Asian Tech Press (Sep 29) -- Global leading battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) continues to lay out for lithium resources, as a company in which it has stakes will invest $240 million in Australian mineral exploration company AVZ Minerals Ltd's lithium project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
AVZ Minerals Ltd (AVZ:ASE) announced on Monday that it has reached a transaction implementation agreement with Chinese company Suzhou CATH Energy Technologies (CATH).
Under the agreement, AVZ Minerals will use the $240 million investment from CATH to develop the Manono Lithium and Tin Project (Manono Project), a lithium project in the DRC, and CATH will receive a 24% equity interest for the developmen of the project.
The Australian company revealed that future funding from the CATL-backed company will exceed $400 million after development costs are verified. In addition, the two companies may continue to work together to assess the feasibility of developing a lithium hydroxide facility.
The person in charge of CATL responded to this on Tuesday, saying that CATH is a joint-stock company of the company and not its subsidiary.
It is reported that Manono is one of the largest and highest grade undeveloped hard-rock lithium project in the world, with proven resources of up to 269 million tons and a projected lithium resource reserve of 400 million tons at 1.65% lithium (spodumene).
Previously, the project was mainly owned by AVZ Minerals and the DRC state-owned company Cominière, with the former taking a 75% stake and the latter 25%. But under the new agreement with the Chinese company, AVZ Minerals will transfer 24% of its shares to the Chinese company, leaving itself with a 51% stake.
The Manono Project is expected to be ready for production in 2023. According to AVZ Minerals' plan for the next three years at the lithium project, the company will ship the first lithium concentrate in the first quarter of 2023 and the first lithium sulfate in the third quarter.
Public information shows that recently, CATH has undergone a business change, adding CATL as a shareholder, while the company's registered capital increased from 20 million yuan ($3.09 million) to 1.6 billion yuan ($247.58 million), an increase of 7900%.
Suzhou CATH Energy Technologies was established in August 2021, specializing in the sale of metal ores and technology development, etc. Shareholder information shows that the company is held by Suzhou Tianhua Energy & Industry Development Co., Ltd. with 75% and CATL with 25%.
(US$1 = 6.4627 yuan)
