A third 10,000-tonne parcel of lithium spodumene concentrate from Core Lithium’s Finniss lithium project is now ready to be shipped to Ganfeng Lithium, China’s largest lithium producer.
The shipment to Ganfeng follows two concentrate shipments made in April and July under separate agreements with Sichuan Yahua, another Chinese-based company.
The third parcel has been successfully trucked to Darwin Port, near Core’s wholly owned Finniss project.
In Core Lithium’s June quarter report, it said that a range of trials and improvement projects to increase lithia recoveries and plant utilisation had been developed with some commencing during the quarter.
“To help address the lower recoveries in the near-term, the potential for lithium fines to become a saleable by-product has been identified. This material is generated during ore crushing and the processing of ore by the DMS (dense medium separation) plant,” the report said.
“An initial parcel of the fines material is to be transported to the Port of Darwin for anticipated sale in Q1 FY24 (the first quarter of the 2024 financial year).”
Core Lithium has now completed the negotiations for the sale of an initial parcel of fines from Finniss.
Over 13,000 tonnes (t) of the 15,000t parcel, with a grade averaging 1.2 per cent of lithium oxide, has been trucked to Darwin Port awaiting to be exported in early September.
The balance of the fines shipment is expected to be transported to the Darwin Port within the next few days.
“Delivering concentrate into long-term offtake agreements is a significant milestone for Core as we ramp up to commercial operations at the Finniss lithium operation. The product presents well, with moisture and grade within contractual specifications,” Core Lithium chief executive officer Gareth Manderson said.
“It is also very pleasing to see the first fines cargo delivered to the Darwin Port ready for shipment into an additional agreement to a valued customer.”