Bacanora, Ganfeng to collaborate on Sonora lithium project

1st July 2019

By: Marleny Arnoldi

Deputy Editor Online

     

Font size: - +

Aim-listed Bacanora Lithium has signed an investment and offtake agreement with Chinese producer Ganfeng Lithium.

Ganfeng will invest £14.4-million in Bacanora for a 29.9% stake.

At project level, Ganfeng invested £7.5-million for a 22.5% stake in Bacanora’s Sonora lithium project, in Mexico. Ganfeng has the option to increase its interest in the project to 50% within 24 months and will also appoint one director to the board of Sonora Lithium – the holding company for the project.

Further, under the terms of a long-term offtake agreement, Ganfeng will buy 50% of Stage 1 lithium production from the project and up to 75% of Stage 2 lithium production from the project at a market-based price per tonne.

Further, Ganfeng will provide a plant and process commissioning team to assist Bacanora in delivering first production in 2021.

“Ganfeng’s operational expertise and industrial credibility is a strong endorsement of the Sonora project’s potential to break the lithium industry’s current supply duopoly of hard-rock and brine, and combine the speed of production of the first with the low operational cost per tonne of the second. 

“Ganfeng’s commitment to the project will be demonstrated during the financing of both the equity and project funding stages of the capital expenditure required to complete Stage 1. So, in conjunction with our existing senior debt facility from RK Mine Finance, we are now much closer to completing the construction funding for Stage 1 and transforming Bacanora into a major supplier of battery grade lithium to fast growing industries, such as electric vehicles and energy storage,” explained Bacanora CEO Peter Secker.

Ganfeng deputy chairperson Wang Xiaoshen commented that the agreements advance Ganfeng’s growth strategy to become the world’s largest lithium producer. “Over the rest of the year, we will work closely with Bacanora’s management team to optimise project capital costs and evaluate potential economies of scale in the Sonora project. “

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION