Orocobre to decide on $190m expansion in mid-2017
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Dual-listed Orocobre is aiming to double lithium carbonate production from its Olaroz project, in Argentina, to 35 000 t/y by late 2018 or early 2019, and plans to announce a final investment decision in mid-2017.
The company’s announcement on Thursday followed a positive scoping study on the expansion of the Olaroz project, which considered a number of different expansion options focused on the production of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, using either conventional or nonconventional technologies, or a combination of technologies with different rates of production.
The Stage 2 expansion of the Olaroz facility would require a capital spend of some $190-million, and would likely be financed through a combination of project finance and operating cash flow from the Stage 1 operation, ASX- and TSX-listed Orocobre reported on Thursday.
The process to obtain the necessary permits and approvals for the Stage 2 expansion has started, and will run concurrently with engineering and design work.
Meanwhile, Orocobre reported that it was also investigating the feasibility of constructing a 10 000 t/y battery grade lithium hydroxide plant, with the preferred location being in Japan. This investment would require $30-million, in addition to government incentives. The company said financing for this development would likely include debt and offtake financing.
The company believes market fundamentals for carbonate products are strong. MD and CEO Richard Seville previously said that the timing and quantity of new supply were significantly overestimated, which represented an opportunity for Orocobre to expand its production capacity.
Orocobre declared commercial production at Olaroz in May. The facility has the capacity to produce 17 500 t/y and Orocobre has set a production target of 15 000 t/y for the 2017 financial year, which ends in June.
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