc. announced today that it has settled a patent infringement suit against the Wahl Clipper Corporation.  Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on April 11, 2012, the suit charged that primary lithium batteries supplied by Great Power Battery (H.K.) Co., Ltd. and packaged in various Wahl products infringed five different Energizer patents.  As part of the settlement, Wahl will cease all future infringing activities.  In addition, Energizer and Wahl will now partner to recommend and include Energizer primary lithium batteries in future product offerings by Wahl.

Energizer has long been a leader in battery innovations, as evidenced by its invention of the AA lithium battery over twenty years ago and its introduction of the world’s first AAA lithium battery in 2004.  Recently, Energizer retooled the materials and construction of its AA Ultimate Lithium batteries to further improve upon its industry-leading capabilities, and Energizer lithium batteries are recommended for use in a wide variety of high-tech devices, including those manufactured by Nikon, Garmin, Magellan, SPOT, Bushnell, RCA and Wahl.
PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1lnnP)

Lithium ion batteries were first proposed in the 1970′s and commercially developed in the 1990′s. Since then, the market for lithium ion batteries has grown to $11 billion (2010) and is expected to reach $43 billion by 2020.

Up to now, the lithium ion battery market has been predominantly consumer (90% as of today) but new, diversified applications including xEV (Electric Vehicles/Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles/Hybrid Electric Vehicles) are expected to provide the new growth engines.

As a result, the lithium ion market landscape will undergo a profound change, bringing huge increases in demand, profits in the billions of US dollars and competitive upheaval.

This report provides a detailed look at the global lithium ion battery market in all its aspects, including:

• The total addressable market and growth rates for xEV applications between 2010 and 2020.
• Electric Vehicles/Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles/Hybrid Electric Vehicles demand trends.
• Major opportunities.
• Battery technology trends.
• Battery materials technology trends.
• Battery technology, political and standards risks.
• Challenges ahead.
• Price trends.
• Cost trends.
• The competitive landscape.
• Japanese, Korean and Chinese rivalry.
• Producer market shares.
• Partnerships and joint ventures.