PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Battery grade lithium hydroxide has been produced from a spodumene mineral concentrate sample from the Finniss lithium project, in the Northern Territory.
ASX-listed Core Lithium on Tuesday told shareholders that the scoping level test work had demonstrated that the conventional direct flowsheet could be applied to the processing of the mineral concentrates from Finniss to produce battery grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate.
The company is now considering downstream value potential for the Finniss project, given its synergies with the adjacent Middle-Arm industrial infrastructure near Darwin, as well as the alignment with Australia’s Modern Manufacturing Strategy and the rapid expansion of global battery lithium supply chains to meet increasing demand.
A final investment decision on the Finniss project is due in the third quarter of this year, and Core is currently completing concentrate definitive feasibility studies and finalising offtake negotiations.
A previously completed prefeasibility study into the Finniss project estimated a pre-production capital requirement of A$53.5-million to develop a one-million-tonne-a-year operation producing 225 000 t/y of lithium concentrate.