PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Mineral Resources (MinRes) was looking for a joint venture partner for its Wodgina lithium project, in Western Australia.

The company said on Tuesday that it has started a process to sell up to 49% in the asset as part of an offtake and partnering process.

“This minority sale process is in line with MinRes’ strategy of investing in early-stage, adding significant value and then seeking equity partners to share in the value from a full development plan,” said MD Chris Ellison.

“Wodgina is the world’s largest hard rock spodumene deposit and located close to the world’s biggest bulk commodities port, Port Hedland. With a resource capable of underpinning a 30-year lithium operation, Wodgina is ideally positioned to become a globally significant producer of high-grade lithium products.”

Ellison told shareholders that the decision to embark on a process to sell a minority interest in the project would allow MinRes to focus on its core strategy of being a world-leading mining services provider at the same time as having like-minded strategic partners invest to fully unlock Wodgina’s lithium potential.

MinRes was intending to introduce only a small number of strategic partners to acquire up to a 49% stake in the project, with the ASX-listed firm to provide complete pit-to-port mining services to the joint venture under a life-of-mine mining services agreement.

MinRes said that the company could also consider offering its share of offtake from the project to partners as part of the transaction.

While the company is targeting the announcement of a transaction in the second half of 2018, Ellison said that the company would only introduce project partners if acceptable terms could be secured, as the company had the capability to finance and implement its downstream processing strategy at Wodgina on its own.

MinRes is currently mining direct shipping ore (DSO) at the Wodgina while progressing its openpit pre-strip and constructing its spodumene concentrate plant with a capacity to produce 750 000 t/y of 6% spodumene concentrate.

Furthermore, the company is also finalising a prefeasibility study into the potential construction of a 50 000 t/y to 100 000 t/y lithium carbonate or hydroxide plant at Wodgina, in order to integrate upstream and downstream operations, and capture additional value from the lithium supply chain.

The potential carbonate or hydroxide plant will use between 350 000 t/y and 700 000 t/y of spodumene concentrate produced at Wodgina.