Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) has confirmed construction has started on the 100%-owned Finniss Lithium Project, located near Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory.
Commencement of construction at Finniss follows the announcement of a Final Investment Decision (FID) on September 30, 2021 and award of the Finniss mining services contract to Lucas Total Contract Solutions and the process plant EPC contract to Primero Group last month.
Site construction and establishment works are now underway following heritage and vegetation management. Road access works, site establishment and construction of communications, fuel and water supply infrastructure has commenced.
Project early works on site at Grants have started in preparation for the commencement of mining activity later this year, followed by Dense Media Separation (DMS) process plant construction by Primero commencing in March 2022.
Commissioning of the DMS plant and the first production of lithium concentrate from Finniss are scheduled for Q4 2022. Core is committed to safely delivering one of the most capital efficient and cost competitive lithium projects in Australia.
The Finniss Project lies within 25 km of port, power station, gas, rail and one hour by sealed road to workforce accommodated in Darwin and, importantly, to Darwin Port – Australia’s nearest port to Asia.
The Project has gained all NT government and environmental approvals and is fully funded following the successful raising of $150 million from institutional investors and shareholders – including $34 placement to Ganfeng alongside a four year offtake agreement. Approximately 80% of Finniss’ initial output is covered under four-year offtake agreements with Ganfeng, one of the world’s largest lithium producers by production capacity, and Yahua, a key lithium supplier to Tesla.
The modest project capex and strong cash flows as outlined in the recent Project DFS enable a rapid payback from the sale of the first concentrate and confirms Finniss as Australia’s lowest capital intensity lithium project.
High-grade Lithium Reserves and Resources at Finniss combined with exceptional spodumene metallurgy, will enable Core to produce high quality, coarse concentrate using gravity only DMS processing.
The construction of a simple 1Mtpa DMS processing plant will enable Core to produce high-quality concentrate over its life. Core is also investing in plans to further extend and expand production from the Project.
“At a time when Australia is firmly focused on both the generation of renewable resources and future job prospects for the regions, Core is incredibly proud of this milestone we’ve reached in the Northern Territory today.
“It has been a long journey for Core and its various partners, stakeholders and shareholders, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been a part of the Core journey to date,” Managing Director, Stephen Biggins, said.
“This next phase of the Company will be transformational, and we are excited to see construction milestones met at Finniss over the coming 12 months, ahead of first production before the end of 2022. “We also look forward to engaging the local workforce in the NT, with more than 84 per cent of available jobs at Finniss already appointed to locals. “We’re excited to see the Northern Territory play an important role in meeting the ever-rising demand of renewable energy sources.”
For further information please visit: https://corelithium.com.au/
