PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Lithium developer Core Lithium has inked a two-year grid connection agreement with Power and Water Corporation (PWC), in the Northern Territory, connecting its Finniss project to the power grid and securing sufficient electricity for the project.
Core told shareholders that the grid connection opened opportunity for the company to access lower-cost, lower-emission renewable and gas generated power for the lithium project.
“Connection to the PWC network is a key infrastructure goal of the project. However, what is even more exciting is that, once connected, the project will be able to participate in the Northern Territory government’s retail contestability reforms that have been extended to large customers such as Core,” said MD Stephen Biggins.
“Having the ability to choose our electricity supplier and plug into green power is yet another demonstration of how the location of the Finniss lithium project can reduce Core’s and our customer’s greenhouse footprint.”
A previously completed prefeasibility study into the Finniss project estimated a pre-production capital requirement of A$53.5-million to develop a one-million-tonne-a-year operation producing 225 000 t/y of lithium concentrate.
“Core is excited to continue accomplishing crucial milestones for the project as we prepare to commence construction before the end of 2021, and deliver first production in 2022,” said Biggins.