Name of the Project
Keliber lithium hydroxide project.

Location
Central Ostrobothnia, Finland.

Project Owner/s
Keliber Oy. Sibanye-Stillwater owns a 85% stake in Keliber.

Project Description
The project will include the Kokkola refinery at the Kokkola industrial park.

The project comprises four initial opencast and three underground, highly mechanised mining operations – Syväjärvi and Rapasaari, with Emmes, Outovesi, and Länttä situated across the municipalities of Kaustinen, Kokkola and Kronoby respectively.

The mining operations will supply ore to the Päiväneva concentrator, which will be situated close to the Rapasaari mine. Concentrate produced at the Päiväneva concentrator is planned to be trucked about 66 km to the Kokkola refinery, which is forecast to produce about 15 000 t/y of battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate.

Openpit and underground ore reserves of 12.7-million tonnes (0.92% lithium oxide), and mineral resources of 17-million tonnes (1.02% lithium oxide) support an estimated life-of-mine of 16 years at a forecast average milling rate of about 800 000 t/y.

Potential Job Creation
The project is expected to employ about 150 people.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The updated DFS has estimated a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of €510-million, compared with the €295-million estimated in the 2018 DFS.

The pretax internal rate of return has also increased from 24% in the 2018 DFS to 28% in the 2019 updated DFS.

The payback period for the project has decreased from 5.5 years to 3.7 years.

Capital Expenditure
Sibanye-Stillwater approved capital expenditure of €588-million for the project in November 2022, beginning with the construction of the Kokkola lithium hydroxide refinery.

Planned Start/End Date
Keliber aims to start production at the chemical plant in 2024.

Latest Developments
A capital raise of about €104-million by Keliber is expected to close at the end of January 2023, which will complete the equity requirements for project capital.

Sibanye-Stillwater plans to underwrite the capital raise; its contribution depends on the extent to which the Finnish Minerals Group participates in the capital raise.

The balance of the project capital is expected to comprise conventional debt, and facilities are under discussion with third-party lenders to raise a minimum of €250-million of debt to fully fund construction of the project.

Construction of the Päiväneva concentrator and the initial two openpit mines –  Syväjärvi, followed by the flagship Rapasaari mine – will start once all the environmental permits are received.

The Syväjärvi mine is fully permitted, while the environmental permits at the Rapasaari mine and the Päiväneva concentrator are outstanding.

Should the Kokkola refinery be completed ahead of the permitting of the mines and concentrator, the Kokkola refinery will be able to profitably beneficiate third-party spodumene until it can feed its own mines’ supply.

Keliber has engaged with third parties to supply spodumene concentrate to the Kokkola refinery, should the permitting of the Rapasaari mine and the Päiväneva concentrator be delayed. Extensive work and analysis have been completed to ensure the feasibility of the Kokkola refinery as a standalone operation.

Construction of the Kokkola refinery, which is the longest-lead time component of the Keliber project, will ensure optimal scheduling of the other key project components, consequently also ensuring the timeous ramp-up of the project to deliver into and capitalise on forecast looming lithium deficits and elevated lithium prices.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Keliber Oy tel +358 10 567 0600 or email info@keliber.fi.