French multinational mining and metals firm Eramet is searching for more than €1-billion in financing to fund an expansion of its manganese mine in Gabon, and to build a new lithium mine in Argentina.
The company planned to raise its manganese ore production capacity from 4.3-million tons a year to seven-million tons a year in 2023, which would establish the Gabon-based Comilog operation as a “long-term global leader” in the manganese ore market.
Eramet explained in a statement on Monday that increased capacity at Comilog would reduce cash costs by about 20% and up its market share from about 10% to 15%.
For the expansion, Eramet would require about €640-million over a five-year period.
In Argentina, the firm was studying a lithium development that would require €525-million over a three-year period, it said in a media announcement.
The Centenario deposit contained drainable resources of nearly ten-million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) and the company was planning to produce 24 000 t of LCE in the first phase.
Production could start by the end of 2021, Eramet said, but noted that it had not yet made final investment decisions.
The manganese ore expansion and the lithium development project have each achieved internal project validation and the search for financing was now “actively under way”.