Canada-based Tantalex Lithium Resources Corporation has received and executed a term sheet from diversified miner Glencore International for a marketing offtake agreement involving lithium produced from Tantalex’s Manono lithium tailings project, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Glencore will pay a first tranche of $2-million to Tantalex upon execution of a marketing offtake agreement, followed by a second tranche of $3-million upon Glencore’s satisfactory review of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the project.
Tantalex plans to release a PEA on the project in the coming weeks.
A third tranche of financing, equating to a third of the total capital required for the Manono project, will also be provided.
Tantalex CEO Eric Allard says Glencore has well-established mining operations in the DRC and that its experience in the country will be crucial for Tantalex to develop its own activities in the country.
The capital expenditure financing commitment, in particular, is a significant milestone in derisking the Manono project and getting Tantalex closer to being the first lithium producer in the DRC, Allard adds.
The Manono project has a measured and indicated mineral resource of 5.4-million tonnes grading 0.72% lithium oxide.