Pilbara MD Ken Brinsden
Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – South Korean steelmaker Posco has acquired a 4.57% stake in ASX-listed Pilbara Minerals, contributing some A$80-million to the company’s balance sheet.
The deal, initially announced in February, would establish a long-term strategic offtake and joint venture (JV) relationship between the two companies, which would allow Pilbara Minerals to accelerate the Stage 2 development of its Pilgangoora lithium project, in Western Australia, to five-million tonnes a year.
The agreement included a binding life-of-mine offtake agreement, with Posco to initially take 80 000 t/y of chemical grade spodumene concentrate from the Stage 2 development, increasing to 240 000 t/y on Pilbara’s JV participation in a 30 000 t/y lithium carbonate/lithium hydroxide conversion plant in South Korea.
“We welcome Posco as a strategic investor in Pilbara Minerals and look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship over many decades to come,” said Pilbara MD and CEO Ken Brinsden on Tuesday.
“Like many of the more important players in the lithium raw materials industry, Posco has recognised the important part that hard rock spodumene has to play in feedstock to the battery materials industry for its continuous quality, stability of supply, low jurisdictional risk and ultimately low-cost production, especially to battery grade hydroxide products.”
The Stage 1 Pilgangoora project is on track to deliver its first concentrate in June of this year.
Meanwhile, work on the completion of a feasibility study to support the joint development of the downstream chemical facility in South Korea is progressing, along with an agreement of JV terms based on key commercial principals already agreed to between the two companies.