JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Battery Minerals has reached another major milestone in its strategy to become a global graphite supplier to the lithium battery industry, signing a binding sales agreement with a leading US-based graphite processor.

The binding offtake agreement covers up to 11 000 t/y of graphite concentrate, equal to more than 20% of the initial forecast yearly output from Battery Minerals’ Montepuez project, in Mozambique.

The offtake agreement, is for a three-year term starting in 2019, with Urbix Resources, a privately-owned company based in Arizona in the US. Urbix has extensive expertise in purification, downstream processing and marketing of graphite.

In addition to the offtake agreement, Battery Minerals has also signed a binding test-work term sheet and memorandum of understanding (MoU) covering toll treatment and technology commercialisation with Urbix.

Battery Minerals chairperson David Flanagan said the binding offtake agreement marked another key milestone along the path to project development and cashflow.

“This deal is pivotal for three reasons: it reflects the quality of the Montepuez product, it highlights the outstanding future of the project and it underpins the sale of a significant share of our forecast production,” Flanagan said.

“With our $20-million capital raising recently completed, engineering studies progressing rapidly and now binding sales agreements in place, we are firmly on track to start construction in the next quarter and be commissioning in December 2018.

“We will also be working with Urbix to develop and market the products to sell into the US battery market. Ongoing market development will include optimising development of a spherical graphite for use as anode material in lithium-ion batteries as part of an international marketing strategy.”