PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Lithium developer Argosy Minerals has inked a sales agreement with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation for up to an initial 100 t of lithium carbonate over a 12-month period from the Rincon operation, in Argentina.
Argosy told shareholders this week that the strategic agreement would enable Argosy to use the Stage 1 industrial scale pilot plant for small-scale commercial lithium carbonate production and product sales to a major international conglomerate, following the processing and sample testwork carried out at the plant.
The agreement would also allow the company to continue to prioritise its efforts to secure a strategic partner for the capital required to start the commercial development of the Rincon project.
Operations to supply the sales agreement are expected to start in mid-2019, following the receipt of chemical reagents and preparations to scale-up the operational workforce at the pilot plant site.
“We are delighted to secure this preliminary product offtake arrangement with Mitsubishi, signifying both companies’ beneficial interest to formalize our well-established relationship,” said Argosy MD Jerko Zuvela.
The sales price for each cargo will be determined using a set formula agreed upon between the two companies, referencing an industry standard benchmark product price.