PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A scoping study into a lithium iron phosphate cathode active material (LFP CAM) project in Darwin has proven up for ASX-listed Avenira.

The scoping study evaluated the economics of two initial scales for the LFP plant, at 10 000 t/y LFP CAP and 30 000 t/y LFP CAM, with both scenarios demonstrating solid financial robustness.

At a base-case price of $18 533/t of lithium hydroxide and $17 305/t lithium cobalt oxide, the 10 000 t/y operation was expected to have a net present value (NPV) of A$138-million post-tax and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 22%, while the enlarged operation would have an NPV of A$413-million and an IRR of 22.4%.

Under the base case, the smaller operation would generate total revenues of A$3.9-billion while the 30 000 t/y operation would generate A$11.3-billion in revenues and A$2-billion in total free cash flows, compared with the A$682-million in free cash flows from the smaller operation.

“The LFP scoping study demonstrates the technical and economic viability of the company's modular train design to progressively scale production to meet the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and stationary storage. This approach allows the company to finance the LFP project incrementally, using cashflows from our proposed initial 10 000 t/y plant for expansion to 30 000 t/y,” said Avenira executive chairperson Brett Clark.

“The LFP plant will be the third of its kind and the fourth in total. The design of the LFP plant owned and operated by our proposed technology partner, Aleees in Taiwan, is currently being applied in Europe by FRYER and in the USA by ICL. Being the fourth plant significantly reduces our technical and execution risk. Our plant will target sales of LFP in the Asia-Pacific markets to EV and stationary storage manufacturers.

“We believe the LFP project is the key to unlocking the Northern Territory as the next leading lithium battery metals supply chain hub. Our 30 000 t/y LFP plant will create over 120 manufacturing jobs during operation, and will promote Australia’s advanced manufacturing sector. We are excited about the prospect of working alongside the Northern Territory government on this significant economic and strategic opportunity,” said Clark.