Altura signs lithium offtake agreement with Ganfeng Ltd

A western Australian lithium producer has entered into a binding offtake agreement with one of the leading global battery materials producers in China.

Altura Mining announced in a statement this week that it had signed an offtake agreement with GFL International Co, a wholly owned subsidiary of leading global lithium producer in Ganfeng Lithium.

Under the agreement, Altura will supply a minimum of 70,000 dry metric tonnes per year until December 2021, with an option to extend the agreement by a further five years.

Ganfeng is the world’s third largest and China’s largest lithium compounds producer and the world’s largest lithium metals producer in terms of production capacity.

Altura’ key asset is its 100% owned world-class Altura Lithium project, located in Pilangoora in Western Australia. The project has a production capacity of 220,000tpa of spodumene concentrate and the company is looking to expand the project to produce around 440,000tpa.

The company has also significantly changed its existing offtake agreement with Shaanxi J&R Optimum Energy (JRO). Through the update, JRO will reduce its current commitment from a minimum of 100,000 tpa to a minimum of 50,000 tpa from 2019 onwards. This updated agreement will provide Altura with more flexibility, as JRO aims to conclude its current restructuring. /
 

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Altura Managing Director James Brown said the new agreements would underpin production and should remove any offtake uncertainty.

“Ganfeng is one of the largest and most respected lithium companies in the world and an offtake agreement with them is further proof of the quality of the product we are producing from the Altura Lithium operations,” he said.

“The terms of agreement mirror the floor price component of our existing offtakes which provides us with significant security while the agreed pre-payment provides a healthy working capital buffer during the ramp-up phase.”

“The revised agreement with JRO together with the broadening of Altura’s customer base with Ganfeng’s commitment significantly addresses any implications to the offtake agreement from JRO’s restructuring activities.”

“We are producing a high-grade product that is highly sought after. We continue to field inquiries regarding offtakes which is testament to the quality of the Altura lithium concentrate and evidence there is still stronglong-term global demand.”