PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Blackstone Minerals has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Korean battery cathode manufacturer Ecopro BM Co to partner on a downstream processing facility for Blackstone’s Ta Khoa nickel project, in Vietnam.
The two companies will work on an alliance to form a joint venture (JV) with the intention of developing a suitable nickel, cobalt or other battery mineral product for lithium-ion battery manufacturing, using ore from Ta Khoa.
“We are pleased to announce an MoU with Korea’s largest cathode manufacturer. Our Ta Khoa nickel project has significant potential to deliver the critical raw materials required for Ecopro’s cathode manufacturing process and meet the ever-increasing demand for high-nickel content cathodes driven by the imminent electric vehicle revolution,” said Blackstone MD Scott Williamson.
Blackstone has started a scoping study on the downstream processing facility, which will provide detail for the potential JV partners to formalize a binding agreement.
The company on Monday also said that a maiden resource on the disseminated sulfide at Ban Phuc was due over the coming months, with the company investigating a potential restart of the existing concentrator. Metallurgical testing on the Ban Phuc sulfide orebody will also be undertaken with the aim of developing a flow sheet for a product suitable for the lithium-ion battery industry.