Recycling lithium material from used electric vehicle batteries promises to be even more profitable than mining the increasingly valuable metal, according to an Australian producer building a test facility in Canada. Perth-based Neometals Ltd. is working to recover raw materials including lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper from expired batteries at a facility in Montreal, aiming to add production from recycling to its existing output from mining. “What we are hoping to prove in the pilot plant is that it does provide a better net margin,” Chief Operating Officer Mike Tamlin said in a phone interview. “The numbers look far and away better than if you are doing a primary extraction from an ore.â€.