PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed lithium boron developer ioneer on Wednesday announced that offtake partner EcoPro Innovation had exercised an additional 5 000 t/y of lithium carbonate offtake.
EcoPro’s offtake would now increase from 2 000 t/y to 7 000 t/y, with pioneer to supply the lithium carbonate from its Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project, in Nevada.
The offtake agreement remains conditional on ioneer taking a final investment decision on the Rhyolite Ridge project.
ioneer on Wednesday said that the increased total offtake represents approximately 34% of the company’s yearly lithium carbonate production from Rhyolite Ridge in the first three years of operation.
EcoPro Innovation expects to convert ioneer’s lithium carbonate into high purity lithium hydroxide at its recently complete integrated cathode plant in Korea.
“We are delighted that EcoPro Innovation has increased their lithium carbonate offtake commitment from Rhyolite Ridge. As a major cathode supplier for global battery manufacturers EcoPro Group is an ideal partner for ioneer,” ioneer MD Bernard Rowe said.
“We are encouraged to support the US car manufacturing industry and look forward to continuing to work with EcoPro Group in these endeavours.”
ioneer is expected to produce a yearly average of approximately 20 600 t of lithium carbonate, or approximately 22 000 t of lithium hydroxide, along with approximately 174 400 t of boric acid a year over the 26-year mine life. The dual production of lithium and boric acid allows ioneer to not only produce lithium in the US, but to do so at the very bottom of the global cost curve.
ioneer anticipates commencing production in late 2024.