PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Lithium miner Galaxy Resources has reported record production and sales during September for its Jiangsu lithium carbonate plant, in China.
The Jiangsu plant produced 795 t of lithium carbonate in the month, with production for the quarter reaching 2 040 t, a 15% increase on the previous quarter.
Sales volumes for the month of September also reached record highs of 632 t, with sales impacted by higher demand on the back of Chinese festivals and holidays, as most businesses and manufacturing in the region were shut.
Total sales volume for the three months to September reached 1 816 t, a 9% quarter-on-quarter increase.
Interim MD Anthony Tse said that the production and sales records achieved during September were encouraging, and indicated that strategies being implemented at Jiangsu to improve operating efficiencies were proving successful.
“The record production and sales volumes for September and for the September quarter are a strong indication that the ramp-up at Jiangsu to achieve a positive operational cash flow and steady-state design production capacity is on track and progressing well,” Tse said.
He added that the company was on track to achieve its aim of a cash-flow breakeven at Jiangsu during this year, adding that the robust demand for the plant’s product and the improved production would further underpin Galaxy’s ability to achieve this aim.
The record September production rate represented production of around 9 600 t/y, which was close to 60% of the plant’s nameplate capacity of 17 000 t/y. At full production, the Jiangsu plant had the potential to generate revenues of some $100-million a year.