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noRtHeRn teRRItoRY sPotLIGHt

Lithium lighting up the Territory

ore Lithium Ltd has taken major Construction is due to start before the “Compare that to working in the middle
Cstrides this year to ready itself for an end of this year and Biggins said sealing of the desert in the Pilbara or the Eastern
ambitious production start from its Finn- the FID was only a matter of time after ma- Goldfields and that’s a really attractive job.”
iss project in the Northern Territory by the jor offtake deals were awarded to Ganfeng Core’s timing to soon achieve produc-
end of next year. Lithium Co Ltd and Yahua Industrial Group tion couldn’t be more impeccable given the
With a share price that has rocketed over Co Ltd for the 15mt @ 1.3% lithium oxide major growing hunger for lithium’s role in
100% in the last six months to 57c/share, resource. EV uptake, but also as global power needs
Core managing director Stephen Biggins “We’ve now got two binding offtakes with beckon for renewable energies.
speaks plainly on what is at stake for the some of the best quality customers in the Ganfeng told its own customers in Octo-
company if this momentum continues to lithium battery supply chain,” he said. “Ya- ber that it would raise prices for lithium met-
stay the course. hua links us to Tesla and then there’s Gan- al products by $US15,500/t due to power
“It’s Core’s position as Australia’s next feng who are one of, if not the largest, lithi- supply shortages in China creating higher
lithium producer,” Biggins told Paydirt. um producers in the world. Locking those in production costs.
“With all of those long-lead hurdles knocked was a very important step. Biggins said such power shortages over-
down, the company is about to start build- “Inside that was completing a $150 mil- seas don’t affect how Core will approach
ing the project and tangibly be in production lion capital raising led by Bank of America business, but he acknowledged the poten-
in 12-months’ time from now. There’s no and Canaccord Genuity, with a significant tial supply deficit in lithium worldwide.
one else on the ASX that can get their prod- contribution from Ganfeng, which means “[Our momentum is] definitely about the
uct to market as a new producer as quickly that we’ve got a very strong international, market realising there is likely to be a poten-
as we can in Australia.” institutional following.” tial deficit in supply of lithium as EV sales
The Core board approved the final in- Both Ganfeng and Yahua are locked in to continue to grow and the world is going to
vestment decision for Finniss at the end buy 75,000 tpa of lithium over four years of be reliant on suppliers like Core to deliver in
of September, following an EPC contract production. the sector,” he said. “The upward pressure
awarded to Primero for the DMS plant and Construction of Finniss is set to cre- on lithium pricing will continue and there-
Lucas TCS being issued with the mining ate 250 jobs and although the country as fore the valuation of the company will too
services contract. a whole is feeling the burden of a bottle- through the life of the project. The market
Lucas will be responsible for open pit necked labour market, Biggins remains has an expectation that the pressures on
mining duties over a three-year period. The confident that the project’s positioning upward pricing are going to continue for a
Grants open pit will be the first mine de- close to Darwin will be plenty attractive for long period of time.”
veloped at the project and Lucas will carry new hires. As Biggins spoke from his home base in
out clearing and grubbing, topsoil manage- “There will be 250 jobs created through Adelaide, pieces were falling into place for
ment, installation of pads and roads, water construction, and then operationally and a potential new neighbour to move in next
control, drilling and blasting, and loading longer term, it’s in the order of 250 full time door to Finniss.
and hauling. jobs as well,” he said. “Even though, nation- Castillo Copper Ltd managing director
Meanwhile, the Primero contract is a con- ally the labour market is tight, the ability Simon Paull gets a slew of deals across his
tinuation of a relationship since the Finniss for the project to attract good people has desk every day that he has to fend off, but
DFS in 2019. The contractor will be respon- an advantage. We have the opportunity the opportunity for two lithium projects was
sible for project management, engineering to provide jobs for an active mine, living in one he couldn’t refuse.
and detailed design, equipment and mate- a capital city, adjacent to the coast...to be Synergy Prospectivity Pty Ltd ap-
rials procurement, quality assurance, and able to drive from your house in the suburbs proached Castillo to sell the Litchfield and
commissioning on the first receipt of ore. to your job each morning. Picasso projects in the NT and Western

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