TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Toronto-based Lithium One has formed a joint venture (JV) with Korea Resource Corporation (Kores), giving the Korean-government-owned firm an option to earn 30% of the Sal de Vida lithium brine project in Argentina.

After the option is exercised, Kores has also agreed to provide a completion guarantee on the project, which will secure the debt portion of Lithium One's share of development costs for the project.

Kores and Lithium One plan to enter into a marketing agreement, under which Kores could market production from the mine in China, Japan and Korea on behalf of the JV, and Lithium One could market potash production worldwide.

Finally, the two parties plan to negotiate an off-take agreement that would give Kores the right to buy up to 50% of the mine's production, at market prices.

The Korean company can earn its 30% in Sal de Vida by funding and delivering a definitive feasibility study and funding other predevelopment exploration and prefeasibility work totalling up to $15-million, Lithium One said.

"This is a landmark agreement for Lithium One that confirms Sal de Vida as a world-leading lithium and potash brine project,” Lithium One chairperson Martin Rowley said.

The smaller company has been working to find a major JV partner that could contribute financial, technical and commercial muscle and expertise to help develop the project, he said.

“With our Korean partners, our team now has all the resources necessary to ensure delivery of an outstanding new operation that can supply a low-cost product to the global battery market in a timeframe to meet the rapidly growing demand for lithium battery packs for electric and hybrid vehicles."

Lithium One also has a lithium project in Quebec, Canada.

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