Infinity pushes Spanish Li hydroxide deal with LG

Australian developer Infinity Lithium has agreed an initial deal with South Korean battery producer LG Energy Solution for future lithium hydroxide supplies from its San Jose project in Spain.

The agreement involves first rights to 10,000 t/yr of lithium hydroxide over five years with the potential to extend it for another five years, Infinity said.

Infinity and LG will negotiate over the next 12 months towards a binding agreement, which will be based on conditions such as the San Jose project progressing to commercial production and supplies meeting product specifications.

San Jose has a mineral resource of 37.2mn t grading 0.29pc lithium oxide and 217 parts per million tin. It is forecast that the project can produce around 16,500 t/yr of lithium hydroxide from mica feedstock over 30 years.

First samples of its battery grade and the completion of a feasibility study are scheduled for October-December and a second pilot phase is being planned.

San Jose, which is 75pc-owned by Infinity, has secured funding from the EU-sponsored European Institute of Innovation & Technology's InnoEnergy programme, which is spearheading decarbonisation by 2050 through battery storage, hydrogen produced from renewables and solar solutions.

By Angus Macmillan