PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed AVZ Minerals struck its first lithium offtake agreement with a subsidiary of China’s largest lithium compounds producer, Gangfeng Lithium, just before Christmas last year.
The company inked an offtake agreement with GFL International for the sale of up to 160 000 t/y of spodumene concentrate over an initial five-year period from its Manono lithium and tin project, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with an option for a further five-year extension.
“We are very pleased to finalise these discussions with GFL and to sign our first lithium offtake agreement,” AVZ MD Nigel Ferguson said in December.
“The fact that we have signed our first offtake agreement with China’s largest lithium compound producer just reinforces our belief that the Manono project is world-class.”
He said that over the coming months, the company would work to finalise other offtake agreements, which are currently under negotiation, not only for the lithium product, but also for the tin and tantalum materials.
A 2020 definitive feasibility study into the project estimated that it would produce around 700 000 t/y of high grade lithium and 45 475 t/y of primary lithium sulphate over a 20-year mine life.
The project required a capital investment of $545.5-million, which included a $49.59-million contingency.