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NORTHERN TERRITORY

Core closes in on Finniss finance

ore Lithium Ltd is intent on having its the key now is to add further agreements than what the current producers are
CFinniss lithium project shovel ready to cover the remainder of production.” working with.”
by the end of the year. China remains dominant in global lith- Debt burdens will also be lessened by
Core released a DFS on Finniss – just ium processing and exporting but Core the relative size of Finniss. At an esti-
south of Darwin, Northern Territory – in is fielding inquiries from prospective cus- mated capex of $73 million, the project
April, showing a project capable of pro- tomers in Japan and Korea as well as is less capital intensive than West Aus-
ducing up to 180,000 tpa of spodumene the world lithium leader. Biggins said the tralian peers such as Pilbara Minerals
concentrate. With NT EPA approval al- company welcomed the spread of inter- Ltd ($214 million for 314,000 tpa concen-
ready in hand, Core is now preparing its est. trate) and Altura Mining Ltd ($139 million
mine management plan as the final ma- “It is natural to look for a diversification for 220,000 tpa).
jor regulatory burden. of offtake and similarly those customers “This is the most capital efficient lithium
From there, the company will be clear are looking for a diversity of supply,” he project in Australia,” Biggins declared. “It
to complete offtake and financing discus- said. “China is still the centre of the spo- is a high-grade resource close to port
sions and prime the project for develop- dumene sector but its supply and export and close to Asian markets, giving it low-
ment. Core managing director Stephen is linked at different levels to Korea and er capital and operating costs, which is
Biggins told Paydirt finalising commer- China.” obviously a competitive advantage.”
cial terms and project finance were key As with other industrial minerals, Finniss’ location on the outskirts of
goals for the company. project financing is intrinsically linked Darwin means it is only 88km by road to
“We are aiming to achieve both these to offtake. Core has already agreed a port, giving it unmatched logistical ad-
key goals in the coming months,” he $US20 million prepayment facility with vantages.
said. “We already have a binding offtake Yahua which Biggins said would be “Like every other commodity, grade is
agreement for 75,000 tpa concentrate the “building block” of project finance king and this is a high-grade resource but
with Sinchuan Yahua Industrial Group, and has also brokered a 2.5% royalty our location is also a positive advantage,”
one of China’s largest lithium convertors, with Lithium Royalty Corporation worth Biggins said. “There is a local workforce,
$8.125 million. there is engineering support and there is
“Offtake finance is all the other logistics you get with being
on the table and those near a capital city.”
discussions should go Processing has also afforded Core ad-
a long way to financ- vantages.
ing the capex,” Biggins “The DFS proved we can use dense
said. media separation to produce the concen-
Core is looking to tra- trate which is very cost efficient,” Biggins
ditional debt markets for said. “It is the cheapest way to produce
the remainder of Finn- a high-quality spodumene concentrate
iss’ $73 million price and means we won’t have the flotation
tag however it is a task challenges others have had. Also, be-
which has been com- cause it is a high-grade, high-quality re-
plicated by lithium’s fall source, we are presenting our mill with
from grace in 2019. A a single ore type containing three min-
dampening of demand erals. There isn’t the mix of rock types
has seen lithium prices other plants are struggling with.”
fall and Australia’s nas- While financing and marketing pro-
cent lithium producers cesses have continued, Core has re-
come under severe fi- turned to exploration at Finniss to shore
nancial pressure but up the project’s economics. The DFS
Biggins believes Core was based exclusively on the Grants de-
will benefit from not be- posit but exploration is now focused on
ing an early-mover. elevating other targets with the Bynoe
“There are financ- pegmatite field.
ing headwinds in the “We are conscious that there is a lot of
short-term but we have value in increasing the mine life and the
already started engag- revenues coming out of the project and
ing banks,” he said. “As we have got great potential to do that at
debt markets become Finnis,” Biggins said. “There are literally
more familiar with lith- hundreds of pegmatites in the field and
ium and the commod- we are working our way through them to
ity itself is traded more identify the biggest and best.
widely, access to debt “I don’t think we will move away from
will be easier. We ex- the current plan of developing Grants
Core has returned to drilling in an effort to extend both resources pect that debt servicing first because we have the resource and
and mine life on its Finniss lithium project on Finniss will be lower the approvals in place but some of the

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